There’s no doubt that we have, indeed, build a real economy out of podcasting. And I’m thankful for that, as podcasting is my only job! But some things about the podcasting economy we’ve built are still dumb. And I hope it doesn't take us another 16 years to stop doing some of those dumb things.

1. Smart Speakers still suck for listening to podcasts. I lay a lot of the blame at the non-existent feet of voice-powered AI in its current state. Most of us are used to using our voice as the primary way we interface with other humans. But all of that comes crashing down when we’re just trying to tell our AI to shut off the lights in the master bedroom and have forgotten the highly specific incantation to achieve that bit of magic.
2. Podcasting data is still untrustworthy and obfuscated. When one podcast hosting company claims more people use Spotify to download their content than any other app, a claim that flies in the face of every other podcast hosting company including yours, then it’s no wonder all download numbers are treated with suspicion.
3. RSS feeds still suck. Why can't we yet name a season, include credits much as we see at the end of TVshows and movies, or reference other episodes to encourage threaded listening, rather than forcing listeners to follow a linear path? 
4. Podcasting is still terribly under-monetized. A billion dollars is still tiny when compared to other ad-supported mediums. Because Better Health aside, It’s hard to buy at scale. It’s hard to see returns at scale. So the bulk of advertisers still look at podcasting and give it a pass. 

A a realist, I have to point out that every issue raised above is solvable. More to the point, I think all of those issues will be solved. And I don’t think it’ll take another 16 years. That’s exciting to me. Because once we get those issues resolved, or at least edge them closer to perfection, podcasting will be made better.

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A written-to-be-read article and a full transcript of the audio of this episode can be found at https://podcastpontifications.com/episode/four-dumb-things-about-podcasting-we-still-havent-fixed

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Evo Terra produces Podcast Pontifications four times a week to provide ideas and ask questions every working podcaster should be thinking about.

Image credit: Sarah Kilian on Unsplash

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