Interview with Kevin Smith of Snipd; and seemingly a bad news special?
Jan 12, 2024
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Kevin Smith, CEO and co-founder of Snipd, discusses the future of AI in podcasting and the features of Snipd, an AI-powered podcast player. They also talk about certification and compliance with podcast measurement guidelines, trends in podcasting, and upcoming podcast events. Additionally, they touch on podcast app support, advertising in London, New Year's Eve traditions in Iceland, and TV programming in Denmark.
Snipped is an AI-driven podcast app that helps users highlight, summarize, and take notes from podcasts.
Both Netflix and podcasting are shifting towards measuring total listening hours as a valuable metric for content creators and advertisers.
The increasing presence of AI in podcast production is evident through the introduction of automatic speaker recognition and the use of AI in transcription and content creation.
Deep dives
Snipped: An AI-Powered Podcast App for Highlighting and Note-Taking
Snipped is a podcast app that uses AI to help users highlight and take notes from podcasts. It allows users to tap their headphones to save insightful moments, which are then summarized and transcribed by the app's AI. These snippets can be saved in a personal library, shared with friends, and even synced to popular note-taking apps. With a focus on helping listeners get the most out of their podcast listening, Snipped aims to improve discovery and facilitate learning from podcast content. They also have plans to expand to non-English languages in 2024.
Netflix Focuses on Individual Hours Watched
Netflix is shifting its metrics to measure individual hours watched rather than number of viewers. This aligns with the growing importance of measuring listen-time in podcasting. The move reflects the recognition that total hours spent engaging with content is a valuable metric for advertisers and content creators alike. It also highlights the growing influence of AI in both industries in terms of content generation, recommendation, and discovery.
Podcast AI and Headliner Demonstrate the Growing Role of AI in Podcasting
Podcast AI has expanded its capabilities by introducing automatic speaker recognition to its platform, enabling more accurate transcription and organization of podcast episodes. Headliner, another podcast-centric platform, shared insights on how AI is being used in podcasting. Both examples highlight the increasing presence and importance of AI in podcast production, transcription, and content creation.
Podcast Rewind and Boosts with Fountain
Fountain, a podcasting platform, introduced a feature called Rewind that showcases data on boosts and streaming stats for podcasts. The feature allows podcast creators to see the impact and support they receive through boosts and interactions with listeners. The data reinforces the concept of value-for-value in the podcasting industry and emphasizes the benefits of engaging with listeners through boosts and micro-payments.
Challenges with Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant Skills
The podcast discusses the challenges faced by Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant skills. Alexa skills were originally intended to have a plugin model like the iPhone, allowing for seamless transitions between skills. However, this feature did not work properly. Additionally, actionable ads on Alexa required users to log in, leading to low adoption rates. Google Assistant took a slightly different approach, allowing users to directly connect with specific apps like Domino's without needing to install a separate skill. However, this integration also did not gain much traction. Despite these challenges, there are ongoing efforts to improve voice assistant technology, such as the integration of Google Assistant with Google Bard and the development of chat GBT's plugin model.
Interesting Tools and Events in the Podcasting World
The podcast highlights various tools and events related to podcasting. Umbilical, a set of tools for building progressive web apps, is introduced as a helpful resource for creating mobile-friendly podcast players. Cooler FM, a new app aimed at bringing podcast listeners together, is mentioned. Albie Firefox extension is recommended for Android users as a way to access Albie, a popular podcast app. Other notable mentions include the Content Link, a proposed tag for RSS feeds that allows podcasters to link to their show on different platforms, and the Publisher Feed proposal, which helps publishers showcase their full slate of podcasts. The episode also mentions upcoming events, including CES, Podfest, and the podcast show in London, and concludes with a reminder to support the podcast through subscriptions and boosts.
Step into the future of podcasting with us as we unwrap the latest industry shifts and ponder whether tracking total listening hours trumps download counts. We're joined by Kevin Smith, CEO and co-founder of Snipd, for an exclusive look at his AI-driven app that's changing the way we listen to podcasts.
