“let’s do podcasts now lol ” — Twitter 🐦

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Last week’s newsletter was all about why you should teach as a freelancer, and it seems we’re not the only ones who have fresh starts on our minds.

Podcasts are coming to Twitter, AKA our toxic BFF we just can’t quit.

Podcasts are going to be integrated into Spaces — AKA the tab that I only ever go to by accident — which is Twitter’s version of Clubhouse.

Social media has long been a problem for podcast promotion. You WANT to share your podcast across platforms where people are spending time, like Instagram and Twitter. But it’s not exactly a clean user experience. Let’s say you post a link to an episode in a Tweet. First of all, you’re limited by platforms.

For example, I now almost exclusively use Spotify for podcasts. If someone sees my Tweet about an episode, but they use Apple Podcasts, they have to go into Apple and search for that episode separately — and we all know how finicky search functions can be. It’s definitely not a seamless experience.

Maybe even more relevant is the behavioural element. When I’m scrolling through Twitter, I’m not in podcast-discovery mode — if I see something I want to listen to, chances are I’ll go into Spotify and save it for later. It seems like what they’re trying to do is change the way users interact with Twitter. Here’s what Twitter has to say about it:

“Our internal research indicates that 45% of people who use Twitter in the US also listen to podcasts monthly, so we’ll automatically suggest compelling podcasts to help people easily find and listen to the topics they want to hear more about. For example, if someone regularly interacts with Vox content on Twitter, they’ll probably see a Vox podcast in a Spaces hub.”

Sharing podcast episodes via regular degular Tweets can only do so much to grow your audience. In all likelihood, it doesn’t really grow your audience — at best, it may or may not drive some engagement with an existing one. I’ve been thinking a lot about one thing Dan Misener said in our Q&A with him a few weeks ago:

“I get this question all the time: how do I build an audience for my podcast?

And in so many ways, that's the wrong question.

The better question is, how do I build a podcast for my audience?”

And at the risk of being overly optimistic, I kind of think that’s what Twitter is doing here. It makes sense to bring podcasts into a space where people are already interacting with audio, and changing users’ behaviours so that they get more comfortable thinking of Twitter Spaces as a podcast discovery platform.

Here’s what else you should check out this week: 

  • Ashley Carman’s coverage of Podcast Movement, including the weird Ben Shapiro incident.

  • The lineup for the Multitude Podcasting Conference, a virtual conference taking place on September 9 featuring many of our favourite podcast people! Tickets are by donation.

  • Our very own Kattie Laur is launching a new podcast newsletter that’s dedicated to Canadian indies! As she puts it: "Pod the North is my attempt to uplift this fractured community - to create the northern revolution that will put Canadian podcasts on the map." Kattie is incredibly talented and insightful, and is one of the most dedicated advocates for indie podcasts that I know. Subscribe now so that you can get her first issue straight to your inbox on September 6!

Some housekeeping:

I’m writing this newsletter at a crossroads in my life.

ABBA’s Dancing Queen is blasting through my laptop speakers, and laid out in front of me is the chaos of my own making: boxes of my things, kinda-sorta packed, anticipating my move next week.

The crossroads is that I am moving all my worldly possessions into my mother’s garage so that I can travel for a few months!

I’m starting in Stockholm, hence the ABBA. It’ll just be me, my laptop, my iPad, my external keyboard, my mouse, my headphones, probably my Zoom H5 and like one microphone… since I’ll still be working, I won’t exactly be packing light. 

This means Vocal Friday will have some guest writers while I get settled over the next few weeks.

Tills nästa gång!

University of Toronto's Hart House is hiring an Audio Stories Facilitator to support their 4-person team of student podcasters while they make their show airing on CIUT 89.5FM, the campus & community radio station. Here's the job description:

The focus of this position is to support our team of student podcasters to make compelling podcast episodes, support student creativity and development, in a student-centred environment. The Audio Stories Facilitator creates a safe space for students to explore ideas and episode topics, providing constructive feedback on in-progress pieces and final drafts. The Facilitator will provide training in editing software and techniques for student podcasters as needed, including providing editing support for episodes as students grow their skills in this area.

Past episodes of the show can be found here. Apply by August 30th here.

Calling all early birds! The Washington Post is hiring an experienced producer to lead a new “morning audio product.” Apply by September 2.

Slate is hiring a podcast producer for their Narrative unit, primarily working on the history show One Year.

CBC Podcasts is hiring two digital producers: one temporary, one permanent. Apply by EOD August 30.

CBC Radio is hiring a permanent, full-time host for World Report. Apply by EOD September 5.

CBC is hiring a permanent, full-time producer of news content for The National. Apply by EOD September 5.

CBC Sports is hiring a full-time, contract associate producer for their digital hub. Apply by EOD September 6.

CBC Radio/TV is hiring a permanent, full-time producer for The National and World at Six. It’s a compressed work week, which means you only work three (very long?) days a week and get FOUR days off. I think I support this. Apply by EOD August 30.

CBC News is hiring a permanent, full-time international climate reporter. Apply by EOD August 30.

If you’re in public radio listservs, you might have seen this already, but someone has assembled a really incredible resource for new producers. Send this to everyone you know. We are not gatekeep gaslight girlbossing the podcast industry!

Pandemic University is putting on a feature writing workshop facilitated by Richard Warnica on October 1 and 2 in Toronto. Tuition is $300.

This week’s recommendation is coming in HOT from the one and only Kattie Laur. As I mentioned above, she’s about to launch Pod The North, a Canadian podcast newsletter with a special focus on indies — so if you like what you read here, that’s a real good sign that you should head on over and subscribe. From Kattie:

I've been on a mission to fill my feed with Canadian podcasts that make me feel all warm and fuzzy on the inside and Spice Invaders is exactly that! In a wonderful blend of nostalgia and research, Spice Invaders is a podcast all about the history of the Spice Girls. If you have vivid memories of Lip Smackers lip gloss, butterfly clips and plastering your arm with the temporary tattoos from the Spice Girls bubble gum, this show is for you. I'm only through episode 1 and I'm already fascinated by fun facts and hidden secret about the girl group that I grew up with. Later in the season, they get into the ethics and how the media impacted them, scandals and more!

This week on Building Good, Sean Crump talks about why accessible design is future-proof.

This week on Wine Pod, Tobias Fiebrandt talks about chardonnay vs. riesling and non-alcoholic wine options.

We want to hear from you! Got jobs to advertise? (currently, we do this for free!) Resources to share? Let us know on Twitter, Instagram, or by email at info@vocalfrystudios.com.

Thanks to Emily Latimer for editing this newsletter, and to Katie Jensen for designing it.

We’ll see you again on September 2. Until then, here’s an update from Betty, a little croissant of a cat, submitted by the one and only Katie Jensen.

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