PodMov Daily: Tuesday, January 25

Episode 576: Testing, One Two-sday

AI Content Moderation for Audio Gets a $32M Boost

A startup has landed $32 million to fund its AI-based content moderation, reports Ingrid Lunden of TechCrunch. Spectrum Labs provides platforms with technology “to detect and shut down toxic exchanges in real time (specifically, 20 milliseconds or less).” Among its 20 big clients are Pinterest, Grindr, and Riot Games.

Natural Language Understanding technology works in real time on both text and audio interactions. CEO Justin Davis notes that audio is ‘read’ by Spectrum as audio, not transcribed text. This type of scanning allows for instant reactions, whereas the typical process (flagging, searching, then taking action) can take days.

Davis says that the job of a platform “is keeping the worst of the worst off, but also to provide consumer controls to make selection over what they want to see over time.” Audio platforms may soon have tools at scale to scan for hate speech, sexual harrassment, and scams in any language. Maybe they’ll consider it.

To Grow a Podcast on Twitter, Positioning is Key

“Positioning is something that social media can help you with every single time you use it,” writes Captivate CEO Mark Asquith. His platform of choice is Twitter, though the idea applies just about anywhere you represent your show: Fill a specific gap in the market, and make yourself the “go-to brand” in that gap.

“Twitter isn’t the place to generate clicks through to your podcast en masse,” Asquith says. “Twitter is the place to position yourself as the person and the brand that you want to be seen as.” Cultivating that impression takes time as well as a change in mindset — think of it as a content platform, not just a promotional tool.

Instead of focusing on audiograms and other types of repurposed content, Asquith suggests something longer-lasting “that is peripheral to the episode that you want to promote.” This includes recap threads with tips, key points, and resources to (you guessed it) to become the go-to solution for your target audience.

evmux: Stunning Live Streams and Podcasts, Made Easy

evmux is a web-based live streaming studio that makes beautiful, branded content effortless. From virtual events to podcast episodes, recorded and live content production just got easier. It’s the fastest, most user-friendly way to produce stunning material that audiences love.

Built with creators in mind, evmux is an all-in-one solution for a multi-platform world. Features like a drag-and-drop editor, guest ‘greenroom,’ and co-host controls go beyond the standard. Customize your branding, stream to all your social channels at the same time, and more ― stress-free.

Whether you connect with your audience over live stream, audio, or video, evmux makes your brand experience shine. One user called it “flipping amazing,” and it’s easy to see why. Even the pricing is competitive: Get started for free today, no credit card needed.

Here's what else is going on:

• Anchor FYI: Podnews reports that as of last week, Anchor shows were still being formatted in a way that makes them unplayable in some apps. On January 13 the company replied to a user on Twitter, “We are…deliberately looking into resolving this,” followed by the emoji with sunglasses.

• Library card: Tomorrow at 6:00 pm ET is “Michael Lewis in Conversation with Ira Glass,” part of the virtual Hot Docs Podcast Festival. The author of Moneyball and The Big Short will join the icon behind This American Life to discuss lessons from their award-winning bodies of work. Tickets are $10.

• Cashing in: Amazon has bought exclusive advertising and distribution rights to My Favorite Murder. Launched in 2016, the true crime megahit ranked #4 globally last week. This deal mirrors that of SmartLess: Amazon Music and Wondery will offer new episodes a week before other platforms.

• Target run: Podcasts prove that cookieless advertising data is “just as relevant” as cookie-driven data, writes Backtracks founder Jonathan Gill. Marketers afraid of data privacy regulations have much to learn from audio, which has thrived on a “stronger understanding of who the audience is.”