Hello. Doesn't it feel like everyone has a podcast?
Have you been thinking to yourself, everybody has a podcast? these days.
I think a lot of people are feeling that way.
I mean, I'm kind of feeling that way Meanwhile, I also have a podcast.
Where are you right now? You know what I mean?
Over the past few years, podcasting has become a real thing.
It is a thing. And it was not before, especially with young people.
When I was younger, the only podcasts...
I knew of were ones that were for adults that my parents were listening to.
They were all very corporate. in the sense that they weren't just individuals turning on a microphone and maybe turning on a camera and making a podcast kind of...
Indie style. I don't remember podcasting being a thing for anyone under 40.
up until the last maybe five years, it's definitely become... a huge source of entertainment for all ages.
And prior to the past five years, I don't remember it being that way.
I did a few Google searches, late Google searches.
Like, has podcasting grown over the past 10 years? just to see, you know, like am I onto something or am I delusional?
I'm not delusional. Podcasting has grown a lot over the past 10 years.
And... It is becoming a career path for many people, myself included.
And I just wanted to analyze this today because I'm so fascinated by... the podcasting world and how it's grown over the past few years.
And especially how it's sort of entered into the... universe of young people because it was not before.
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Things people love. According to a Google search, there are over 5 million podcasts right now.
Is that number accurate? I don't know. So don't quote me on it.
I couldn't really find definitive information.
I also didn't dig that hard because I didn't really think it was important for the episode.
But according to one singular Google search, there are 5 million podcasts right now.
That's a lot. That's like more than I can comprehend.
But it's also not that many. at the same time.
Like when I think about how many Instagram accounts there are, how many YouTube channels there are, how many TikTok accounts there are.
I mean, there's way more than 5 million.
So I guess depending on what way you look at it, There actually aren't that many, but it feels like there are a lot more.
So I guess the first question we need to answer is, why are so many people starting podcasts?
I think there's a lot of reasons for this.
The largest reason being a lot of people think that podcasting is easy.
Because from the outside looking in, it looks easy. all you have to do is sit down with a microphone and talk how fucking hard could that be not very hard And so I think a lot of people think of podcasting as sort of an easy thing career path in a way, because they're like, well, all I have to do is sit down and talk.
And there's a decent chance I could make good money.
Fair enough. I'm going to talk more about whether or not that is true. as a podcaster myself, a little bit later.
So stay tuned for that. The other thing about podcasting that makes it very approachable is that it doesn't require a lot of materials.
It doesn't require a lot of experience. It doesn't require a lot of training.
You know, all you really need is a recording device You can get them on Amazon for like 50 bucks, probably even cheaper.
You need a microphone, okay? You can get pretty cheap microphones nowadays too.
And then you need to find a website that could help you distribute your podcast.
And there are so many of those available.
Prior to recently, I don't think it was as easy to know how to distribute a podcast Now there are so many websites out there that can help you distribute your podcast to all the various you know websites Spotify et cetera.
So pretty much anyone can make a podcast.
And the equipment is amazing. pretty limited.
You don't need that much stuff. And on top of that, you don't need a lot of experience editing your because you actually don't even need to edit a podcast.
You can post it raw. if you want and it would still be listenable.
Personally, with my podcast, I edit it a little bit because sometimes I take a long pause to think for a second.
Sometimes I take a pause to take a sip of my coffee.
Sometimes I take a pause to go take a piss or a shit.
So I edit my podcast to sort of cut out these little pauses, right?
Or sometimes I fuck up my words and I'll cut that stuff out too.
But I mean, in general... My podcast is pretty raw.
You know, it's just me sitting here talking for an hour, right?
The editing required to make a podcast entertaining for whatever reason is just a lot less.
And I think it's because There's less of a visual element.
You know, don't get me wrong. A lot of podcasts have a visual element.
The podcast you're listening to right now can also be watched.
I am recording myself as we speak. If you wanted to watch me talk you totally could. but you also don't have to.
It's not necessary because... You know, the visual element of the podcast is... incredibly cool to have as an option because it's, really fun to watch someone talk.
There's an element of body language that you get to experience.
There's this element of connection through seeing the person speak.
It's very cool to have that option. But the nature of podcasting is audio.
The video portion of a podcast doesn't really need to be entertaining necessarily.
It's just nice when it's there, but I wouldn't say it's entertaining because...
It's very simple. It's very one-dimensional.
You know, whereas... a YouTube video. is very visually stimulating.
Honestly, probably visually stimulating before it's conceptually stimulating or audibly stimulating, right?
Editing something visual and making it entertaining is much more complicated and challenging than editing somebody's stream of consciousness.
Or somebody telling a story or somebody... teaching you about something or whatever.
It's much easier to edit audio. You know, it's just easier.
So that's another reason why podcasting is approachable because the editing experience is, isn't required.
Whereas with a YouTube video, I would argue it kind of is a little bit.
You need to teach yourself how to edit a YouTube video.
And it's not as easy as it maybe seems. I would say the art of a YouTube video is... editing it in a way that makes it seem like it was easy to edit, Because when you're watching it, the editing kind of isn't even noticed.
It's almost just there. but the video flows so naturally that you're not even thinking about it to a point where You're almost like, yeah, I know it's edited.
I can see the cuts. I can see the zoom ins.
I can see the text on screen. But it's so natural that it doesn't even feel like any effort went into it.
The moral of the story is editing a YouTube video is a little bit more challenging because...
You're building a story with a YouTube video a lot of times.
You're trying to balance... editing the video in a way that is stimulating, but also isn't, messy.
It's just easier to start a podcast nowadays than it's ever been before. and you don't need much experience to start.
There's also endless possibilities. If you can talk about it, you can make a podcast about it.
Talk about your personal life, your personal experience, your advice, your...
Daily Life, you can make a podcast about that.
You want to do interviews with people? You can do that.
You want to... I don't know, read news stories, be in news updates. you can do that.
You want to cater to a specific niche, Maybe you want to talk about robots.
That's all you want to talk about. You want to cater to that niche.
You can do that. I also think a lot of people are starting podcasts because it's sort of a domino effect.
People started podcasting, especially young people.
Young people started podcasting. And then there was sort of a domino effect.
And so everybody was like, wait a minute.
I'll do it too, you know? And so people sort of started jumping on the bandwagon, which I don't actually think is a negative thing by the way.
I think in the case of podcasting, it's actually a positive thing.
Because I think podcasting is actually a really positive... beneficial entertainment source.
And we'll talk more about that later. But I think it's a good thing that a lot of people are making podcasts.
I don't have anything against it Like I have more against a lot of people making, say, a TikTok account and making TikToks because I see a lot more toxicity happening in that sphere, in that world.
Whereas with podcasting, I don't see that as much.
I'm not saying it doesn't exist. There's definitely some toxic... behavior happening in the podcast world too, whether it's people making drama podcasts or people... being mean on podcasts or people...
Slandering people. Like, don't get me wrong.
There's toxicity everywhere if you look hard enough.
But I think... In general, podcasting is a better source of entertainment and a healthier source of entertainment. than most other things on the internet.
So I don't think everyone jumping on the podcast bandwagon is necessarily a bad thing.
Personally, I wanted to start a podcast in 2019 or 2018.
I don't remember when I started. It was either 2018 or 2019.
One of those. I wanted to start because I've just always been a talker.
And that's always kind of been actually a negative thing.
People were always like, okay, Emma talks too much.
She has too much to say. She's exhausting.
Someone get her to shut the fuck up. She needs to shut the fuck up.
Because Emma is... Just blah, blah, blah, blah, blah.
Like my whole life, everybody's always just given me a hard time for how much I talk. and how much I have to say.
And that's always kind of been sad for me because...
I don't know, it's just who I am, right?
I've just always been that way. So when podcasting first started sort of picking up, I don't even remember what podcasts were popular at the time, but I just remember... it was a hot topic of conversation like, ooh, you know, podcasting is kind of becoming more of a thing now for young people.
I was intrigued by this because even though I wasn't a huge podcast listener at the time, I loved the idea.
I thought I was a good fit for the idea.
And... I was really fortunate that I had already built a career on YouTube, so I had resources to help me start my podcast that I wouldn't have had otherwise.
I could have probably figured it out, but... that made it a lot easier.
And then I was able to just jump right in.
And I've been doing it ever since. That's a lot of years.
It's like four years of podcast. It's a lot of talking.
And I still haven't run out of ideas yet.
I will soon. No, I'm kidding. I really hope I don't.
I don't want to jinx that. I'm knocking on wood.
I can't say that. Had to knock on wood.
Okay. But that's why I wanted to start a podcast.
More just because I was like, wait a minute, I am a talker.
I've always been a talker it's always been a negative thing.
Let me use this trait that I have and try to turn it into a positive thing.
The irony of it is I actually think that my podcast has made me much less talkative in person.
Although that might not be true. It could also just be me maturing and just having less to say out loud. because I'm more thoughtful maybe with my words.
Like I'm not just blurting word vomiting constantly.
I'm a little bit more tactical about what I say out loud maybe.
I don't know. I just definitely have become less of a talker nowadays.
I still am one, but just less. But anyway, that's why I started my podcast.
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Now let's discuss why podcasts are so popular for listeners. and why they're actually a good source of entertainment for the most part.
I think podcasts are great because you can do other things while listening to a podcast.
I can't stress this enough. It's one of the only forms of entertainment that you can... multitask with.
You know, you can plug your headphones in Listen to a podcast and clean your room, do the dishes, exercise. poop, pee, paint, draw, like you can do so much while listening to a podcast.
You can't do as much when you're watching a movie.
You can't do as much when you're watching TV because all of that requires... two of your senses, your eyes and your ears.
It's very hard to multitask. It's even harder to multitask when you're on TikTok.
That requires three of your senses, eyes, ears, and touch your finger because your finger has to be touching the screen continuously to scroll through TikToks.
That's probably why it's so addicting because it requires all of your attention.
You know, you can't really do anything else.
The most you could probably do while on TikTok is... walk on the treadmill, that's the only scenario where I think you could watch TikToks and do something else.
Everything else, you can't. Can you watch TikToks and drive?
Don't think so. Can you watch TikToks and do dishes?
No. You'd have to dry your hands every 15 seconds to scroll to the next one.
Absolutely not. Not happening. My point is podcasting allows you to multitask.
I also think podcasting is great for listeners because...
You feel like you're a part of a normal flowing conversation.
You know, more short form content like TikToks, YouTube videos, they don't fit feel as intimate because they're so much more edited.
They're so much shorter. It's much more of the highlight reel. of what a person was saying, rather than a podcast, which is not a highlight reel at all.
Usually it's just, a flow of conversation.
And it's usually over the course of an hour.
I would say the average length of a podcast is closer to an hour, whereas the average length of a YouTube video is like probably 10 minutes.
I mean, it would be impossible to quantify that because...
There are so many things on YouTube. There's so many different types of videos on YouTube that are entertaining.
I mean, there are even... podcasts on YouTube.
I don't know. It's tough. It's tough because...
There's so much on YouTube, but I'm referring to a traditional YouTube video, you know?
Something that you just slap on for entertainment. those things are usually very quick.
You know, YouTube is much more quick. TikTok is very, very quick.
It just doesn't feel as real, right? But a podcast is very real in the sense that it's just... natural, flowing conversation.
And I think that... You feel more connected to somebody after listening to them talk so naturally for an hour. versus watching them talk very edited for 10 minutes.
I just think that there's a lot more room for... conversation that is... intimate in a way.
There's more intimacy in podcasting, I would say, because it's so much more raw.
I also think podcasts have the ability to sort of transport you into another world, similar to a movie.
Because movies are long, right? They're like two and a half hours long, average probably. maybe two hours long average.
I don't know. I don't watch a lot of movies, to be honest.
But... Podcasts take you into another world similar to movies because of their long nature, you know?
When you disappear into a podcast for an hour, you come out of that with like a new perspective. because you committed to being in that world for an hour, and you did, and you came out with a new perspective.
And that's really only possible with something that's long form, something that's probably over an hour. or maybe over a half an hour, but I would say over an hour.
That's like when, you have the time to fully get locked into the world that you're participating in for the time being, be that a movie or a podcast, you know? it kinda can transport you.
And I think that that's an enjoyable experience for humans. to sort of be transported into another world for a period of time.
Most importantly, I think people enjoy podcasting because it doesn't actually have a negative effect on their mental health for the most part.
Number one, it's much healthier for your attention span than watching TikTok 15-second videos versus... committing to an hour, two hour long podcast.
You know, you're committing to this and you're sticking to it and the pace of it is normal and human and natural, as if you were on the phone for most podcasts. you have to actually be kind of focused and disciplined at times to listen to a podcast because there might be moments when it's more boring.
Because the nature of podcasting is more human.
So there might be times when you're listening to a podcast and you're like, oh, they're fucking boring me.
But you have to push through that. And there also might be times when... you might not feel stimulated enough when listening to a podcast because maybe You just got off the TikTok app and your mind's running a million miles an hour and somebody talking at a normal pace is not fast enough for you.
Because your brain is on TikTok mode. But...
I will say I've never listened to a podcast, turned it off and felt anxious after, ever.
It doesn't shock my system. It's not jarring for my system.
It's very natural and organic for my system because it's just like hearing another human talk at a normal rate.
When I go on TikTok or I go on Instagram for too long, well, I don't go on TikTok at all anymore because I deleted it.
But let's say I'm going on Instagram for too long and I'm looking at reels and stuff.
When I turn that off, I feel anxious as fuck because it just overloaded my brain. podcasting does not overload your brain for the most part.
I think it's probably the most positive form of entertainment.
I would say movies might be a close second.
This is for media entertainment. because obviously like reading a book is obviously the healthiest, you know? painting a painting is obviously the healthiest, right?
Like these sorts of things that are with your hands that are very... primal in their essence, right?
Cooking is a good form of entertainment.
All these things are probably better than, say, watching a movie or listening to a podcast.
But I don't know if that's actually necessarily true.
Because I've watched a movie and felt really... mind expanded after.
And that to me is not a waste of my time at all.
And that's not negative at all. I've listened to a podcast and felt that same thing.
So I guess it just depends on the quality of the podcast that you're listening to, what kind of content is being provided there.
Moral of the story is when it comes to media, I think podcasts are probably some of the most healthy forms of entertainment, which is why I'm excited about having one myself because I think it's a healthy form of entertainment you know and I'm a very strong believer that You know, it's so important to be aware of how different media platforms, different entertainment affect your mental state.
Because there's a lot of entertainment sources these days that cause us harm.
Like TikTok is a good example. I'm genuinely, see, I'm a grandma in a few ways.
I'm a grandma because I'm against TikTok.
Okay. I don't have it on my phone. I haven't for over a year now.
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Okay, I'm loving them. I've never been more comfortable in my life.
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So with this sort of influx of podcasts as of recent, I've also noticed a lot of people starting and then stopping podcasting.
I've seen a lot of people, especially people who... maybe already kind of had a head start in their careers in entertainment. starting a podcast and then stopping it out of nowhere.
I've seen it a few times. And it's so fascinating to me.
And by the way, I'm not judging anyone who quits podcasting.
Like... It's not for everyone. There's no shame in starting something and being like, wait a minute, this doesn't work for me.
Doesn't click with me. I'm not vibing with it.
I'm not going to do it anymore. I quit. There's nothing wrong with that.
But I think the reason why so many people start a podcast and then... quit is number one, because it's a little bit harder to, than it looks.
Now, I'm not saying podcasting is rocket science, okay, because it's not.
It's absolutely not. There are many, many jobs out there that are much, much harder than podcasting.
Okay? So I'm not trying to say podcasting is the hardest fucking job in the world because it's not.
But what I will admit... is that it is definitely harder than you would expect.
Because from the outside looking in, podcasting seems so easy.
It's like you just turn on the fucking microphone and you pull shit out of your ass.
But in order to do it long term, you have to have a plan. you need to sort of know what you want to talk about indefinitely.
Now, obviously, things can ebb and flow and change as time goes on.
You don't necessarily have to stick to your initial plans.
Thank you. of what you wanted to talk about indefinitely, right?
But it's important to have a sort of basic idea of of what you're doing, you know?
And I think a lot of people go into podcasting without a plan Because...
They're just like, well, I'm just going to talk about whatever every week, like whatever I feel like.
I would argue that works for very few people. because you find very quickly that you run out of shit to talk about.
If you don't have a plan... Like, okay, I'm going to talk about, like for the next month, I'm going to talk about you know, things that are bothering me.
And then The month after that, I'm going to talk about advice.
I'm going to give advice. And then the month after that, I'm going to start interviewing people.
I'm going to interview my family members.
Like you have to have a basic sort of plan. just a loose idea of what you want to do when you get started.
And if you don't have that, you'll just find yourself completely lost very soon.
You may need a little bit more of a plan in place than you think you do.
That's number one. The second thing is if you consistently want to have things to talk about, you either need to be sort of topic-based, right?
Like you're touching on topics that are external from you, right? that are maybe in a certain genre.
Maybe you are obsessed with fashion, so you wanna do a fashion thing.
So every week you come up with like a fashion topic. or something sort of loosely related to fashion.
And then if you get another idea that comes up, like you'll do it.
But in general, you love to talk about fashion.
Or maybe you're more like me where you're like, I don't necessarily have a theme, but It's whatever I'm finding fascinating at a given moment.
And... that list is always growing, right?
I think you either need to sort of have... a specific type of topic that you're consistently touching on for...
A period of time or, you know, you need to have a lot of personal time stories to tell.
I think in order to not run out of things to talk about on a podcast. you either need to be sort of involved in a certain niche, whether that's fashion or food or Burp. music or sports or news, you either need to have a niche that you stick to that gives you structure and gives you constant inspiration,
Or you need to be constantly evolving yourself as a person. in order to talk about personal stuff.
If you're kind of more interested in talking about your own personal interests that are constantly changing and whatever.
There's a lot of work that goes into sort of having a lot to talk about if you want to talk about yourself.
Because you have to constantly be working on yourself and learning. about yourself and about the world around you in order to have things to say. that fit into that category.
And that can be challenging because there can be times when you're like, I don't wanna work on myself right now.
Like, I don't wanna... be looking into myself right now.
Like, I just want to be on autopilot. But if you have a podcast that's mainly about you, you kind of have to be in constant grow mode in order to have topics to talk about consistently.
I think it's definitely an easier route. to talk about niches.
I think for me personally, I fall somewhere in the middle to be honest, where I'm talking about topics that are outside of myself at this point.
You know, I'm not talking about my personal life as often anymore because I just don't really have as much to say about it.
I make episodes about my personal life or my personal life experiences when I have those experiences.
And they're relevant. But in between that, I'm talking about topics that interest me.
So I'm kind of in between... fitting into a sort of niche and talking about my personal life.
And I think that that's a way to do it too.
But I think regardless of... what you choose, there needs to be a sort of plan in place Now, I don't want this to get confused though because I would never give the advice that you need to be calculating everything. because that's absolutely not true.
But in my experience, it's... really empowering to have a plan.
And whether or not you actually follow the plan is another story, but just having it there to fall back on if you don't have any ideas is incredibly beneficial.
Because if you're sort of aimlessly coming up with podcast topics every week, There's going to be a week when mentally you're too exhausted to come up with an idea.
And... you're sort of just scouring your entire brain archive for something.
And it's exhausting. I also think it's just, inevitable that when something becomes sort of trendy, like podcasting, for example, that that a lot of people are going to try it and just be like, I don't even like this.
Like this doesn't feel natural to me. I actually don't have an organic passion for this.
So I don't want to do it. Like, I don't want to do it anymore.
I'm going to quit because I started it and I tried it and I hated it.
And... I actually realize now that I only really started doing it because it was popular and not because I actually wanted to do it.
Therefore, I quit. We see that happen a lot.
And last but not least, I think a lot of people... assume that you know there's no sort of prep before a podcast episode.
Like people just think of a topic and then turn on the microphone and start talking.
Don't get me wrong. That can work. I actually used to do that myself.
But My podcast improved A lot, I would argue.
When I started writing out notes before I started just to keep me on track.
Because otherwise... I'm all over the place.
I don't finish my thought I'm going on tangents that don't make sense.
And people can't even follow because they're like, wait a minute, what is she talking about now?
It's like... Having notes or something to sort of lightly follow is so helpful because it just...
Prevents... unnecessary extreme tangents.
And I think people, some people maybe go into podcasting and don't even think to write out notes before an episode just to keep themselves on track when talking about a certain topic or interviewing someone.
What it comes down to is I think there's a lot more thinking, maybe, required in podcasting that maybe gets overlooked before starting it.
And I understand that because from face value, podcasting looks like it's just people talking talking for an hour, off the cuff, being random, being spontaneous.
And as much as that's true sometimes, It's not true all the time.
And I would say for podcasts to be entertaining and concise and easy to follow. a lot of thought needs to be put into the episode and how it's going to be laid out.
And how the flow of conversation is going to go and what the topic is going to be.
And that needs to be fleshed out. And I don't know.
I think one of the hardest parts about podcasting is actually the work you have to do on yourself in order to be able to communicate in a way that's meaningful and constantly evolving and getting better That doesn't necessarily apply for certain podcast types.
Like if somebody's talking about sports, talking about fashion, talking about something like that, you know, maybe you might not need to do as much self-discovery, but you might instead need to do incredible amounts of research on your specific niche.
And that becomes a part of your journey job in a way, if podcasting is your job, you have to be very in tune with what you're talking about, whether that's yourself or a specific topic or else you just won't have anything to say or you won't have anything to add.
And I've been there before. I've felt that before where I'm like, God, I just feel like I have nothing to talk about.
Because I've been kind of out of tune with myself a little bit. and I'm not really interested in anything right now, I don't have the energy to do research on anything, I'm just kind of burnt out.
I don't have anything to say. I've been there.
It's an inevitable part of it. And it's something that you have to push through.
And listen, is it the hardest thing in the world to deal with?
Absolutely not, okay? There are much harder roadblocks to run into on a career level in other careers.
But I'm just saying that with podcasting, these are reasons why I think people start and then quit. really quickly.
I think what makes a podcast good is a healthy level of organization.
As I mentioned earlier, it can't feel all over the place, but I also don't feel like it can feel too structured at times because that can feel sort of weird and corporate, right?
So it's finding that sort of balance. between organizing and being free at the same time.
I also think a good podcast has valuable and entertaining information. something that sucks you in and doesn't leave you feeling bad after you listen to it.
Whatever topic it may be, you should leave that feeling behind. smarter, happier, calmer, et cetera.
I also think it's really nice in a podcast to hear from a unique perspective.
I mean, everybody on this planet has a unique perspective. more courage than you would expect to share that perspective.
And so I think it's incredible when somebody can build up the courage to to do that into a microphone.
And I think it it's rare at times. And so I think that that is...
Also a key part of a good podcast, I would say.
I don't know, it's interesting to see podcasting become this big thing.
And I'm really excited to see it grow because I think it's a positive thing overall.
But it also has been interesting to see all the different types of podcasts that are popping up.
It's been really, really fun to watch. And hey, thank you for listening to mine, okay?
This is so meta of me to be... Making a podcast about podcasting?
Okay, that's weird. Thank you guys for listening and hanging out.
I mean, it's always a pleasure, okay? Every time we get to hang out, it is an absolute pleasure.
You can listen every Thursday and Sunday New episodes every Thursday and Sunday.
You can check out AnythingGoes Instagram at AnythingGoes or Twitter. at AG Podcast.
You can check out my coffee company, So chamberlingcoffee.com, use code AG15 for a little discount.
I didn't drink my coffee because I was busy talking.
If you're watching the video version of this, you will see.
There's like, so my almond milk, I'm making homemade almond milk recently.
I got this machine. It's called an almond cow machine.
It makes almond milk. You just put almonds in water, in maple syrup, and... or any sweetener you want, I guess, and like a little bit of salt. in there on this sort of contraption.
Then you press a button and it makes almond milk in like one minute.
It's actually amazing. Anyway, I've been using it, but now that I have super natural nut milks...
There's like pulp in my nut milk. And honestly, I think it's kind of delicious, but it kind of looks nasty sometimes.
So if you're looking at my coffee right now and you're like, why is there... chunks on the side of her coffee cup.
It's almond pulp. That's all I have for today.
Thanks for hanging out. I love and appreciate all of you very much.
I'll talk to you soon. Peace and love.
