[Note: the following was first published on Cent here]
Habits account for 40~50% of our actions on any given day.
But there are some moments, like when your alarm goes off early in the morning and you can either pull yourself out of bed or hit snooze for an extra 20, 30 or 40 minutes of sleep, that can set you down two extraordinarily different paths.
If you force yourself to wake up and go for that run or review what you studied the night before, and you keep that up over a period of time, you will become a new you before you know it. That's pretty amazing. But if you hit the snooze button day after day? Well, let's just say your life will follow a more predictable trajectory.
In other words, decisive moments present you with two options: the choice to do something that feels immediately pleasurable, but ultimately is either not beneficial or is actually detrimental; or something that immediately feels uncomfortable but ultimately provides an outsized benefit.
While getting in the habit of waking up early in the morning to go for a run largely depends on an ungodly level of grit and determination (or genetics for a lucky few), fortunately life hacks exist that can help us adopt other equally beneficial habits quicker, so that when we're confronted with decisive moments, making those less common choices becomes easier.
For example, say you've made the decision to read more, like vineet15 recently did. Thanks to @kwame's awesome share in this week's BOTI, we now know that alternating between multiple books by reading or listening to a few chapters of one book before picking up another, and then another after that, not only makes reading feel more enjoyable, it makes you a better reader.
Thus by reading more books at once, you quickly develop a strong reading so that, when you're faced with the next decisive moment, like after coming home from work and having to choose between reading or turning on Netflix and watching three episodes of Mad Men, you can effortlessly - almost unthinkingly - start digging into a book.
If you're at all interested in this concept of decisive moments, and would like to learn more about habit setting, I highly recommend listening to this brand new episode of David Perell's North Star Podcast with guest James Clear. It's a really, really good episode.
2018년 11월 6일 화요일
2018년 9월 9일 일요일
The Evolutionary Value of Narrative
Listened to a fantastic new episode of the a16z podcast yesterday [here] about decision making - specifically concerning group or crowd-based decision making - and story telling. You all should check it out if you have time.
To give you a little taste, I'll leave you with my two favorite tidbits from the episode:
"Novels simulate alternative versions of our lives.
We spend an inordinate amount of time reading and watching fiction - things that we know are not true - because there is an incredible adaptive value in placing yourself into someone else's thought process in a given situation. In short, the evolutionary role of narrative of fiction is in expanding the individual ability to run parallel simulations of other peoples lives."
"Reading a good book makes the world feel larger."
To give you a little taste, I'll leave you with my two favorite tidbits from the episode:
"Novels simulate alternative versions of our lives.
We spend an inordinate amount of time reading and watching fiction - things that we know are not true - because there is an incredible adaptive value in placing yourself into someone else's thought process in a given situation. In short, the evolutionary role of narrative of fiction is in expanding the individual ability to run parallel simulations of other peoples lives."
"Reading a good book makes the world feel larger."
2018년 8월 18일 토요일
Thoughtfulness: An Emergent Global Trend
Thoughtfulness has been a key feature of the commenters on avc.com and Hacker News now for around a decade. But their numbers have been relatively tiny compared to the overall readership (I am making an assumption that what's true on avc.com is true on HN, so I could be wrong, but I don't think that's the case).
Podcasts in particular have arisen as the gold standard of thoughtful discourse and conversation, and in my opinion are the single greatest contributing factor to what appears to be the global spread of thoughtfulness. That said, the number of people who listen to podcasts has been growing, but the percentage of people who listen to podcasts regularly is still very low.
I'm not sure I've read or heard anyone speak of thoughtfulness as a trend or trait. I've only seen it mentioned to either describe an individual team's approach to business or as an ideal for how users should behave.
To me though, thoughtfulness appears to be an elevated, evolved philosophy of living. It is the key to all problems, not because it's a solution, but because it allows for the solution to be sought after to begin with, then found, discussed and agreed upon.
Thoughtful people are emerging more and more. And they are impacting many more. But their numbers are still small. Imagine though, what would become possible if something allowed for thoughtful people to create strong bonds *and* encouraged many more people to live thoughtfully...
Podcasts in particular have arisen as the gold standard of thoughtful discourse and conversation, and in my opinion are the single greatest contributing factor to what appears to be the global spread of thoughtfulness. That said, the number of people who listen to podcasts has been growing, but the percentage of people who listen to podcasts regularly is still very low.
I'm not sure I've read or heard anyone speak of thoughtfulness as a trend or trait. I've only seen it mentioned to either describe an individual team's approach to business or as an ideal for how users should behave.
To me though, thoughtfulness appears to be an elevated, evolved philosophy of living. It is the key to all problems, not because it's a solution, but because it allows for the solution to be sought after to begin with, then found, discussed and agreed upon.
Thoughtful people are emerging more and more. And they are impacting many more. But their numbers are still small. Imagine though, what would become possible if something allowed for thoughtful people to create strong bonds *and* encouraged many more people to live thoughtfully...
2018년 7월 7일 토요일
Podcast of the Week No.11
Every time I hear Airbnb co-founder, CEO and head of community Brian Chesky speak I usually walk away chewing on some kind of new, novel thought.
Kara Swisher released her talk with Brian at the recent 2018 Code Conference on her Recode/Decode podcast channel [here] and I'm still chewing on a new concept I learned listening to Brian: Community marketplace.
Airbnb has a community of over 3 million passionate space sharers. All around the world. And over 2/3 of them only list on Airbnb. That is an incredibly powerful locked-in base of users. Can you imagine what you can do besides sharing spaces with that community base?
The possibilities and execution of ideas related to those possibilities is exactly what Brian is focused on. It was interesting to listen to him talk about 'experiences' just one of the ideas he has on how to pull on and grow that powerful community.
Cent also has a strong community. It's still small by Airbnb standards right now, but users are passionate about the product and some are consistently providing sincere responses. Imagining what may be possible when we grow those users into an army of consistent and sincere responders is pure gas to the fiery passion I have for this project.
2018년 6월 25일 월요일
Common Work
Eric Garcetti, Mayor of LA, was on the most recent episode of The Ezra Klein Show, and he was an absolute pleasure to listen to. You can give it a listen [here].
My biggest takeaway from the discussion had to do with the concept of 'common work' that Eric brought up. Actions speak louder than words, especially when it comes to integrating multiple different groups, and when two or more groups of people actually work on something, say building out a shared neighborhood park, that 'common work' can serve as a major unifying impetus for those different groups much more so than simply asking groups to 'tolerate' one another.
This concept of common work also helps explain why the vibes on Cent are so good despite the amazing differences between the diverse user base. While fun, responding to bounties can also be described as work - work that most users understand as being worthwhile not just because they benefit financially, but because it's necessary to ensure the continued development of Cent for themselves and the greater network in the months and (hopefully) years ahead.
My biggest takeaway from the discussion had to do with the concept of 'common work' that Eric brought up. Actions speak louder than words, especially when it comes to integrating multiple different groups, and when two or more groups of people actually work on something, say building out a shared neighborhood park, that 'common work' can serve as a major unifying impetus for those different groups much more so than simply asking groups to 'tolerate' one another.
This concept of common work also helps explain why the vibes on Cent are so good despite the amazing differences between the diverse user base. While fun, responding to bounties can also be described as work - work that most users understand as being worthwhile not just because they benefit financially, but because it's necessary to ensure the continued development of Cent for themselves and the greater network in the months and (hopefully) years ahead.
2018년 6월 23일 토요일
Podcast of the Week No.10
Apologies for the late post - power cut off in the morning at our apartment complex due to an elevator inspection (but on a Sunday?!) so when I went to grab my phone and head out for the day it had 1% battery left.
Anyways, on with todays post.
For the best podcast of last week, I want to share a short but special podcast from a16z, the most generous show in tech.
Their most recent episode was dedicated to all things compensation, which as far as I can tell was a first in the history of the show.
As an HR professional working in a relatively slow moving sector - construction - it was super interesting to listen how compensation is approached from a philosophical and strategic perspective by startups working in the hottest and most competitive sector on earth today.
Despite talking about compensation in an industry as different from mine as night and day, I was able to take a lot away, as will anyone who listens to it. Take a listen [here].
2018년 6월 17일 일요일
State of the dApps
I tweeted this last night:
The reality is that the state of the dApps, as of June 2018, is still super early days.
Just check out these stats from DappRadar:
The technology underlying dApps (i.e. the entire web3 ecosystem) is just as revolutionary and powerful as David Winer's RSS was for podcasts. A key difference is that the former has attracted billions of dollars in (speculative) investment to push development into warp speed.
So whereas podcasts had to fight an over decade long battle before they became a part of mainstream behavior when they were thrust into the world's conscience by the stratospheric success of 'Serial', dApps should, at least in theory, hit an inflection point much, much sooner.
In 2017, podcasts in the US raked in around $314 Mil or about 86% more than they did in 2016, and are expected to continue growing *all around the world*.
Despite podcasts and the revenue they are generating representing a fraction of the $17.6 Bil that commercial radio raked in over the same period, they are an unstoppable force whose creative and experimental potential is only just beginning to be realized.
For me the semi-centralized dApp Cent is like Adam Curry's podcast in 2004. It's so different from what came before it, but it's familiar enough to not to be alienating, and it can only work on top of this brand new technology. It's a POC for dApps in general, and is something that could become something much bigger.
dApps are still early days. To know that and still see their potential though could make all the difference in a year or so...🚀
The reality is that the state of the dApps, as of June 2018, is still super early days.
Just check out these stats from DappRadar:
The technology underlying dApps (i.e. the entire web3 ecosystem) is just as revolutionary and powerful as David Winer's RSS was for podcasts. A key difference is that the former has attracted billions of dollars in (speculative) investment to push development into warp speed.
So whereas podcasts had to fight an over decade long battle before they became a part of mainstream behavior when they were thrust into the world's conscience by the stratospheric success of 'Serial', dApps should, at least in theory, hit an inflection point much, much sooner.
In 2017, podcasts in the US raked in around $314 Mil or about 86% more than they did in 2016, and are expected to continue growing *all around the world*.
Despite podcasts and the revenue they are generating representing a fraction of the $17.6 Bil that commercial radio raked in over the same period, they are an unstoppable force whose creative and experimental potential is only just beginning to be realized.
For me the semi-centralized dApp Cent is like Adam Curry's podcast in 2004. It's so different from what came before it, but it's familiar enough to not to be alienating, and it can only work on top of this brand new technology. It's a POC for dApps in general, and is something that could become something much bigger.
dApps are still early days. To know that and still see their potential though could make all the difference in a year or so...🚀
2018년 6월 9일 토요일
Podcast of the Week No.9
When Joe Rogan says a new episode of the Joe Rogan Experience is one of his favorite ever, you gotta listen to it.
Recently Joe recorded such an episode with Dr. Robert Schoch, an associate professor of Natural Sciences at the College of General Studies of Boston University, and for those who are endlessly fascinated with getting as close to the bottom as we can about the origins and history of early man/earth, this episode is very much a must listen.
Hopefully Joe takes Dr. Schoch up on his offer to take a trek together in person to the Sphinx and other ancient Egyptian ruins to record a podcast. That would be so amazingly dope.
Make your earballs happy and listen to the episode [here].
2018년 6월 2일 토요일
Podcast of the Week No.8
One of my low key favorite podcasts is The Digiday Podcast. For those of you who may not be familar with the show, it's focused on covering all things digital media by bringing listeners into conversations with a wide range of thought-leaders in the digital media sector and industry professionals.
This week Bryan Goldberg, CEO of Bustle, was on the show with CEO of Dotdash Neil Vogel [here] and it was a great episode.
Bryan Goldberg is one of my favorite personalites and leaders in the digital media landscape today. He has strong opinions that are well argued and isn't afraid to stick his neck out there taking contrarian positions. As one of the founders of Bleacher Report back in 2007 when he was *24* he's not only a pioneer in the emerging digital media market but already a warworn veteran with the requisite wisdom to boot.
So enjoy the episode and keep an eye out for any other podcasts, interviews or articles featuring Bryan.
2018년 5월 19일 토요일
Podcast of the Week No.7
The emerging phenomenon that is the so-called 'Intellectual Dark Web' and the individuals associated with that phenomenon are getting a lot of play in the media these days.
More than the content and beliefs espoused by the cohort of characters operating within this movement and its followers, I find the fact that this movement has sprung up by taking full advantage of distributed technology like podcasts, youtube and Twitter and the power it's gaining as a loosely connected de-centralized group to be way more interesting.
Now if you have over 10,000 Twitter followers you are granted privilege to write to an imaginary newspaper.
Whereas the old 'gated institutional narrative' of yesteryear that was set forth by the NYTimes, Harvard, the Senate and other old, elite institutions that used to control the coherence of societal thought, today those reporters and members of those institutions are just another voice.
Utilizing the aforementioned tech, a new substrate of conversation has manifested and is growing into a counterforce against the narrative put forth by centralized organizations.
Anyways, Vox's wonky podcast 'The Weeds' discussed the 'Intellectual Dark Web' last week [here], and while I think they did a pretty terrible job at arguing with what has actually been said since they instead discussed their emotional interpretations of what has been said, it's still a super interesting discussion to listen to.
Enjoy the podcast and have a great weekend everybody.
2018년 5월 12일 토요일
Podcast of the Week No.6
Each episode of Caliphate has been must-listen stuff, but I keep finding myself disappointed that each episode isn't longer.
Patrick O'Shaughnessy and Ezra Klein both pumped out solid episodes as well.
But it was Sam Harris and his discussion with Tamler Sommers about 'honor' that was my favorite podcast from last week [here]. That said, it wasn't my favorite episode because I agreed with everything in it; far from it.
I found myself disagreeing with Tamler's argument for championing the better parts of honor whilst condemning the negative consequences that arise when honor culture is taken to its extreme (e.g. in extreme Islam when families murder daughters for "bringing" shame upon them for being raped...).
I'm not sure if the opposite of honor culture is a society governed by rule of law as much as it's a society where citizens have a well developed sense of empathy from traveling widely with governing laws and enforcing institutions developed therefrom. After all, laws developed from cultures governed by honor codes will be just as if not more fucked up.
Like I said though, there are good parts of living honorably that would seem to be conducive towards fostering a better future for humanity. Perhaps Tamler mentioned that in the episode that I missed. Or perhaps his case for honor is clearer on his own podcast 'Very Bad Wizards' co-hosted with David Pizarro. I'll keep an open mind and continue listening for it.
2018년 5월 5일 토요일
Podcast of the Week No.5
Patrick O'Shaughnessy is on a roll. Each episode of his 'Invest Like the Best' podcast is a must listen (for me).
His guests are all deep thinkers, analytical as hell, and making big moves in the most exciting sectors around.
Last week Patrick had Chris Douvos, a managing partner at Venture Investment Associates, on the show [link] and it was just a great episode.
The discussion that ensued when Chris was discussing why he hates when others talk about what it would take to "make" a second Silicon Valley triggered a deep insight in myself about how I think about Korea. I am spreading that insight out over a series of posts that I will begin posting soon (hopefully on Cent 🤸).
In the meantime, happy podcasting and enjoy your weekend.
His guests are all deep thinkers, analytical as hell, and making big moves in the most exciting sectors around.
Last week Patrick had Chris Douvos, a managing partner at Venture Investment Associates, on the show [link] and it was just a great episode.
The discussion that ensued when Chris was discussing why he hates when others talk about what it would take to "make" a second Silicon Valley triggered a deep insight in myself about how I think about Korea. I am spreading that insight out over a series of posts that I will begin posting soon (hopefully on Cent 🤸).
In the meantime, happy podcasting and enjoy your weekend.
2018년 4월 28일 토요일
Podcast of the Week No.4
Hands down my favorite new podcast this week was 'Caliphate', a new podcast produced by The New York Times.
Only one word can describe this podcast accurately: Powerful.
Rukmini Callimachi has written about terrorism for years as a journalist for the Times, and this podcast brings listeners into her trips inside the active war zones, and along to meetings with former and current terrorists that form the basis of her journalistic work.
Nick Quah of the Hotpod Newsletter, an email newsletter that covers the business and development of the bourgeoning Podcast sector, emphasized the power and effect of the shows heavy reliance on diegetic recordings (i.e. from real life), as opposed to the typical NPR voice over narration that way too many documentary-style podcasts rely on.
The production is top notch, and for people who believe in any God, the stories you hear will make you question those beliefs hard. There are so many more layers to dig into and threads to pull on as well.
Episodes will drop weekly, and so far two episodes have been released. I can't wait to listen to next weeks episode.
Links:
Episode 1
Episode 2
2018년 4월 21일 토요일
Podcast of the Week No. 3
Last week there wasn't a single podcast that stood out as my favorite, as much as there was a specific type of podcast that I really dug: post-mortems to the almost-conversation between Sam Harris and Ezra Klein.
There were two post-mortems (that I came across), both with Sam himself:
- one on his own show, Waking Up with Sam Harris [here]
- and one on the Joe Rogan Experience [here]
The post-mortem on his own show occurs at the very beginning of the episode, or what Sam calls the "housekeeping" portion on the show. The entire JRE episode was a meta discussion around the factors that prevented a conversation from unfolding between Sam and Ezra, but there were a few times where the podcast with Sam and Ezra was explicitly discussed and analyzed.
Apparently Ezra wrote about it as well, but I have yet to check that out. If there were more that I missed, please let me know.
Happy weekend yall.
2018년 4월 14일 토요일
Podcast of the Week No.2
Since I already wrote a post earlier in the week [here] about my favorite podcast, I will share the podcast that was an incredibly close runner-up.
Nikhil Kalghatgi, CEO of CoVenture crypto and beautiful mind, was on Patrick O'Shaughnessy's 'Invest like the Best' last week [here] completing a holy trinity of podcasts for the three mega genius partners of CoVenture. The previous two podcasts with Ali Hamed [here], and Savneet Singh [here] are each worth listening to more than once as well.
Although his partners are also incredibly into crypto, Nikhil spent way more time discussing his views and hopes for crypto on Patrick's podcast. And he is *prolifically* passionate.
I really enjoyed how he clarified that his passion for crytpo is categorically different than past passions for other things. Whereas previous passions focused on incredibly specific investment opportunities - or 'notches' as he calls them - within sectors, crypto is an entire world full of notches.
Crypto is a sector that presents a completely new way to create financial firms quicker and more efficient than ever before. It has Nikhil ecstatically excited, and me too.
Nikhil Kalghatgi, CEO of CoVenture crypto and beautiful mind, was on Patrick O'Shaughnessy's 'Invest like the Best' last week [here] completing a holy trinity of podcasts for the three mega genius partners of CoVenture. The previous two podcasts with Ali Hamed [here], and Savneet Singh [here] are each worth listening to more than once as well.
Although his partners are also incredibly into crypto, Nikhil spent way more time discussing his views and hopes for crypto on Patrick's podcast. And he is *prolifically* passionate.
I really enjoyed how he clarified that his passion for crytpo is categorically different than past passions for other things. Whereas previous passions focused on incredibly specific investment opportunities - or 'notches' as he calls them - within sectors, crypto is an entire world full of notches.
Crypto is a sector that presents a completely new way to create financial firms quicker and more efficient than ever before. It has Nikhil ecstatically excited, and me too.
2018년 4월 11일 수요일
The Podcast of Our Generation
I have just finished re-listening to what will probably go down as the defining podcast of our generation: the show down between Sam Harris and Ezra Klein about Sam's controversial podcast with Charles Murray.
Although I am a fan of both and listen to nearly every podcast that pops up on their respective podcast feeds, I want to make it clear that I listened to this particular podcast on Sam's feed.
I'm sure many listeners were disappointed with what turned out to be a stillborn debate that didn't really make it past the opening gates of discussion, but I was fucking riveted from start to finish.
What was most interesting to me was Ezra's refusal to separately consider the scientific study an individual has carried out (that is by now commonly accepted in mainstream science) from their social policy views.
Ezra believes the two sides are interminably connected to one another and cannot be separated.
It was this fundamental difference in thinking that prevented a deeper discussion with Sam from unfolding. It should be noted that Sam, like Ezra, stated multiple times he is not in agreement with Charles on his social policies.
That said, Sam repeatedly pleaded with Ezra to get him to see that the scientific issue and the social issue at hand should be discussed as two entirely distinct, separate matters.
Sam was doing so because it's the only way one can hope to have a rational, dispassionate debate of the facts at hand without having worry about running into the wall of your interlocutor's personal politics regarding a particular social matter.
This reminds me of the furor that erupts whenever anyone broaches the name or thoughts of Martin Heidegger.
As with Murray, most seem to accept that Heidegger's private, personal views (as well as his membership, however short and tenuous, with the Nazi party) have fundamentally polluted the man's entire philosophical thought and writing and therefore believe that the latter should be shunned and avoided and anyone who says otherwise is at best a Nazi sympathizer.
The ability to see that two thoughts aren't one and the same and to deal with each as such - this is the defining trait of a thinker. Unfortunately, there was only one person truly thinking in this podcast.
Although I am a fan of both and listen to nearly every podcast that pops up on their respective podcast feeds, I want to make it clear that I listened to this particular podcast on Sam's feed.
I'm sure many listeners were disappointed with what turned out to be a stillborn debate that didn't really make it past the opening gates of discussion, but I was fucking riveted from start to finish.
What was most interesting to me was Ezra's refusal to separately consider the scientific study an individual has carried out (that is by now commonly accepted in mainstream science) from their social policy views.
Ezra believes the two sides are interminably connected to one another and cannot be separated.
It was this fundamental difference in thinking that prevented a deeper discussion with Sam from unfolding. It should be noted that Sam, like Ezra, stated multiple times he is not in agreement with Charles on his social policies.
That said, Sam repeatedly pleaded with Ezra to get him to see that the scientific issue and the social issue at hand should be discussed as two entirely distinct, separate matters.
Sam was doing so because it's the only way one can hope to have a rational, dispassionate debate of the facts at hand without having worry about running into the wall of your interlocutor's personal politics regarding a particular social matter.
This reminds me of the furor that erupts whenever anyone broaches the name or thoughts of Martin Heidegger.
As with Murray, most seem to accept that Heidegger's private, personal views (as well as his membership, however short and tenuous, with the Nazi party) have fundamentally polluted the man's entire philosophical thought and writing and therefore believe that the latter should be shunned and avoided and anyone who says otherwise is at best a Nazi sympathizer.
The ability to see that two thoughts aren't one and the same and to deal with each as such - this is the defining trait of a thinker. Unfortunately, there was only one person truly thinking in this podcast.
2018년 4월 7일 토요일
Podcast of the Week No.1
Heading forward I plan on sharing my favorite podcast from the past week every Sunday.
This week my favorite podcast came from the *prolific* Software Engineering Daily podcast. Host, editor and (I think) creator Jeff Meyerson has been on a bit of a streak for the past two or three weeks covering all things crypto.
As the name implies, this podcast focuses more on the technical components of projects from a software engineer's perspective. This has not changed during their coverage of a ton of crypto projects which is a breath of fresh air from most (but definitely not all) podcasts covering crypto today.
Every episode is worth a listen, but I want to recommend this episode featuring Gitcoin [link]. Gitcoin is a network of distributed smart contracts, based upon Ethereum, that provides tools for Github repo maintainers to push their repos forward by easily allowing *bounties* to be set on issues by staking ETH or ERC20 tokens against any github issue.
I think you can tell why this project is interesting to me;)
Happy podcasting.
This week my favorite podcast came from the *prolific* Software Engineering Daily podcast. Host, editor and (I think) creator Jeff Meyerson has been on a bit of a streak for the past two or three weeks covering all things crypto.
As the name implies, this podcast focuses more on the technical components of projects from a software engineer's perspective. This has not changed during their coverage of a ton of crypto projects which is a breath of fresh air from most (but definitely not all) podcasts covering crypto today.
Every episode is worth a listen, but I want to recommend this episode featuring Gitcoin [link]. Gitcoin is a network of distributed smart contracts, based upon Ethereum, that provides tools for Github repo maintainers to push their repos forward by easily allowing *bounties* to be set on issues by staking ETH or ERC20 tokens against any github issue.
I think you can tell why this project is interesting to me;)
Happy podcasting.
2018년 3월 31일 토요일
Why People Like Podcasts
Last night I was listening to a great new episode of The Wolf Den, my favorite podcast about podcasting, with guest Sarah Mosel.
For those of you unfamiliar with the podcast industry, Sarah is one of the heavy hitters in the sector. After ascending to a VP position in New York Public Radio (basically *the* beating heart for all of public radio and the birthplace of nearly every big talk-driven media name you know) she made waves by joining the C-suite at Acast for a short stint before ending up at Market Engenuity as their Chief Podcasts Sales & Strategy officer.
You should check out this episode for a great look into the incredibly innovative and fast changing world of podcast ad sales. Podcast ads are ads that hosts (mostly) read themselves because they believe that what they are pitching is good and listeners actually (mostly) enjoy listening to - I cannot overstate how important the popularity of podcast ads has been to the growth and development of this new on-demand, decentralized media.
Anyways, I just wanted to share a little nugget that co-host and EVP of sales and development for podcast advertising at Midroll Lex Friedman dropped around the 17:39 mark:
"I think that people are jumping into podcasting...for three reasons: 1) for the on-demandness, 2) the actual quality of their content, and 3) the fact that it doesn't sound like radio, and the ads don't sound like radio ads."
It's hard to argue with that.
Podcasts are a digitally-native medium of communication. They are fundamentally differentiated from the centrally owned, operated and broadcast media that came before it. We are just at the beginning of figuring out what is possible with podcasting. And it is pretty damn exciting to watch, er, listen to.
For those of you unfamiliar with the podcast industry, Sarah is one of the heavy hitters in the sector. After ascending to a VP position in New York Public Radio (basically *the* beating heart for all of public radio and the birthplace of nearly every big talk-driven media name you know) she made waves by joining the C-suite at Acast for a short stint before ending up at Market Engenuity as their Chief Podcasts Sales & Strategy officer.
You should check out this episode for a great look into the incredibly innovative and fast changing world of podcast ad sales. Podcast ads are ads that hosts (mostly) read themselves because they believe that what they are pitching is good and listeners actually (mostly) enjoy listening to - I cannot overstate how important the popularity of podcast ads has been to the growth and development of this new on-demand, decentralized media.
Anyways, I just wanted to share a little nugget that co-host and EVP of sales and development for podcast advertising at Midroll Lex Friedman dropped around the 17:39 mark:
"I think that people are jumping into podcasting...for three reasons: 1) for the on-demandness, 2) the actual quality of their content, and 3) the fact that it doesn't sound like radio, and the ads don't sound like radio ads."
It's hard to argue with that.
Podcasts are a digitally-native medium of communication. They are fundamentally differentiated from the centrally owned, operated and broadcast media that came before it. We are just at the beginning of figuring out what is possible with podcasting. And it is pretty damn exciting to watch, er, listen to.
2018년 3월 17일 토요일
A Shiny New Cent
My favorite site and personal passion project, beta.cent.co, just got a shiny new design upgrade.
I recently spoke with Max and Cam, the decentralized social network's two co-founders, and this upgrade marks the beginning of their planned v2.0 iterations for the site.
The next most likely addition will be the build-out of an entirely new feature. Currently Cent only offers a bounty-based Q&A feature, but soon they will release an entirely new and separate space based on a brand spanking new smart-contract they are busy working on.
I cannot wait.
In the meantime, head over to Cent, register (if you haven't already) and respond to some questions for a chance to earn cold hard currency.
I just posted a bounty (here) worth 0.05 ETH or about USD 25 asking people when they listen to their top 5 favorite podcasts. Go check it out.
I recently spoke with Max and Cam, the decentralized social network's two co-founders, and this upgrade marks the beginning of their planned v2.0 iterations for the site.
The next most likely addition will be the build-out of an entirely new feature. Currently Cent only offers a bounty-based Q&A feature, but soon they will release an entirely new and separate space based on a brand spanking new smart-contract they are busy working on.
I cannot wait.
In the meantime, head over to Cent, register (if you haven't already) and respond to some questions for a chance to earn cold hard currency.
I just posted a bounty (here) worth 0.05 ETH or about USD 25 asking people when they listen to their top 5 favorite podcasts. Go check it out.
2018년 3월 14일 수요일
Podcast Day-parting
In yesterday's always informative Hot Pod, the newsletter covering all things podcasts by Nick Quah, I learned a new term: Day-parting.
Day-parting is a traditional broadcast programming approach that dates all the way back to 1915. It's the practice of dividing the day into separate temporal parts so as to best match the different traits and needs of each audience profile.
The practice of day-parting explains, for example, why the first hour or two of the Today Show or Good Morning America have always been more focused on traditional news reporting whilst the latter parts are very loose and soapy - after the audience that the first half targets goes to work, they can focus on their next stay-at-home demographic.
When it comes to podcasts, until very recently, the practice of day-parting had been largely forgotten. But with the appearance of The Daily by the New York Times which drops daily at 6am EST, the practice and potential impact of day-parting has re-emerged.
Since monthly podcast listening has sky rocketed more than 73% since 2014, at least in America, more and more high quality entertaining podcasts have launched.
There is very nearly something for everyone. For me personally, I have a growing stable of around 20 must-listen podcast shows with regular release schedules.
Every podcast is an intimate experience. Many are conversations. All available whenever you need them.
Like Sam Harris expressed in the most recent episode with Robin Hanson, his main focus is on carrying out and sharing more and more fruitful conversations.
It is now possible for every person with a smartphone to personally day-part their own listening schedule. The best schedule will maximize the impact and import of any fruitful conversation that much more.
How do you day-part or even week-part your own podcast listening schedule?
Day-parting is a traditional broadcast programming approach that dates all the way back to 1915. It's the practice of dividing the day into separate temporal parts so as to best match the different traits and needs of each audience profile.
The practice of day-parting explains, for example, why the first hour or two of the Today Show or Good Morning America have always been more focused on traditional news reporting whilst the latter parts are very loose and soapy - after the audience that the first half targets goes to work, they can focus on their next stay-at-home demographic.
When it comes to podcasts, until very recently, the practice of day-parting had been largely forgotten. But with the appearance of The Daily by the New York Times which drops daily at 6am EST, the practice and potential impact of day-parting has re-emerged.
Since monthly podcast listening has sky rocketed more than 73% since 2014, at least in America, more and more high quality entertaining podcasts have launched.
There is very nearly something for everyone. For me personally, I have a growing stable of around 20 must-listen podcast shows with regular release schedules.
Every podcast is an intimate experience. Many are conversations. All available whenever you need them.
Like Sam Harris expressed in the most recent episode with Robin Hanson, his main focus is on carrying out and sharing more and more fruitful conversations.
It is now possible for every person with a smartphone to personally day-part their own listening schedule. The best schedule will maximize the impact and import of any fruitful conversation that much more.
How do you day-part or even week-part your own podcast listening schedule?
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