I want to start by saying that Podcasts have been a huge part of my life since their 2005 beginning. They gave me a way to listen to the news, shows, and conversations I wanted to hear and at my own time. On the subway, bus, plane, Uber, or train - they comforted, informed, and educated me as I headed to work in the city each morning.
Then exactly a year ago March 12th, 2020 happened…
After a few weeks of shock every Podcast I subscribed to was speaking about COVID. And what I soon realized is that podcasts for me are typically a solo endeavor, an escape from the surrounding stimuli of the commute, work, life, and family obligations. I could no longer escape to my podcast world as my commute was now from my bedroom to the kitchen office.
So I just stopped listening to them.
Then along came Clubhouse and once again I was able to listen to passionate people speak about what motivates them across all of the topics I cared about and ones I had no idea I cared about. An open SXSW conference with virtual stages that never stop. Topics on everything, all day long from across the globe. Millions of humans socializing, sharing and raising their hands to participate. It's definitely a bit rough compared to a high production budget podcast, but it is live and interactive and I always preferred podcasts that weren't overproduced.
Clubhouse is genuine, real, authentic, participatory, accessible conversations or any of the buzzwords that define social media.
I remember when Twitter first came out and people spoke about how the ability to participate would change the news forever. The same thing comes to mind now as Clubhouse gives us access to experts, celebrities, other passionate people in a way that connects our humanity by the genuine sound of our voices.
While I’m sure that Podcasts will survive and remain immensely popular, the fact that they are one-way "broadcast" media and Clubhouse is truly "social" media will relegate them to take a back seat for a while (at least for me). Would love to know what you think?
#clubhouse #podcasting #socialmedia