Podcast discovery isn't broken. It's just not one thing. And it gets a lot easier to improve podcast discoverability when a podcast listening app specializes in just one type of content. So... how's that going?

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Four years ago, I dreamed of a rather different podcast listening by the year 2026. Since we're at the middle point of that "prediction" (it wasn't a prediction), let's see how my prognostication is trending. (It wasn't a prognostication.)

My vision for future podcast listening apps was that some of them would start to specialize. Rather than trying to service the needs of all podcast listeners, they'd narrow their focus, customizing the entire experience, from discovery to listening.

And that would be pretty cool, I thought, because there are lots of types of podcasts that would lend themselves to a more customized experience rather than work sorta-kinda OK on the one-size-fits-all podcast listening apps.

My prediction (again, not a prediction) seems to be coming true! I know of two apps that have done this in wildly different ways by focusing in on wildly different types of content.

The first is Apollo, customized to finding and listening to fiction podcasts. It's similar to many listening apps but lists only a few thousand shows. But the experience is tailored because listening to fiction podcasts differs significantly from listening to an episodic interview show.

The second is Maps.fm (I'm on their advisory board) that smartly focuses just on localized content, using a map-based interface for discovery. Again, they don't have every episode of every podcast. But they are working on indexing every episode that is about a particular geographical area. 

And that's just two. I'm sure there are some I don't know about. So yeah, I think my vision (totally wasn't a vision) is coming true. Here's to seeing what the next four years bring!

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Sponsored by:

• Captivate.fm, the world's only growth-oriented podcast hosting company

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Links

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• Apollo
• Maps.fm

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Podcast Pontificationsis a production of Simpler Media. New episodes are released weekly, providing ideas and questions every serious podcaster should be thinking about.

It's created and hosted by Evo Terra. Follow him on Twitter for more podcasting insights as they come. Allie Press assists with the production and transcription of the show.

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