What Is Podcasting 2.0 and Why Does It Matter?

The podcasting business has grown so much since its beginning in 2004, however the core of what a podcast could possibly be and what it might do hasn’t modified a lot. Now, Podcasting 2.0 revolutionizes the business with extremely requested improvements that can assist everybody on all sides of the RSS feeds.

What is “Podcasting 2.0”?

Podcasting was created by Adam Curry and Dave Winer. Now, Adam Curry—the one true “podfather”—and Dave Jones are main the best way to the subsequent era of podcasting, and I am thrilled to be an lively contributor!

Podcasting 2.0 is enhancing the podcast expertise for listeners, podcasters, builders, and even advertisers. It is creating the subsequent era of podcasting by making podcasts extra partaking. Podcasting 2.0 introduces new technical requirements, new methods to monetize, and an independently maintained podcast catalog free from company and authorities censorship. Whether or not you are a listener, a podcaster, a podcast-app or podcasting-service developer, and somebody who advertises in podcasts, there’s one thing to make podcasts higher for you!

RSS is a selected commonplace of the coding language referred to as XML (“extensible markup language”). And the best way to prolong XML or RSS is by including one other namespace. You are most likely slightly acquainted with two common namespaces already: the “iTunes” namespace Apple created and that almost all podcast apps use for podcast knowledge, and in addition the “content material” namespace from which we get the <content material:encoded> tag we use for episode notes.

So the best way Podcasting 2.0 provides new options to a podcast, and for apps and providers to work with these options, is with the brand new Podcast Namespace and its assortment of tags.

The Podcast Namespace will finally provide a whole alternative for the “iTunes” namespace, however it provides an entire lot extra options!

If you wish to bounce straight into the technical particulars of Podcasting 2.0 and the brand new Podcast Namespace, I like to recommend visiting PodcastNamespace.org, created by James Cridland. Additionally, I extremely suggest following the Podcasting 2.0 podcast to listen to Adam Curry, Dave Jones, and frequent company focus on the newest developments and concepts with Podcasting 2.0.

So as a substitute of overlaying all the precise technical particulars right here, I will overview what I believe is most necessary so that you can know.

Podcasting 2.0 is for audiences

I believe any change in podcasting and podcasts themselves ought to think about the viewers first. Podcasting 2.0 has lots to supply audiences to make their podcast-consumption expertise extra attention-grabbing, useful, and pleasant.

1. Keep away from company and authorities censorship by way of a free and open podcast catalog (referred to as the Podcast Index).
2. Interact with podcasts and their communities with new interactive options.
3. Discover podcasts simpler with improved search and suggestions.
4. Share podcasts simpler, and particularly the perfect components of podcasts.
5. Assist podcasters financially instantly by way of a podcast app.
6. Get expanded entry to the content material by way of improvements like transcripts and even real-time captions.
7. Obtain new episodes sooner.
8. Catch live-streamed reveals and chat with the hosts and dwell viewers with out leaving your podcast app.

Podcasting 2.0 is for podcasters

Let’s get the super-geeky half out of the best way. Regardless of my hopes and campaigning to maneuver podcasting to the extra trendy format of JSON (JavaScript Object Notation, a particularly common knowledge format utilized by most builders), Podcasting continues to be constructed on RSS. So if you happen to use a podcast-publishing software that helps Podcasting 2.0, you can leverage a bunch of recent options that many podcast apps already help!

Listed below are among the advantages Podcasting 2.0 brings to you as a podcaster!

1. Get your newest episode to your viewers extra rapidly.
2. Interact your viewers inside their podcast app by way of suggestions, feedback, dwell streams, and dwell chats.
3. Shield your podcast from company and authorities censorship by being within the free and open Podcast Index.
4. Make your podcast partaking and actionable with chapters you’ll be able to create individually out of your media recordsdata and thus extra simply combine together with your publishing workflow.
5. Extra simply create snippets you and your viewers can share to assist develop your podcast.
6. Monetize your podcast with trendy choices which might be pleasant to micropayments.

Podcasting 2.0 is for builders

New options and advantages are solely usable if builders construct help for them. This requires work on each side of the RSS feed: your publishing software (like your web site or podcast-hosting supplier) and the podcast apps your viewers makes use of.

I have been concerned in a number of different initiatives to attempt advancing podcasting, however none of them had the broad developer help and enthusiasm that Podcasting 2.0 has!

Builders make their podcast apps and podcasting providers higher by supporting Podcasting 2.0!

1. Entry a free, open, maintained catalog of podcasts, free from company and political censorship—have you ever observed that everybody advantages from this?
2. Get new episodes to your customers sooner with out constructing a big scraping or updating engine.
3. Allow monetization and help choices inside your app, even with the appropriate risk of incomes your personal small price.
4. Make your app extra accessible with transcripts and captions.
5. Shield your consumer’s privateness whereas additionally serving to podcasters perceive their attain.
6. Implement enjoyable and fascinating options like live-streaming notifications, dynamic chapters, cross-app feedback, and extra that can maintain individuals coming again to your app.

Podcasting 2.0 is even for advertisers

Sure, Podcasting 2.0 may even serve advertisers in podcasting, which mix to be an enormous a part of the monetary spine for a lot of giant podcasts and leverage a a lot larger viewers for podcasts.

1. Make advert spots extra actionable with interactive, well timed calls to motion.
2. Get higher analytics for advert impressions.
3. Discover the proper podcasts for partnership alternatives.

That is the brand new litmus check for podcasting instruments

I’ve beforehand thought of IAB measurement certification a requirement for any podcast-hosting supplier. I nonetheless maintain that, however correct stats matter solely to podcasters and advertisers; stats most likely do not matter to your viewers. So now I am including Podcasting 2.0 to the litmus check for podcasting instruments. And I do not thoughts making an ultimatum:

That will appear excessive, however Podcasting 2.0 has been in very lively improvement since 2020. And among the options are really easy to help that publishing instruments actually don’t have any excuse for not integrating even the best options. So I’d be involved if a publishing software is to date behind on the newest podcast requirements that they have not added any help for Podcasting 2.0, but.

I am grateful that the identical publishing instruments and providers I’ve really useful for years aren’t solely implementing Podcasting 2.0 options but in addition actively taking part within the conversations and improvement!

Easy methods to improve your podcast expertise with Podcasting 2.0

To benefit from these cutting-edge options, your podcast-publishing software must help these new options. I can not record all of them, however listed below are the highest instruments I like to recommend and that already help some Podcasting 2.0 options.

• WordPress with PowerPress—Blubrry‘s free PowerPress plugin already helps some Podcasting 2.0 options, and Andy Lehman’s “Podcast Namespace” plugin can add much more options (like “Value4Value”). PowerPress works with any internet hosting supplier, however Blubrry’s hosting integrates the simplest, in fact.
• Buzzsprout—I have been amazed at how rapidly Buzzsprout has constructed help for Podcasting 2.0 options of their publishing instruments! Plus, Buzzsprout helps the “Podping” characteristic to push on the spot notifications of recent episodes.
• Libsyn—Though Libsyn hasn’t been as quick to help Podcasting 2.0, they provide a sophisticated (and harmful, if you happen to aren’t cautious) area that permits you to add customized tags to your RSS feed. This implies coping with XML/RSS code when Libsyn would not provide the simple area for the characteristic, however this openness makes Libsyn the simplest for including practically all Podcasting 2.0 options.
• Captivate—I used to be on Captivate‘s advisory board till they have been acquired, however I nonetheless extremely suggest Captivate due to how nicely they construct their options. They may not be the quickest to help Podcasting 2.0 options, however you’ll be able to belief that they’re going to implement them very well of their improbable interface.

(As an affiliate, I earn from qualifying purchases by way of a few of these hyperlinks. However I like to recommend issues I actually imagine in, no matter earnings.)

There are many more options in the updated list on the Podcast Index website.

Earlier than you turn, examine together with your present supplier(s)! They may have already got among the options you want or be very near launching help. If nothing else, listening to your request for Podcasting 2.0 help can add to the voices for optimistic stress on improvement.

And if you happen to hear any excuse that entails Apple, Spotify, and Google, remind them that there are already a whole lot of hundreds of podcasts leveraging these new options, and it is the publishing instruments or internet hosting suppliers that should prepared the ground in including the brand new options to podcast RSS feeds. Then, common podcast apps can be extra desirous to compete with help for the options which might be already within the podcast feeds.

Easy methods to become involved in Podcasting 2.0

When you have concepts or opinions about something round Podcasting 2.0, listed below are the locations to be taught extra and become involved (and also you do not must be a programmer!):

• PodcastIndex.org—That is the house web site for Podcasting 2.0 and the open Podcast Index catalog. And the place you’ll be able to follow the Podcasting 2.0 podcast.
• PodcastIndex.social—That is the Mastadon-powered social community that works equally to Twitter. It is most likely the perfect place to share and reply to concepts.
• GitHub—All the things operating Podcasting 2.0 is open supply. You’ll be able to report points, suggest code or requirements, and extra by way of the a number of GitHub repositories, particularly the Podcast Namespace repository, the place many of the stuff occurs.

Settle for no low cost imitations!

Lastly, chances are you’ll hear some firms (cough, Spotify, cough) declare to be innovating podcasting with proprietary options.

Nope.

Please kindly stress these firms to cease pushing proprietary applied sciences that can solely hurt the podcast business and as a substitute embrace the open podcast requirements of Podcasting 2.0!

Interact your viewers and develop your podcast!

Do you ever really feel like your podcast is caught? Such as you’re pouring your coronary heart into your podcast however it looks like nobody is listening?

Try Podgagement to help you engage your audience and grow your podcast!

Get speakable pages to simplify partaking together with your viewers, settle for voicemail suggestions (with computerized transcripts), observe your scores and opinions from practically 200 locations, and extra!

Ask your questions or share your suggestions

• Touch upon the present notes
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• E mail [email protected] (audio recordsdata welcome)

Observe The Audacity to Podcast

Disclosure

This put up could comprise hyperlinks to services or products with which I’ve an affiliate relationship. I could obtain compensation out of your actions by way of such hyperlinks. Nonetheless, I do not let that corrupt my perspective and I do not suggest solely associates.