PodMov Daily: Friday, April 30

Episode 419: Week Download Complete

For Everyone, Apple Podcasts Is Off to a Rough Start

Last Thursday, Podnews offered advice that is remarkably still accurate: “The launch of the new Apple Podcasts Connect tool has been plagued with bugs and technical issues…We would recommend NOT logging in at this time.” According to MacRumors, the new listening app is arguably in worse shape.

With the rollout of iOS 14.5 “Apple has introduced a range of new crippling usability problems,” reports Hartley Charlton. Some are bugs, though “the biggest problem seems to be related to Apple's re-thought system of following Podcasts, which has replaced subscribing and adding episodes to the library.”

In some cases, every unheard episode of every followed podcast is being downloaded to users' libraries, “stretching back years and many hundreds of episodes.” Back in early March, the switch from ‘subscribe’ to ‘follow’ was (by some) expected to clarify these terms. On a functional app, it may well have.

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Podcasting Skills Come from Unexpected Places

Before getting into podcasting full time, Pacific Content producer Wanyee Li honed her interviewing skills and story instinct over six years as a news reporter. Her colleagues — including actors, dancers, reality TV producers, and musicians — show how a diverse range of skills translate to making podcasts.

“As an introvert, having to host this year was actually really terrifying for me, so I went into server mode,” said host and producer Melanie Green. “And what I mean by that is I knew I had to connect with people. I don’t think working in news [or podcasts] gave me that…I think serving tables gave me that ability.”

Virtually everyone making podcasts, whether full-time or as a hobby, brings skills that only seem unrelated. Li encourages people outside the space to recognize that audio may be less of a leap than they think. “Leaving one industry for another is no small thing,” but opening one door doesn’t mean closing another.

PodRoom: Chat Rooms for Connection and Podcast Discovery

For creators and listeners, the podcast experience is all about connection. PodRoom integrates full-featured chat rooms and video content within the podcast app, bringing the community together and equipping creators with tools that assist them on their creative journey.

On the Discovery page, podcasters can promote their content by posting 40-second snippets that link interested listeners directly to the full episode. Listeners love PodRoom for more than its user-friendly interface. They can find local content, meet fellow fans, and even support their favorite podcasters with donations.

Ready to be discovered? It’s time to post podcast snippets and publish your video content on https://www.podroom.live. Visit @podroompodcast on Twitter and IG and download the app to join over 5,000 global creators and listeners.

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Here's what else is going on:

• Lost world: What is Reply All now? Yesterday its two remaining hosts addressed the show’s implosion in a much-anticipated episode. In the 20 minutes of “The Test Kitchen Revisited,” Emmanuel Dzotsi and Alex Goldman try to make sense of a painful saga that changed podcasting.

• Finish strong: Today is the very last day of Podchaser’s #Reviews4Good event. 25 cents will be donated to Meals on Wheels America’s Go Further Fund for every show and episode review left on the platform until tonight. When a podcaster replies, Podchaser will double the donation.

• Tough sell: Paying for specific podcasts won’t sit well in the Netflix era, writes Amplifi Media CEO Steven Goldstein. “For many consumers, Apple Podcasts subscriptions will be viewed as a pandering attempt to charge or upcharge for something they were already getting for free.”

• $100 million: “I am not a respected source of information even for me,” shrugged the former host of “Fear Factor” after spreading deadlier nonsense than usual last week. As confirmed by The Washington Post, Spotify’s most popular podcaster is still “not an expert on infectious diseases.”