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We know that the podcast listening experience matters.

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We also know the big podcast apps don't seem to share that sentiment.

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It's time for working podcasters like you and me to do

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something intentional about it.

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Today's episode is brought to you by the Advancing Podcasting

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community at advancingpodcasting.xyz.

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Because why would I do anything normal?

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It's a special community just for listeners and readers of

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Podcast Pontifications and it's populated by like-minded working

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podcasters just like you who also want to make podcasting better.

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You're already listening to the show.

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So why not extend the conversation and your influence

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on the future of podcasting?

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Join us today at advancingpodcasting.xyz.

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Hello, and welcome to another Podcast Pontifications with me, Evo Terra.

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When I go to a new restaurant, I almost always ask my server

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for their recommendation rather than reading the entire menu.

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Most of the time, I get one of three answers.

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First one, "Oh, you know, everything is good."

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Not helpful.

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Why would you put not good things on the menu?

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I understand that.

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Not helpful.

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Or they will say, "Oh, see, I don't eat X" - whether that's meat or

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pasta or carbs or green things.

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Also not very helpful.

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There's an entire section of the menu you're not helping me with.

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Or the third answer is, "Try the salmon."

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Or whatever else.

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Definitely.

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That's the one.

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Now, the only right answer out of those three clearly is the last one.

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This is the part where you say, "Great, Evo.

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Now we understand your eating habits.

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What does this have to do with podcasting?"

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Allow me to elucidate that for you.

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Look, I know that you're smart enough to put your podcast episodes

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everywhere someone might want to listen.

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We do that, right?

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Yes.

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That includes Spotify, even if you don't care for Spotify's politics

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and privacy issues, I get it.

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But people listen over there.

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That also includes YouTube because we know we've been told a ton of podcast

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discovery, maybe not listening, but a lot of podcasts discovery happens on YouTube.

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We need to be there as well.

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But you don't have to be agnostic like that server when it comes to

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what app you prefer, you recommend people utilize to enjoy your show.

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Just like that server above, I think you as a podcaster should have an

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opinion on which app someone should use, which are the best ones.

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Because I think really that regime change begins at home, to borrow a phrase.

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Look, Apple continues to fumble the ball with Apple Podcasts and reports

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are that the big bet they're making on paid for subscriptions is causing

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significantly more work for a lot of podcasters than many podcasters want.

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If you're making money with Apple Podcasts subscriptions, good on you.

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But if you're not?

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Hmm.

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Spotify continues to go down the exclusivity route, locking up creators,

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locking up podcasts, and being very, well Spotify about this whole thing.

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Much as many people did fear would happen is exactly what is happening with Spotify.

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Amazon was the big hope for some.

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Me particularly, I was thinking they might really be able to be one

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more big presence into podcasting.

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But as the last reports I read, Amazon's really only in this to get

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their share of the advertising revenue.

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So I don't know how much they're going to be forwarding podcasting all over.

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And yet, we podcasters continue to pimp the big players, at

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least the first two I mentioned.

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We do that largely in part because we're told that's where people are most likely

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going to be listening to your show.

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But that's a false assumption, as I've talked about before

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and as you've read before.

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Auto-downloads are skewing the numbers that you and I see, causing us to

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confuse downloads with actual listens.

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So let's put our minds back into the - or put our bodies into the

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shoes, if you will, of that mythical restaurant server once again.

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Only we are the server.

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We are the waiter, the waitress, the person taking the order,

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whatever you want to call us.

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That's our job.

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We're the podcaster, and even though the listener didn't say it

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exclusively or explicitly, they're asking us for a recommendation.

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We are the ones that need to provide a recommendation to people.

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So here's your homework, here's my homework.

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And that is find a new listening app that you can proudly recommend.

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If you're already using one of the big apps, I'm suggesting

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you move away from them.

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It took me a long time to move away.

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My argument in my brain was, well, most people listen on this, so I

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need to understand that experience.

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I now realize that's wrong.

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I realize that's wrong.

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There's not a lot we can do about that.

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So what I've decided to do is shift away, break the dependency on the big

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purple app and go to something else.

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And that's what I want you to do as well.

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Keep in mind, you and I are going to continue to make our podcast

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available on every single platform.

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That is super key and important.

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But what I want you to do this weekend, and the same thing I'm going to do

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this weekend, is spend time trying out some new podcast listening apps.

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We're going to start there.

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My focus is going to be on the new apps available at newpodcastapps.com.

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That's where all of the new and fresh and wild thinking around podcasting

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and how we can extend podcasting is taking place, super smart people who

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are looking to advance podcasting.

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That's where I'm focusing my efforts.

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You might do something else.

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But I would suggest that you resist the temptation, while you're doing

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your search, and when you start finding things, resist the temptation to look

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for an app that does exactly what your current listening app does today.

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That's trying to find a replacement for what's happening right now, and

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you're probably missing some of the other cool things that are happening.

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Take it from me, I've got some very strict requirements on what I expect apps to do,

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and none of them really do it very well.

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My old process was wait, gripe about it, and hope it would eventually get better.

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But then that's not going to happen.

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So instead what I'm going to be doing is find an app that I think I can work with.

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And I'm going to make my case with the, and chat up the developers to

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see if I can get the app to improve.

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I'm not doing that because I have some special powers.

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I'm a user I'm going to be using it.

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I want you to use it.

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And I want you to find out where the flaws are in the process and

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figure out what's going to work.

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We've got to be open to trying new things, trying a different way to do things.

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I think this is an important step for us to take, to get away from the bigs,

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to really get back into the, what it means to listen to our show and

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what kind of experience we can give.

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And are we recommending the things that will give them the best experience?

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Or are we saying listen wherever you get your podcasts?

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I really do think this regime change to get people to shift begins with

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us, the power users, the creators.

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Look, if we're serious about making podcasting better, I think we need

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to at least have an opinion on what makes for a great listening experience

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and listen to it wherever you want.

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Isn't that opinion.

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We need.

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We need an opinion.

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We need a little proudly share and recommend that opinion.

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Now, if you think this is a good idea, if you're interested and you're intrigued

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by this, and of course I'll have more information about, now what Evo, we found

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the thing, what am I supposed to do?

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Well, we'll talk more about that in future episodes, but

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right now, go find a new app.

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Spend the next three days.

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See if you can find a new.

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Now, if you think that's a good idea, as I was trying to say originally, you think

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that's a good idea and you want to return some of the value I just gave to you, then

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please go to BuyMeACoffee.com/evoterra and buy me a coffee.

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Or better yet, use one of those new fancy new-fangled Satoshi-powered apps.

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What's a Satoshi-powered app, you might say?

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Well, they're out there.

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And that's what I'm gonna be playing with this weekend.

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And if you've got one right now, give me a boost!

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With that, I shall be back on Monday with yet another Podcast Pontifications.

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Cheers!

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Podcast Pontifications is written and narrated by Evo Terra.

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He's on a mission to make podcasting better.

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Links to everything mentioned in today's episode are in the notes

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section of your podcast listening app.

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A written-to-be-read article based on today's episode is available at

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podcastpontifications.com where you'll also find a video version and a corrected

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transcript, both created by Allie Press.

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Podcast Pontifications is a production of Simpler Media.