Podcast Breakdown : Podcast Hosting

Transcript

DonOvan Johnson: Welcome to the unnamed podcast i’m your host one of the hosts my name is donovan Johnson, and my co host is.

Gregory Coleman: Gregory Coleman.

DonOvan Johnson: Gregory Coleman and we’re doing the unnamed podcast which is just a name place for right now, because we’re going to be changing the title.

DonOvan Johnson: But uh we have been going through some of the steps of what we need to learn from each episode we’re learning things that we need to refine our podcast.

DonOvan Johnson: And now we’re going to be talking about hosting on this episode and greg’s gonna be explaining all the different things that are available, as far as hosting your podcast.

DonOvan Johnson: because some of the stuff i’m learning and he’s probably already aware he already knows, because he had a podcast but.

DonOvan Johnson: Greg, can you tell us.

DonOvan Johnson: A what is hosting and plays into the podcast.

Gregory Coleman: it’s a hosting, I think, is one of the things that that people are most confused about because we’re thinking about broadcasting I think about.

Gregory Coleman: You know how this is all distributed to everybody right they just think okay i’ma go to a podcast host.

Gregory Coleman: they’ll upload things and then everything goes goes towards gout it’s not like a radio station is not like a TV station and if you’ve ever tried to find out where to host a podcast you know there’s tons and tons of podcast so it’s there’s there’s a anchor there’s there’s.

Gregory Coleman: there’s time Sir soundcloud there’s megaphone there’s pod bean pod Pal there’s there’s speaker there’s bugs brothers tons of them.

DonOvan Johnson: I saw Lisbon, I was wondering, I was looking I said oh damn.

DonOvan Johnson: And podcasts I cancel.

Gregory Coleman: That I said yeah there’s there’s 10s there’s tons of, and one of the reasons, and this is the main reason is that.

Gregory Coleman: podcasting started out like 20 years ago it wasn’t even called that.

Gregory Coleman: And I was gonna say I didn’t think it was that long ago.

DonOvan Johnson: 20 years.

Gregory Coleman: It was.

Gregory Coleman: Well here’s the thing back in the old days.

Gregory Coleman: But olden times.

Gregory Coleman: That they had this thing.

Gregory Coleman: We know.

Gregory Coleman: This thing called rss which stands for really simple syndication which I totally forgotten what it meant.

Gregory Coleman: And it was it was basically for anyone to write a file and syndicate all their information.

DonOvan Johnson: So how you’re using it for.

Gregory Coleman: was like they would they would write this is before blogs are like websites or anything like that in people would write.

Gregory Coleman: An rss found they have readers like a Google reader or rss reader and, as you update that file then people’s readers would update so you’d have like today’s news.

Gregory Coleman: Right and that file would have you know all this stuff and then suddenly it’s like oh i’ve got you know news it’s been updated, like every 10 minutes or 15.

minutes.

DonOvan Johnson: So it’s like a capsule.

DonOvan Johnson: Like a like a news capsule so well you know what.

Gregory Coleman: It could be, but it was just a text file it’s just it’s just attacks if she’s had like this is the name, this is where the cover image is.

Gregory Coleman: This is, you know how many minutes long, this is going to be how many characters it’s going to be in the last podcast feel free to go back and listen to it.

Gregory Coleman: I said during branding if we change the image it’s an approval, because it’s in that rss file that file contains all the syndication for your podcasts.

DonOvan Johnson: Tell us what rss to those who might not know what is our s s stands for.

Gregory Coleman: It stands for really simple syndication.

DonOvan Johnson: Okay.

Gregory Coleman: It was originally used for news aggregators.

Gregory Coleman: So that’s where we’re headed for.

Gregory Coleman: Okay, and so that’s that’s how its distributed so that’s that’s the hardest thing to get around this because you’re like okay here’s a file I don’t How does all this report together.

Gregory Coleman: And what happens is you take that file that one rss file that one text file that says that has your cover it has your cover image in it that has you know where your audio files are.

Gregory Coleman: It takes all that, and you get what’s called an rss your has a one URL there’s just like one place on the Internet.

Gregory Coleman: And then you go to a podcast directory.

Gregory Coleman: Such as apple or spotify and say okay here, I want to register with this podcast here’s the ERA address of that rss feed.

Gregory Coleman: And then it does everything else it scans at file.

Gregory Coleman: It finds whatever you have new podcasts.

Gregory Coleman: It sees when you update it cover art, it takes all that, so you just give it one URL one web location.

Gregory Coleman: And it can find everything else.

DonOvan Johnson: So how do you register, what would what’s the requirements for registering.

Gregory Coleman: registering.

DonOvan Johnson: With the rsc you were saying something what you.

Gregory Coleman: would see there’s there’s no one company that owns rss.

DonOvan Johnson: Oh OK so it’s a platform with its own its own on its own.

Gregory Coleman: it’s a been a platform it’s just a text file that’s one reason podcast is taken off because no one owns it there’s no company behind it.

DonOvan Johnson: Okay, you know what I was getting confused, I was getting confused with the reddit type of you know.

Gregory Coleman: So.

Gregory Coleman: So back in 2005 Steve Jobs said Oh, this would be really cool and so they use rss and they added audio files like MP3 files.

Gregory Coleman: Right so.

Gregory Coleman: So all the all the sudden people using rss for news, they suddenly they could use it for MP3 and this came out with the iPod.

Gregory Coleman: Which is where podcasting got its name from.

DonOvan Johnson: From the pad I.

DonOvan Johnson: arrange our.

Gregory Coleman: Steve Jobs again.

Gregory Coleman: So so so he had this podcast we said okay fine so i’ll set this thing up and then will download this audio oh.

Gregory Coleman: Because you know back then people didn’t have data plans.

Gregory Coleman: Yes, so you connected to your MAC and then suddenly you know podcasts like this would suddenly get downloaded to your to your iPod.

Gregory Coleman: And then, when you’re out walking around without running you can listen to it.

DonOvan Johnson: cool.

DonOvan Johnson: yeah I do remember that on my iPod I didn’t know what that was called.

Gregory Coleman: It was a.

DonOvan Johnson: precursor podcast.

Gregory Coleman: yeah that was basically it so it’s been that sort of like 20 years ago it’s just became it didn’t become popular until Steve Jobs came out with the iPod that’s when it really became popular.

DonOvan Johnson: got it got it.

Gregory Coleman: So, and so, for us, we.

Gregory Coleman: We host our rss feed on github.

Gregory Coleman: Because it’s just a text file you don’t even need a web server for.

Gregory Coleman: It there’s there’s nothing complicated it’s just a text file sitting on the Internet.

DonOvan Johnson: All.

Gregory Coleman: That and that’s that’s all it is and so here’s the other, so now we say Okay, so we have an rss file and tells us where everything is the where the image is stored.

DonOvan Johnson: About.

Gregory Coleman: Well here’s a you’re responsible for storing your own data right so when someone listens.

Gregory Coleman: To the MP3 file it’s coming from our server.

DonOvan Johnson: Okay, they just hosted.

Gregory Coleman: They just host it so when you go to when you hear me listening to a podcast and you click on a podcast that’s not coming from apple or spotify servers it’s coming from whoever puts up the podcast.

DonOvan Johnson: On a simple.

Gregory Coleman: yeah so sure.

Gregory Coleman: So if you want to make a podcast directory you’d have you’d have to read all these rss feeds, but you don’t have to have tons of bandwidth are tons of servers to maintain it.

Gregory Coleman: Because.

Gregory Coleman: Each individual pinus everyone carries their own you know everyone carries their own little bit of the Internet.

Gregory Coleman: Based on our podcast you know we pay for that.

Gregory Coleman: Well, we don’t pay for it.

Gregory Coleman: We don’t pay for their free hosting plan yet so our star has to play it’s free.

Gregory Coleman: But that’s that’s that’s what they do so if you’re an apple and you click on it.

Gregory Coleman: and say Okay, you know this this file and then they redirect you.

Gregory Coleman: And that’s where you get.

Gregory Coleman: The apple statistics from.

DonOvan Johnson: There you go that makes sense.

DonOvan Johnson: it’s a funnel.

Gregory Coleman: yeah So you see all these things right here.

Gregory Coleman: donovan Johnson technology I gotta change technology.

Gregory Coleman: All of that came from this website.

Gregory Coleman: Right, so it didn’t.

Gregory Coleman: It didn’t do anything so you know, this is an audio podcast so you’re not going to be able to see it.

Gregory Coleman: But here, it is rss.

Gregory Coleman: It So this is the rss feed.

Gregory Coleman: Oh.

DonOvan Johnson: Second, only my name is capitalized.

Gregory Coleman: Second okay sorry about that, but.

DonOvan Johnson: phil says donovan was done over.

Gregory Coleman: Well capitalized so you know when we when we look at things this is basically it’s just basically a website.

Gregory Coleman: That can listen to it.

Gregory Coleman: right on the website.

DonOvan Johnson: So cool.

Gregory Coleman: I mean so yeah no.

DonOvan Johnson: I had no idea I thought it was going through there wow that’s really good it’s a file and they hosted.

DonOvan Johnson: it’s.

Gregory Coleman: it’s just it’s just a file.

Gregory Coleman: I can bring out for you, but it’s just looks like gibberish to the normal person, but for like for us, we can we transcribe it and can actually put it in the text, so the Google can find on the web page and everything.

Gregory Coleman: So it’s a very simple kind of thing and that’s one reason you have so many podcasts and companies because it’s so easy to do you know anyone with one little server can say Oh, I want to be a podcast host or directory.

Gregory Coleman: And then.

DonOvan Johnson: it’s like having your own station, you know when Stacy also.

Gregory Coleman: You know one station so that’s what a host does for you, what a host does for you is they generate that text file.

Gregory Coleman: And they keep a place for you to keep your MP3 files.

DonOvan Johnson: learn something new, I just learned today what else this.

Gregory Coleman: Well, I think you know I think it’s important for your understanding this this this podcasting thing.

Gregory Coleman: Right, you do have to understand some of the backgrounds, he just don’t think it’s magic.

Gregory Coleman: We know it’s true because.

DonOvan Johnson: My various.

Gregory Coleman: So for me, I have my own servers.

Gregory Coleman: So we just hosted on my own service for free, you know you don’t really pay for it, because it had unlimited bandwidth on my servers anyway, so it doesn’t really matter but yeah so when you’re moving when you’re moving from one place to another, this is, this is the key point right.

Gregory Coleman: The location of that text file is what apple knows and what spotify those.

Gregory Coleman: Right so.

DonOvan Johnson: So basically you can be anywhere.

DonOvan Johnson: long as that file is in one place go anywhere you want.

Gregory Coleman: Right, it is so when you have to move a host you basically have to.

Gregory Coleman: set it up to redirect from where you are to where you’re going.

Gregory Coleman: Once you do that, then you know all your MP3 files are stolen, the old host so, then you have to move in you have to it’s it’s a it’s a real pain.

Gregory Coleman: So a lot of hosts they actually set it up, so they will suck.

Gregory Coleman: All the information from your old host to your new host.

DonOvan Johnson: Like a vacuum.

Gregory Coleman: yeah so people, so people do move.

Gregory Coleman: They.

Gregory Coleman: You can move because all it is, is a text file an MP3 files that pretty much anyone can deal with.

DonOvan Johnson: yeah so.

Gregory Coleman: that’s really good so let’s see I told you about what podcasting is to us about what our platform is and we’re just talking about the the biggest.

Gregory Coleman: there’s there’s host in this directories and the two biggest host or apple podcasts they’re like the biggest one in spotify which is rapidly.

Gregory Coleman: Coming up I don’t I don’t.

Gregory Coleman: There one into, so I would I would easily say 99% of your your listeners are going to come from apple and spotify and maybe Google and the other 15 hosting platform, the other 15 directories.

Gregory Coleman: hmm you’re not going to get nearly as much traffic at all, I mean when you listen to podcast where do you where do you find them.

DonOvan Johnson: Well, I go through you know I go through apple podcast.

DonOvan Johnson: original because that’s where the pod came from the iPod.

The jobs.

DonOvan Johnson: way to go, maybe go.

Gregory Coleman: yeah that’s that’s where it came from, and so you know, most people how do they find that i’d say you know people use spotify and people use apple that’s how they that’s how they find them.

Gregory Coleman: So what has to how far behind is Google.

Gregory Coleman: Google basic they just scan the Net and whenever the front of rss feed they just throw it in there.

DonOvan Johnson: Okay, so he’s added on and on.

Gregory Coleman: yeah just like show up in the graph like I think it was just like show up in Google podcast.

Gregory Coleman: I don’t know I don’t use android and you know, I think that I think there.

DonOvan Johnson: Are those who do I mean we just don’t.

Gregory Coleman: We just we just don’t know i’m pretty sure some people someone might be listening on android right now, I have no, I have no idea but i’m sure if if android had a podcasting Program.

Gregory Coleman: You know, it would go through that.

Gregory Coleman: Right so there’s the directory so that’s what a host does for you it’s a place to store that rss file.

Gregory Coleman: Your images so.

Gregory Coleman: here’s here’s the weird thing it also the statistics for you, but the directory like apple and spotify also does statistics for you.

DonOvan Johnson: They do as well, so it’s.

yeah.

Gregory Coleman: They do as well because it’s open that’s the whole thing, though, the whole podcast ecosystem is very open so anyone can host a podcast anyone can have a radio station.

Gregory Coleman: You know there’s there’s no application fee if you just do it and that’s why that’s why it’s so popular that’s why there’s you know I probably can name anything and i’m pretty sure there’s a podcast on it.

Gregory Coleman: Now is that expensive or.

Gregory Coleman: was the first.

Gregory Coleman: For what.

DonOvan Johnson: for hosting.

Gregory Coleman: It depends on what you want some places get expensive you mean for us.

DonOvan Johnson: yeah well, you have your own server.

Gregory Coleman: yeah it’s paying nothing.

Gregory Coleman: I have is I have gigs and gigs of disk space and tons of.

Gregory Coleman: So I can I can host a really big podcast but on the last podcast if you haven’t listened, please go back and listen to that one you asked me what were the big hosts like apple I mean if you had anchor and somebody else.

Gregory Coleman: And that’s one thing I said, you know that the answer it’s complicated.

Gregory Coleman: And so I looked at some statistics and, if you look at.

Gregory Coleman: The hosting platforms for the top podcasts right lipson art 19 soundcloud megaphone right, those are those are really big.

Gregory Coleman: But, but, most people you know they don’t really talk about those everyone’s talking about like anchor and stuff like that.

Gregory Coleman: But the deal with lipson our cloud art 19 soundcloud is they give you a lot of creativity.

Gregory Coleman: You know anchors trying to is more, we want to get you in and lock you into our platform loops had had had a lot more things and looking at your screen.

Gregory Coleman: yeah, so this is this is lipson they were always very open.

Gregory Coleman: And they gave IAB version two stats.

Gregory Coleman: right they they had your monetization.

Gregory Coleman: You know, you could you could.

Gregory Coleman: They put it out every place.

Gregory Coleman: You know, so it was um.

Gregory Coleman: it’s it’s a really open, flexible one.

Gregory Coleman: I really like it, but you know.

DonOvan Johnson: Is it is it a free of charge, or is there a fee for that.

Gregory Coleman: Oh no, you have to pay for it.

Gregory Coleman: Okay, most of them.

DonOvan Johnson: yeah that’s.

DonOvan Johnson: that’s a 5254 so yeah reasonable.

Gregory Coleman: yeah but I mean it’s you know you look at like they’ll have storage limits like oh no this many megabytes it’s like.

Gregory Coleman: I give you gigs for free I don’t care bye.

Gregory Coleman: You know the other thing.

You know.

Gregory Coleman: Some of this stuff is is not really you know when you look at hosting site like here’s this this custom html player it’s like yeah we that’s pretty easy ours has that it’s got a limited audience.

Gregory Coleman: So for the top podcasts right Those are some of the big ones for.

Gregory Coleman: The newer podcast when people are just starting out they’re going to like anchor soundcloud.

Gregory Coleman: pod bean lipson but you know I i’d say for people just starting out anchor seems to be really popular anchor that FM but i’ve also heard a lot of complaints because they’re not as flexible their customer support it, I just I just heard a lot of things.

Gregory Coleman: I don’t want to get sued or or blackballed by age or.

DonOvan Johnson: Definitely, you know we’re starting and that’s one of the things we’re learning by doing we learn not to get sued.

DonOvan Johnson: So we’re going to be careful about that.

Gregory Coleman: not getting sued is is pretty good.

Gregory Coleman: and sound clouds and sometimes pretty big.

Gregory Coleman: Let me, let me go first like this is our 19 early I said wow so it was a was a pretty big one, and they got bought by Amazon.

DonOvan Johnson: that’s pretty good.

Gregory Coleman: I know Amazon cut I didn’t know Amazon music had podcasts.

DonOvan Johnson: Hiding I don’t listen, so I didn’t know that either.

DonOvan Johnson: way there’s something else new.

Gregory Coleman: We do I can’t I have, I have Amazon music on my phone, but never seen podcast I was like wow they bought a big podcast creator so i’m sure they’re going hmm I guess Amazon music if they don’t have a now they’re going to have podcasts pretty soon.

Gregory Coleman: You know they bought one of the biggest ones, you know, this is, you know megaphone tons of people use megaphone.

Gregory Coleman: I sprout there they’re all there there’s there’s tons.

Gregory Coleman: there’s tons of podcasts you can use right so.

Gregory Coleman: it’s just sort of crazy so i’d say here’s the thing the thing is it’s an open standard anyone can can do their own podcast hosting anyone can save their own MP3 files.

Gregory Coleman: And I think you know your podcast host is up to you and the thing is, you can change it, and during the life of a podcast i’m pretty sure you know your host is going to change, you know more than one time.

Gregory Coleman: it’s it’s probably never easy to change, but it will change, and so one of the things, one of the other things to do, they do monetization so they try to sell ads for you.

Gregory Coleman: And then, this is this is sort of annoying part they’ll use an algorithm that finds a spot in your podcast to insert an ad.

Gregory Coleman: Whether or not they don’t have the control of where to go.

Gregory Coleman: They know you know if.

Gregory Coleman: Mark great if you did.

Gregory Coleman: Like.

DonOvan Johnson: The one segment or in between another segment, you can say when we come back we’ll be.

DonOvan Johnson: But.

Gregory Coleman: We gotta take a break, to pay the bills well you’re a backup to the sponsor I think that would be great.

DonOvan Johnson: But no, they just cut it.

DonOvan Johnson: And so you know the other leg, you know you’ll be teasing and it goes straight to the commercial like a cliffhanger.

Gregory Coleman: Then I was, and then it goes to a commercial you be.

DonOvan Johnson: Out of town three.

boom.

Gregory Coleman: yeah it does, I think YouTube deserted.

DonOvan Johnson: yeah they do so, like wow.

Gregory Coleman: You something you’re watching and like it was a weird place to put an ad.

DonOvan Johnson: yeah Why would you do that.

DonOvan Johnson: For you, but these are the things not to do on the podcast.

Gregory Coleman: Today, good that’s.

Gregory Coleman: That was just like a basic you know, look into you know how the hosting side of it works right, so there is no one answer but.

Gregory Coleman: You know it’s it’s sort of you know neat when you think about it, that that a billion dollar industry is based on a text file, without having any one company behind it.

Gregory Coleman: Is it’s just open it anyone can use it anyone can do it.

Gregory Coleman: So that’s that’s pretty much that’s pretty much from the from the technical side of podcasting.

DonOvan Johnson: Well that’s another episode, because we went 20.

Gregory Coleman: we’re trying for 20 minutes we keep going over, but you know.

Gregory Coleman: I love talking it out of it so.

DonOvan Johnson: that’s why I learned loving I mean I love learning things and I learned so much in this episode and.

DonOvan Johnson: These are things that are beneficial.

DonOvan Johnson: For the beginning podcaster to know what to do and get an idea of what not to do from us that’s wearing example with a poster children of of not doing everything the right way, but learning how to do it and overcome so one of the things is timing.

DonOvan Johnson: But like fish 20 minutes 21 minutes doesn’t matter, but we do want to thank our listening audience, you know, hopefully we’re growing by now, but.

DonOvan Johnson: We just thank you for tuning in and listening to us and, as we go along you’re going to learn and you’re going to learn by like we’re learning by fire.

DonOvan Johnson: He doesn’t do it a certain way, or not to do it you’re still going to learn so.

DonOvan Johnson: Thank you for listening Greg has been wonderful and another episode, we got a few more coming.

DonOvan Johnson: So.

DonOvan Johnson: let’s continue on and.

Gregory Coleman: subscribe So you see here the next one.

DonOvan Johnson: And we’ll see you on apple podcast or spotify because that’s where we are right now and and we were gonna learn in the next episode, how to monetize maybe.

Gregory Coleman: I think monetization is the next one okay.

DonOvan Johnson: Well we’re out of time, so thanks for listening.

DonOvan Johnson: See you next time we’re done.

we’re done.

DonOvan Johnson: we’re out.

Gregory Coleman: there.

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