Podcasting Pause and Reflection

Due to several swiftly-approaching deadlines, I’m taking a hiatus from recording the St. Bede Psalmcast for a bit. We’ll see how long “a bit” turn out to be…

I’ve enjoyed doing the podcast. It’s certainly done what it was supposed to do, providing a venue for enforced research for my Cassiodorus/Psalms book. For that alone it’s been beneficial.

I’ve found some aspects of it frustrating as well. Chief among them is that I find it oddly detached from listener data and feedback. I use Soundcloud but it is also pushed to iTunes. I can see how many listens each episode has received on Soundcloud, but have no idea about the iTunes side. I literally have no idea how many people are or aren’t listening to it. Apparently the proper way to do it is to use a self-hosting solution that runs through subscription services so that you can track the number of file downloads directly from the server—but I didn’t do that when I set it up. Hence, I lack data to get a clear sense of when and why I get listeners.

Too, despite Soundcloud having the capability for comments and posting episodes here on the blog, I’ve received very little feedback on the show and its content. I don’t know if I’m connecting with my audienceĀ because I know very little of what my audience likes or doesn’t like. Looping back to the original purpose, yes, it helped me do structured research for my book; what it didn’t do was give me a sense of what my book’s target audience thought of what was being produced…

All in all, I like podcasting. If anything, I think the St. Bede Psalmcast might be a little too structured—I’m wondering if a more free-form podcast might be more engaging, particularly if it’s not “purpose-driven” in the same way that this one was. In any case—that’s it for a while, anyway.

2 thoughts on “Podcasting Pause and Reflection

  1. Adelaide Kent

    I like your podcast because it is different from the typical ‘religious’ blog ( no offense intended. ) I am not a scholar but have progressed far enough in my education to appreciate good scholarship when I encounter it.

    By the way, it was your involvement with the Collect Call that piqued my interest!

  2. Ellen Brauza

    Apple iTunes? First I’d heard it was there was in today’s post. I checked, and quite some number of episodes are omitted. Better than nothing, but still — I’m likelier to listen there than to subscribe to a different podcast service. If I see ant significant comments, I’ll pass them along, but I don’t even know whether comments are an option. We shall see.

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