Solving Podcasting's Discoverability Problem At The Cost Of Our Mental Health

Regardless of your position on podcasting's "discoverability problem," you probably wouldn't mind it if it were easier for potential listeners to find your podcast, right? Me either. But would that come at a cost? While not everyone agrees on the severity of the problem, few people doubt that social media platforms have been engineered in ways that really aren't the best for our mental health.  So far, podcasting hasn't been lumped in with that. Complaints against podcasting personalities are usually a result of... well, the podcaster acting like an asshole. And while the offending comments certainly have an impact on those targeted by the assholery of the podcaster, those problems haven't rolled up to the broader podcasting industry. But that doesn't mean podcasting is safe. What keeps us safe, at least as an industry, from being lumped in with "bad for you" content is inherent intentionality baked into the podcast listening experience.  It takes work to find a podcast to listen to. There isn't a stream of new podcast content pushed at people as they listen. There isn't an algorithm deciding for you what you should listen to. The financial incentive to keep you locked into an app hasn't appeared. But what if that changed? Do you really want an app that pushes relevant recommendations the second you stop listening to an episode? Do you want an app that triages your listening queue for you, promoting and demoting content to you? Do you want even more content pulled in, giving you no reason ever to leave your more-than-podcasts app? That's what living in a post-discoverability-problem podcasting world could look like, a future world where podcasting could become another anxiety-inducing, mental-health-damaging aspect of modern living. And how do we not do that? ----- Links Looking for a remote recording solution that handles both audio and video? you need https://evoterra.link/riverside (Riverside.fm)! https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Facebook%E2%80%93Cambridge_Analytica_data_scandal (Cambridge Analytica scandal) http://evoterra.link/buzz (Over 100K active podcasters trust Buzzsprout) Like the show? https://buymeacoffee.com/evoterra (Buy me a coffee). Got a podcasting service? https://podcastpontifications.com/about/sponsorship-information (Become a sponsor of Podcast Pontifications). Serious about podcasting? Join the https://evoterra.link/app (Advancing Podcasting Community) today!

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