With the advancement of technology and its ever-increasing
usage, podcasts and audiobooks have been becoming more and more popular. What
possible reason could there be for the booming growth of these audio stories in
today’s visual age? While everyone is raving over the graphics of the upcoming
triple A video games and CGI in Hollywood’s blockbuster films, why are audio
stories so successful? As someone who does see the appeal in these podcasts and
audiobooks but never personally became a fan, the only situation I could see
myself deliberately listening to them would be during a commute or while doing
chores around the house. After doing some research, I found out the success of
audiobooks was derived from the popularity of podcasts, and the reason for
podcasts’ popularity was the same as the radio many years ago. The difference
that makes podcasts more appealing than the radio is that while the radio
became commercialized and pandered to demographic markets to increase their
audience, podcasts did almost the opposite and let the audience find them based
on their interests. Instead of having several radio stations playing music they
thought would get them the most viewers and fighting with each other, podcasts
just did them and let viewers who were interested in their topics find them.
For every interest, there would be a podcast talking about it. An example for
this is Storycorps 455: My Lobotomy. While the topic of lobotomy might not be
something one would expect the average person to be interested in, the fact is
there are always people who are interested in the topic and tune into these
podcasts to hear about it. In a town of, lets say 1,000 people, there could be
hundreds of radio stations playing popular music competing for viewers. Maybe about
700 people listening to the radio would be split up among these hundreds of
stations. In an equal world, that would be about 7 people per station. But how
many of these stations talk about lobotomies? Not many, and in the town of 1,000,
all 100 people who are interested in lobotomies would be listening to this
podcast.
I liked how you mentioned your personal stance on podcasts...I am quite the same way, I never really got into them as a replacement for reading articles or books. I also loved reading about the perspective about the success of podcasts-I had not really heard of this and it is extremely interesting. I know a lot of people who are a fan of NPR and they came to mind as far as non-commercialized radio sources.
ReplyDeleteAh this is a really cool insight into podcasts! I'm not too into them myself either but the idea of finding a podcast that fits my interests is compelling. I find podcasts fascinating in the sense they appeal not to a general audience but to the audience that chooses them.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteVery interesting perspective! I enjoyed your viewpoint as it never occurred to me to look at the history or connection to the radio and how it relates to audio books. I also find it interesting your take on the differences between the two as well. I agree that Podcasts are based on interest rather than advertising which as a big reason why audiobooks have increasingly become more popular. In essence, podcasts try to capture the attention of a small audience whereas radio tries to capture the attention of a much larger and more diverse audience.
ReplyDeleteI like how you brought up the radio and how podcasts are our version of it when it started. As you said radio is about gaining as many listeners as possible with the most mainstream stuff whereas podcast are about finding your niche which is what allows them to have such staying power.
ReplyDeleteVery good comments on the similarities and differences between radio and podcasts. The Storycorps podcast is unique in its mission to tell audio stories that affect change in the world, specifically through sharing intimate stories of personal experience. So I think the appeal of an episode like "My Lobotomy" is geared toward learning the story of one man's struggle with the past and how he's trying to rewrite that narrative. In the process he might inform and/or alter the audience's perception of a difficult subject. Good work.
ReplyDelete