PodMov Daily: Wednesday, January 6

Episode 344: Your Midweek Update

If Live Audio Chat Works on Twitter, Thank Podcasting

The social podcast app Breaker is set to be acquired by Twitter. CEO Erik Berlin is one of three team members transitioning to Twitter Spaces, a new audio-based networking project. Breaker’s app and site will shut down next week. As Shoshana Wodinsky of Gizmodo puts it, “Twitter is buying its way out of being Twitter.”

Currently in beta, Spaces lets Twitter users chat in real time using voice instead of text. Fresh staff and technology may be its best shot at viability. Berlin writes that Breaker’s 2017 debut changed the face of podcast apps, “add[ing] a social community element with features such as liking and commenting on episodes.” 

The deal is meant to help “improve the health of the public conversation” on the service, according to Sarah Perez and Alex Wilhelm of TechCrunch. Smart move, considering that Twitter is essentially an online public health emergency. We’ll soon find out if live audio chat (and its transcripts) can truly be moderated.

PM Weekly Update: Resources and Resolutions

This week’s update welcomes 2021 with a collection of helpful podcasting resources. PM Facebook group members share their goals for the new year, such as improving interview skills and upgrading production. Share yours, and check out the list to make them happen.

Are you ready for the Podcast Movement University re-launch on January 20? Users will have access to monthly meetups, live expert discussions, podcaster speed-dating events (not actual dating, but stranger things have happened), and more. Stay tuned.

In other news, special holiday rates end tonight for PM 2021 this August in Nashville. Attend virtually or in-person for countless breakout sessions, expert keynotes, and top-tier education, and a lot of fun. Register before midnight to get the best deal.

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Here’s what else is going on:

• Boom, roasted: “Podcasts saying literally nothing for 20 minutes,” a video by UK musician Jonathan Ogden, is quite the hit on Twitter. In 60 seconds, he nails some all-too-familiar moments. Best comment? “The constant topics with filler words and the constant mic adjustments are on point.”

• Class precedent: “Writing for the Ear,” a self-paced virtual course from Poynter, is currently free. (For how long, we’re not sure.) Award-winning radio journalist Dan Grech teaches “everything you need to write more effective audio narratives, from generating an idea to recording your story.”

• Broken thread: The podcast Caliphate has had a disastrous fall from grace. Nicholas Quah tracks the complex fallout, focusing on the role of lead producer Andy Mills. Still, The New York Times “is only set to become an even stronger, larger, and more meaningful employer in the audio business.”

• Getting there: The Google Podcasts web version now has a subscription feed, bringing desktop up to speed with the mobile app. Only five shows are shown at once, notes Abner Li of 9to5Google. For most users, the Subscriptions feed should be the Google Podcasts homepage instead of ‘Explore.’