Podcast Pontifications

Do you want accurate stats that count every single access made to your audio files? Or do you want actionable data that inform you how your audience is responding to your podcast and your podcasting outreach efforts?

You can only choose one, it seems.

Overcast, a privacy-focused and quite popular iOS app that even I use on occasion, recently announced and implemented—and then quickly retracted, but the day is young— a change that would have blocked data intelligence services like Chartable and Podsights from seeing any activity from Overcast users. 

That move effectively shut out the visibility of that download to the intelligence providers employed by the podcast publisher. 

Yes, most podcast hosts are IAB-certified and provide accurate (?) download statistics. And if that’s all you need, then that’s all you need.

But I’ve seen the insights provided by data intelligence providers. My clients have come to depend on having deeper insights around the interplay between episodes, the knowledge of which social media tactics provide the best results, and how their paid media efforts are paying off with real results. Neither I nor they want to go back to the one-trick-pony that is counting downloads.

For now, the change has been rolled back. But for how long? And if something like this is again enacted, how long will the trick to skip the hops work when the data intelligence providers change how they handle redirects, potentially causing download requests to completely fail? 

Do we lobby the analytics providers to work directly with privacy advocates like this to demonstrate their not-creepiness and get back in good graces? I quite like that notion, but also recognize it’s hard to change the minds of fundamentalists of any stripe. Still… one can dream.

-----

A written-to-be-read article and a full transcript of the audio of this episode can be found at https://podcastpontifications.com/episode/would-you-prefer-accurate-or-actionable-podcast-metrics

Follow @EvoTerra on Twitter for more podcasting insights as they come.

Buy him a virtual coffee to show your support at BuyMeACoffee.com/evoterra

And if you need a professional in your podcasting corner, please visit Simpler.Media to see how Simpler Media Productions can help you reach your business objectives with podcasting.

Evo Terra produces Podcast Pontifications four times a week to provide ideas and ask questions every working podcaster should be thinking about.

Silvan Arnet on Unsplash

Mentioned in this episode:

Support For Abortion Rights

While Americans overwhelmingly support the right of an individual to make their own decisions about abortion, unfortunately, that right is no longer protected everywhere in the U.S. The Supreme Court overturned Roe v Wade on June 24th. Abortion is a basic healthcare need for the millions of people who can become pregnant. Everyone should have the freedom to decide what’s best for themselves and their families, including when it comes to ending a pregnancy. This decision has dire consequences for individual health and safety, and could have harsh repercussions for other landmark decisions. Restricting access to comprehensive reproductive care, including abortion, threatens the health and independence of all Americans. Even if you live in a state where abortion rights are upheld, access to safe medical procedures shouldn’t be determined by location, and it shouldn't be the privilege of a small few. You can help by donating to local abortion funds. To find out where to donate for each state, visit donations4abortion.com. If you or someone you know needs help, or if you want to get more involved, here are 5 resources: 1. ShoutYourAbortion.com is a campaign to normalize abortion. 2. DontBanEquality.com is a campaign for companies to take a stand against abortion restrictions. 3. Abortion.cafe has information about where to find clinics. 4. PlanCPills.org provides early at-home abortion pills that you can keep in your medicine cabinet. 5. Choice.CRD.co has a collection of these resources and more. We encourage you to speak up! And spread the word.

This podcast uses the following third-party services for analysis:

OP3 - https://op3.dev/privacy
Chartable - https://chartable.com/privacy
Podsights - https://podsights.com/privacy