Matt Has A Podcast About Podcasting
I launched a new podcast!
I'll give you a minute to guess the topic… yup, podcasting.
An obvious fit for this newsletter, and a subject I only scratched the surface of with Breaking Content, a show that lasted four episodes.
You might be thinking: does the world need another podcast about podcasting?
Every podcaster asks themselves that question, no matter the genre. Does the world need this new thing? Far be it from me to hold back your creative endeavors. If you want to launch the thing, even with all that competition, more power to you. In fact, I encourage it.
The challenge is finding the hook that grows an audience around your show. What's the premise? What's the format? How do you package the whole thing?
For Matt Has A Podcast About Podcasting, the premise is simple: we're in this together. Podcasting isn't easy, there's no fast path to monetization, and the tech changes fast. I'm here to share what I'm uncovering and learning along the way.
The format is mostly a monologue from me, with some guest appearances. But like any creative process, all of that could get thrown out the window — I turned my last show into a video game, so anything's possible. I'll adapt to what the audience wants and how I feel about the work I'm shipping.
Why now?
My friends at Buzzsprout reached out about producing a video on HLS video podcasting — Apple's move to bring video into the open podcast ecosystem instead of leaving it locked inside YouTube and Spotify.
When Alban asked if I could make the video, I saw a chance to test Buzzsprout's HLS feature and launch the new show on their hosting at the same time, so I could get more familiar with the platform. They've always been in my top three host recommendations, and I've studied them for years. Now I get to put them through their paces.
What is a podcast?
Every year I hear podcasting is dying. I also hear it's growing faster than ever and trusted more than ever as a media source.
The RSS feed is an elusive technology. It's old, it's confusing, it can't be contained. Big tech hates that — though to be fair, it also makes podcasting hard for the average person to wrangle, too.
My definition of a podcast doesn't require RSS. It requires ownership and portability. If you can take your show and your audience with you, you're podcasting, feed or no feed.
If there's a podcaster in your life, send them the newsletter and the show. Search for Matt Has A Podcast About Podcasting wherever you get your podcasts.
