Podcast Search: Illuminating the Rich Media Darkness

September 22, 2020

Search for podcasts is broken. We learn of a possible first step toward a fix from Podnews in the brief write-up, “The Podfather Launches a New, Open Podcast Directory.” James Cridland writes:

“‘The digital ad space is watching as the bottom falls out of their data collection methods. But how exactly does Apple’s Age of Privacy impact podcasting?’ – in today’s Sounds Profitable, our new adtech newsletter, with Podsights.

“Adam Curry has launched a new, open podcast directory for app developers, working with developer Dave Jones. Speaking on a new podcast, Podcasting 2.0, Curry and Jones worry that ‘Apple is starting to tinker with their directory’, and say that the company is ‘a very centralized private entity that is controlling pretty much what everybody considers the default yellow pages for podcasting.’ His alternative, The Podcast Index, promises that the ‘core, categorized index will always be available for free, for any use’. You can sign up to be a developer on their developer portal. We support this initiative. As of today, Podnews uses The Podcast Index for our main podcast search.”

The index is a simple type-and-search format. It seems to work acceptably well on Podnews’ database, though it could use a little relevance refinement. Will the open directory attract developers and reach the larger segment? We hope this or another solution is implemented soon.

Cynthia Murrell, September 22, 2020

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