Browse highlights of your favorite shows, and enjoy a bite-sized method to discover new ones, via a personalized feed generated based on your existing podcast library and interests.
👋 Hey Podcast Fans
Over the past several years, our team has listened to 100,000+ hours of podcasts... and not just because we love them as much as you do! Because we're building a better way to help you enjoy the shows you love, and find new favorites. All in a format that allows us to fit more audio into busy digital lives.
Today, we’re introducing Podz, a product that helps you listen better in bites.
Podz is built on an ML model trained to identify the most engaging 60-second clips of new episodes and present them in a feed that matches your existing subscriptions and interests (alongside the option to play the full episode). The app combines thoughtful audio commentary and the ease-of-use of social media.
We think of Podz as a savvy friend who scours new podcasts, highlights the best parts, and recommends the perfect clips for you… then, remembers to save the full episodes for later.
Quite a job, huh!? But it’s an important one. Today, the average podcast listener:
😲 Subscribes to only 7 shows
😟 Listens to just 5 podcasts a week
😢 Spends 5 hours on podcasts versus 20-30 hours on social media
(via Edison Research)
In fact, compared to social media, where creators benefit from network effects and sophisticated recommendation algorithms, podcasts are at a huge disadvantage. The top podcasts... remain the top podcasts: it’s a challenge for new voices to break through.
We hope Podz allows you to enjoy more audio, on your time - acting as the best way to preview and engage with podcasts you know, and discover the ones you should know. Our goal is to level the audio playing field with an experience that feels like it’s part of the future, not the past.
You can learn more from our friends at TechCrunch, Variety and Yahoo!:
* https://variety.com/2021/digital...
* https://finance.yahoo.com/news/f...
* https://techcrunch.com/2021/02/1...
And download Podz here:
👉 http://listentopodz.com/app
Let us know what you think!
Happy listening,
Doug and the Podz team
PS: We’ve been asked this question often, so FYI: Apple podcast fans can import their libraries, with support for Spotify and other platforms coming soon.
Congrats to @dougimbruce and team. Proud to be a small investor.
I never listen to podcasts but I listen to pods. Why? Podcasts are usually too porous unless I want to listen to a bunch of 2x speed chipmunks discussing bitcoin.
Pods solves the info density problem of podcasts by serving up only the most choice cuts. I use the app as an auditory newsfeed to catch up on the world when running or cooking.
I've been using Podz for a few weeks now, both as a listener and as a newish podcast host, and it's magic.
As a host, I've been shocked at how good Podz algorithm is at picking the best minute of my podcasts, the part that packs the most punch and gives the best summary of what I'm arguing in the pod. I had to ask the team if it wasn't just people behind the scenes, because "AI" doesn't normally work that well, right away.
As a listener, I've added Podz to the morning mix to spice up my podcast consumption (typically have 3-4 go-to's). It's been great for discovery, as I expected it would given how well it worked on my own podcast, but one surprising thing is that it essentially gives me a zoomed out, lean back view of what's going on in the topics I care about on any given day.
I'm a huge fan of Pudz - congrats on the launch!
@azriel_ottenwalder Why be fatigued scrolling on your screen when you can listen to the latest world events while enjoying the scenery? 😀
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Have been using this for a few days per recommendation from @packym 's newsletter and really love it. When looking for new podcasts to listen to, it's impossible to get an idea of what to expect by reading the title & description. Podz gives me the ability to quickly listen in on some of the highlights and get the gist, then listen to the full episode if I'm interested. Kudos for such a cool product!
I ran into Podz a couple days ago and I am in love with the 60 second highlights. The AI is magical and really makes me think there is a small group of pod elves behind the scenes picking the best 60 seconds from a podcast. I have a podcast as well and can't wait for my show to be on the platform so I can provide more feedback from that perspective.
As a listener, the 60 second highlights really give you an overall sense of the topic you are diving into. This is great for News, Politics, Crypto, and Tech. The user experience so far has been great and super intuitive. It's the small things that make me fall in love with a product's design and I love how if you click anywhere on the current pod, the play/pause icon will show there. However, I did find myself trying to double click in this area to quickly like a pod.
?makers What is next for Podz? Are there plans for this to also be more of a one stop shop for listening to podcasts? I would love the ability to follow shows and track episodes I've listened to.
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I've been using Podz for a few days - Initially, I wanted to write about sleek, playful UX, really good recommendations, and the whole ML magic behind the scenes.
But this morning, on my way to work, I've heard an interesting highlight about SPCE on #investing
This convinced me to finally buy this stock and profit 13% as of today ;)
Is there any other app that can do that? Probably yes, but this depicts where Podz shines - to serve curated, highly condensed bits of information.
Congratulations @dougimbruce and the team!
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