Video Podcasts as a way to avoid Algorithms

Video Podcasts as a way to avoid Algorithms

Byrichard

Today I opened YouTube, looked at the choice of videos and thought “I don’t feel like watching any of this content because of its headlines”, whilst eating lunch. Instead, I tried something less habitual. I opened the podcast app on my laptop and looked for videos that might be interesting.


I ended up watching one about air pollution in Geneva. I found the use of drones flying over Geneva interesting because I’m not allowed to fly in Geneva due to it being within a five-kilometer radius of Geneva but also because it’s a populated area and it’s illegal to fly over people without authorisation.


As video producers and content providers we always think of sharing content on YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, and algorithm-driven websites rather than RSS driven ones. With algorithms, we’re stuck competing with clickbait headlines, celebrities and content producers more popular than us.


It’s not unusual to see organisation websites with hundreds of videos but hardly any views. Unless you want to see that content it’s going to go unnoticed.


That’s where podcasting comes in. Instead of sorting through thousands of clickbait headlines, celebrities, personalities, and viral content I would get the content I subscribed to with a minimum of effort. It would also help to break away from the GAFAM monopolies. Headlines could be written for motivated readers with an interest in the subject, rather than sensationalist cinema review style writing. Content creators could return to treating their audiences like adults. We could go back to being treated like adults.


These shows are available as videos and podcasts.


Whereas video podcasting was unfeasible due to bandwidth limitations the situation today has changed. Mobile devices can now have over 256 gigabytes of space. 5G will make downloading content almost instant and screens are good enough to watch content comfortably.


COOP video recipes


The market for video podcasts is still small so if people want to produce video content without the limitations and challenges of YouTube and social media then this is an ideal platform.



You could easily see yourself downloading news and current affairs, recipes or fitness lessons without the limitations of other platforms. It’s Video On Demand, that you subscribe to. It’s nice because for now, video podcasting is a niche market.


I would love to see the choice and diversity of content increase. 1 and a half minutes to 5-minute videos, which are standard on YouTube, could easily be repurposed for mobile devices, laptops TVs, tablets and fridge doors. (That last one is a joke although with cooking programs it’s rational).


The time that I used to devote to social media could be reinvested creating content to be shared via RSS rather than social media. The idea of video podcasts is niche. It might be time to take advantage.

It’s my Duoversary

It’s my Duoversary

Byrichard

A year ago today I signed up to Duolingo and started studying German on a daily basis, and occasionally played with other languages. I complimented this with listening to podcasts in German almost daily and making other attempts to learn languages.


I went from trying to get fifty experience points a day per day for months before a conference broke my streak as I was too exhausted by the end of the day to continue learning. Life got in the way. It was more important to spend time with people.


Since then I have kept up the streak for what will be my one hundred and sixty-first day in a row when I complete a lesson today. My goal is ten XP per day, i.e. one lesson but some days I get to one hundred XP and other days I do the bare minimum.


Every so often I hit walls. I want to study and I want to progress further but I just feel lost and just keep making mistakes. It’s at moments like this that I revise what I have already learned, in the hope that with consolidation I make progress sooner.


When I was in Spain over December I took a break from studying German to study Spanish. You might as well study the language of the country where you are at that moment.



After a year of practice, I have learned a theoretical 1600 words but I still feel like a beginner. The app is great at getting you to learn specific words and phrases but it is of limited utility to learn a language properly. First I was going lesson by lesson until I got to five stars before moving to the next and then, before I hit the wall I tried lessons up to level one before moving on and that’s when I hit a learning wall. I struggled with phrasing and word order.


On the plus side, I can understand more and more as I listen to news podcasts although the percentage of words I understand still needs to go up before I can understand half of what they’re saying.


When I took online tests to see what my German level was I am still classed as a beginner and it is frustrating after a year of effort. If I had continued with doing five lessons a day then I’d be further along.


It isn’t the first time that I try to learn German. As a teenager, I had German lessons but I found the teaching method was boring compared to how Spanish was taught. I was given extra English lessons instead.


This second attempt at learning German is going better but I feel that I should work to make more progress. After a year of effort, I should be further along. In two or three weeks I’ll be taking formal lessons and expect smoother progress.