Video Podcasts as a way to avoid Algorithms
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.
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.
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.