Zachary Worthington’s Post

For the past three months, the Blubrry.com team has put out a monthly statistics report that is unique and not easily duplicated by podcast hosts, mainly due to the wide breadth of shows we measure globally. One statistic that needs to be clarified for researchers is our low Spotify numbers. This is primarily based on the show categories that make up most of our measurements that do not fit the Spotify listener persona. If you take the time to review the report thoroughly, you will gain some unique insights. https://lnkd.in/gvt6XmQ5

People overcomplicate growing their podcast audience. Listen, if you’re a podcast host: Avoid: - Losing control of the conversation. - Using your laptop microphone to record your audio. - inconsistent audio levels between the music and your voice. Instead: - Retain the flow of conversation as a host. - Use your phone as the voice recorder. - Use metering tools to check for loudness levels between audio elements. Focus on this for the first few episodes. Build from there.

We covered a lot this week on The Download, check out the top stories from this week's news!

For the previous two years we have hosted our Giggleswick School podcast ‘Desert Island Giggs’ on Spotify using the Anchor platform. This interface enabled us to easily integrate artist’s music into our show without the bureaucracy, cost and inconvenience of sorting licenses etc but ensuring they are still remunerated for their work (however meagre). A small podcast of our scale would never have been able to do this without Anchor. As Spotify move away from Anchor to their new Riverside.fm interface it is no longer an option to integrate music from Spotify. Desert Island Giggs will continue but our format will inevitably change. This is not necessarily a bad thing but it is an example of the resounding impact of tech giant decision making. https://lnkd.in/gAj96RRU

It's a long journey, but the perception of the automotive repair industry is changing. Motor vehicle technology is evolving at a faster rate than we have ever seen and the technical skills required to maintain and repair a modern vehicle are higher than ever before. Changing the perception will hopefully attract a new generation of people to our industry.

Wow! What an eye opener. Just when we thought we knew the depths that marketers would go to, in their desperate attempt to serve up personalised advertisements, in this episode of ‘This week in digital trust', Arjun Ramachandran and Jordan Wilson-Otto delve into even darker horrors and shadier online advertising practices called Real-Time Bidding, where your data is up for auction to the highest bidder. Arj and Jordan reference two recent reports from Reset.Tech Australia and the Irish Council of Civil Liberties (linked in the source post), where the later report revealed the widespread trade in data about sensitive Australian personnel and leaders that exposes them to blackmail, hacking and compromise, and undermines the security of their organisations and institutions, and how Real-Time Bidding's security flaw is a national security problem. My two cents worth on the topic: (1) The insidious and devious behaviour of marketers and their enablers should be illegal, and yet here we are, chipping away at the edges where even the Australian Attorney General mused that the Privacy Act “has not kept pace with the changes in the digital world”. The Privacy Act is in urgent need of *real* reform, to protect the right to privacy in the digital era. (2)  When last did you read a collection notice or privacy policy (and yes, some among us read those things) that explained Real-Time Bidding practices and its consequences in plain language? Not me. Yes, we’re fed the cloudy, smoke-and-mirror, lines about sharing ‘de-identified data’ with marketers to enhance user experience. To companies that auction my data, get real and start using honesty and plain language to describe your shonky marketing practices. (3) To my disgust and horror, I once was served an advertisement for guns while using a credible Australian news app. Guns! In this country! How offensive and how vile! To any bidders out there, I'll do you a solid and say this - save your money. Don’t bother serving me gun ads in the future. I'm not your target audience. (4) My final rant: how bloody desperate are marketers? Sure, [hashtag]notallmarketers. But seriously marketers, stop being so creepy and so needy. Thanks, gents, for another great (rage) episode. #privacy #privacymatters

THE PEOPLE IN THE AUDIENCE MUST BE THE PEOPLE IN YOUR STORY THE PEOPLE IN THE AUDIENCE MUST BE THE PEOPLE IN YOUR STORY “The moment your story abandons the audience, the audience abandons your story. It is far too easy to tell a story which looks and sounds real but isn’t. It is also very easy to tell a story which includes all the usual cast of characters in our life but none of the people in the present audience. If your daily circle of friends does not resemble your ideal client base, there will be a priorities gap. Take the time to consider the people, places and things your audience is most likely to release to and select a story from your arsenal which best represents and includes them,” Watch the video 1-11-24: Spotify - https://lnkd.in/g4RF8s_C CLICK HERE to schedule a FREE CALL with Loren https://lnkd.in/gxM7RyVr ______________________________ Leading Leaders Podcast is a …

What a pleasure to have this conversation. Attention is a nuanced topic and I’m pleased to be throwing my thoughts in the ring. Always with the goal of continuing to push quality metrics, transparency, full funnel activation, preplanning strategy and post campaign measurement for our customers and the wider digital landscape. And you know you can alway slide into my DMs for a chat! ✌🏾 #womenindata

The all-new Spotify for Podcasters app is here! Now, with expanded mobile access for all creators (no matter where your show is hosted) you can check your stats on the go, manage your presence on Spotify, connect with your fans, and get important notifications about your show’s biggest moments. 📱 Take a peek 👇 ✅  Comments are rolling out for podcasts on Spotify starting today! You have full control over which comments are public and you can like and reply to your favorites. ✅ Stay informed with real-time notifications about fan activity, when you hit the charts on Spotify, and how your latest episode is performing. ✅ Easily track your show's performance with detailed analytics and audience insights. Learn more ➡️ https://rb.gy/mfiyjo

Congratulations to the team on shipping these improvements! As we celebrate the team members still there, I also want to give a special shoutout to some of my amazing colleagues who are no longer with the company but did fantastic work in the fall and winter to make this launch possible. • Yoshiki Hisamoto who worked tirelessly to help bring features that were previously only available to creators who hosted with Spotify to all creators, and was an expert on video. • Dayana Alvarez who always applied tenacity to improving the monetization experience to make it easier for creators to get paid doing what they love. There’s no business without monetization! • Travis Kane who was an instrumental partner working with me to design an intuitive structure for the comments experience alongside the existing interactivity features. • Alessandra Nicole Mosenifar who led the entire design team through a redesign of the mobile app and managed with grace, care, and dedication to craft. • Caity Corbin whose thoughtful and kind approach to management helped her direct reports lead with kindness throughout this process even as she was on leave. As for me: I’m grateful to be in a place where I can confidently look back and own all of the contributions I made to move this project along, from my consistent work on comments, to my thoughtful contributions to analytics and notification strategy. The lessons we learned from working together on S4P have propelled us each into new roles, new challenges, and new opportunities for leadership. Seasons like these remind me that as exciting as launches are, our careers are our own. They’re journeys that span decades, and we can take the lessons we’ve learned on collaboration and leadership anywhere we go. Exciting to see what each of you continues to build!