Free and Open Podcasting: A Conversation with Rob Greenlee - Part 2

“And it surprised me that it took so long for people to adopt the on-demand aspects of audio. It’s been a very, it’s been kind of a slow adoption curve is what I’ve seen. I think that the on-demand side of video grew much quicker, which I think is an interesting case, even as it applies today as we look at the podcasting space. We’re still, you know, we’re still chipping away at it, as they say.” -- Rob Greenlee

This episode’s the second half of my conversation with technologist, podcasting pioneer, and audio industry leader Rob Greenlee, as we discuss the tension between social media and open-source audio, the challenge of staying honest in an industry where advertisers expect endorsements, and how algorithms and automated moderation might change the culture of podcasting.

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Growing Up With YouTube

The second half of our discussion begins as we continue to talk about YouTube, Spotify, and other efforts by content platforms to tame the podcasting frontier. Rob admits that the world’s a different place than it was when he started podcasting, and young podcasters have grown up with those big social-media platforms for much of their lives. “So I mean,” he says, “it’s not a huge issue, and I do get a sense that the up-and-coming generation of podcasters are more open to having this type of relationship with, like, a YouTube just because of how popular YouTube is.”

The Whole Ecosystem

We also talk about how he found that he’s gained a wider perspective on the audio industry thanks to a new role that allows him to work with a variety of companies. “That gave me a perspective,” Rob says, “that I need to back up and become more educated with the whole ecosystem of podcasting because working on one particular platform had kind of siloed my access to learning about other platforms. Because nobody wanted to share it with me, because they thought I was a competitor.”

Podcasting Around the World

As the episode comes to a close, Rob tells us about his 2013 podcast The Spoken Life Show, and how he’s bringing it back for a new podcasting age. The original episodes turned out to be eerily prophetic, from the mainstreaming of podcasting through platforms like YouTube to a particular interest of his, the globalization of podcasting and digital audio as the technology reached every corner of the world. “Yeah,” he notes, recalling both his prediction and its success. “It’s huge, like out in Vancouver, and just the amount of podcasts that are being consumed out there is remarkable. And also in other parts of the world too. So, the U.S. isn’t the dominant player in podcasting anymore, I would say.”

Episode Summary