Editor's note: Due to ice storms down in Texas, the Daily will return on Wednesday. In the meantime, check out the contest that we have running all week, and use the extra day to rack up as many referrals as possible. 

PodMov Daily: Monday, February 15

Episode 372: Your Monday Mix

Facebook on Community Building Tools for Podcasters

This Monday’s guest feature kicks off a 5-part series from Facebook and Podcast Movement. Curated specifically for podcasters, each biweekly article covers a different category of tools on Facebook and Instagram. Today it’s all about community building: Stories, Reels, comments, and solutions for content moderation.

According to Facebook, “Each feature can be used individually, but together they create a more engaging and holistic storytelling experience.” Creative tips for Stories include using the interactive questions sticker to poll listeners, as well as the countdown sticker to build pre-event (or pre-episode) anticipation.

Comments on podcast-related content can quickly impact your show’s brand and listeners. Learn how to block certain words or emojis, restrict accounts, ban users from your page, and moderate comments during Live events. On March 1, the series continues with subscriptions and revenue options on both platforms.

The ‘Impossible Problem’ of Moderating Podcasts

Ashley Carman of The Verge takes a look at the “impossible problem” of moderating extremist podcasts. Apple has the most power, but every listening app has its own content guidelines. “Put simply, podcasting isn’t ready for full scale, widespread moderation — if that’s even what the industry wants.”

If the big platforms can’t find every dangerous show, how can smaller teams? Representatives of Pocket Casts, RedCircle, Podcast Addict, Spreaker, Podiant, and Acast weigh in on their approaches. Open RSS means there’s no stopping Alex Jones (or any of the 17,000 voices that launch each week).

“Podcast hosting platforms have a particular incentive to moderate when they help shows make money […] because brands don’t generally want to advertise on a controversial show,” Carman points out. “Otherwise, the hosting platforms don’t have much reason to rain in their own customers.”

PM and RØDE are keeping the love going all week long. Each time you refer a friend to this fine newsletter, you increase your chances toward one of four RØDE NT-USB microphones. The grand prize, a RØDECaster Pro, will go to the reader with the most referrals by Friday.

Find your unique referral link (or sign up to get one!) below.

Here's what else is going on:

• Good fences: Clubhouse is scrambling to roll out “additional encryption and blocks” to prevent it from transmitting pings to servers in China. Stanford researchers have warned of weak spots that “could allow external access to users’ raw audio data,” reports Jamie Tarabay of Bloomberg.

• Lunch date: The Women In Radio & Audio series, a new initiative from The Radio Academy, begins on February 24. The Allusionist creator Helen Zaltzman will rep podcasters alongside radio professionals like BBC Radio 2’s Sara Cox. Webinars will take place on Wednesdays in March.

• Neat stacks: For The Podcast Host, Dan Marzullo details SEO tips for written content. “Avoid forcing search engines to sift through 20+ pages of error-riddled transcripts per podcast,” he says. “Instead, help them by tagging and labelling everything properly on the backend of your website.”

• Press play: Spectology host Adrian M. Ryan keeps it casual in his guide to equipment and budgeting. Most intro-to-podcasting materials don't cater to true hobbyists. “As such, they throw around jargon without defining it and recommend absurdly priced pieces of hardware.”