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bstract thinking, I usually watched a series next to it. Ultimately interrupting my workflow, as at some point, my eyes rather wanted to follow the plot than whatever I had to instead. I wouldn’t face this struggle when listening to a podcast in place of watching videos.But there is also another benefit of podcasts: the hurdle for starting is smaller.It’s easier for most people to record their voice instead of filming a video. It takes less work, and you feel less exposed. This will lead to more people producing podcasts, and by that, diversifying the industry. Ultimately, providing the listener with more choices.<blockquote id="c773">“Nothing vast enters the life of mortals, without a curse.”

Sophocles</blockquote>With all of the benefits podcasts are offering, we still have to be aware of the risks. As long as social media companies are profiting from our attention, we need to stay in control of it.Social media companies are currently trying to extract as much attention from us as possible. But this attention is limited. I am either scrolling through Instagram or Twitter at the same time. And although my phone has a multiwindow feature, my extractable attention doesn’t multiply with it.Following the arguments above, there is something I can do while browsing Instagram: listening to podcasts.Suddenly, social media companies have multiplied my attention and are now accessing two of my attention streams.But this phenomenon isn’t new at all. It already happened before, right in front of our eyes. Back in the days, when television was still a thing, it was quite common to check your smartphone while commercials were running. As we became more and more addicted to our smartphones, we used them while having a movie run in the background. This way, companies again doubled the extractable attention.This isn’t serving us, but the companies. I became aware of this problem recently.When I started listening to podcasts, there were small ad breaks here and there. Sometimes, I had to skip 30 seconds to then again enjoy whatever interview I was listening to. Nowadays, podcasts are stuffed with ads. 5 minutes of ads right in the beginning and several more in the middle. I am not blaming the creato

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rs here for trying to make money. I believe that great content should be financially compensated.I blame ad revenue models for it. The main problem of an ad approach is that the company has to make the user spend more time on the app or website to generate more money and satisfy the shareholders. This leads to users becoming addicted and worsens their lives. This isn’t a friendly symbiosis of giving and taking.But it could be.If you are reading this article, you might be quite familiar with another possible approach: memberships.If you pay for using a social media platform, you are not only paying for the service itself. You are also paying for staying in control. You are paying for the company behind the product, to be your friend, instead of extracting all of your attention while not caring about your life.If a company finances itself by asking for membership prices instead of bombarding you with ads, it won’t need to keep you on the platform all day. Instead, it wants the relationship to be pleasant — for the user. The company will have to make sure that the content is valuable enough to make you want to stay a member. And since you are in control of your behavior and not continuously distracted by the platform, you will easily generate the money for the membership and some more, with the time you would usually waste because of the addictive features.Currently, Spotify is running a hybrid model: You can either listen to ads or pay a monthly fee. While writing this, I think it’s ironic that I pay to not have to listen to ads, while then the content producers stuff their episodes with ads. All in all, this is actually outrageous, but this problem can wait for another article.I have not yet heard of someone that is addicted to Spotify podcasts or similar. This means we have probably not yet reached the point of no return. But we have to be aware of the risk that audio platforms can impose on us, too. Simply being aware of a problem may not be the solution. But as we observe it further, we may figure out what we want to have. And if we prefer revenue models that run on memberships, we can start to demand such products. In the end, the market will have the last say, and, luckily, we are the market.</article></body>

Podcasts Are Our Chance to Change a Broken System

Why we should pay for podcasts instead of accepting ad-models.

I stumbled upon podcasts about two years ago. Spotify was urging me to try their hottest, freshly produced podcasts instead of listening to my same old playlist.

Back then, I couldn’t believe that there might be something better for my auditory senses than listening to “Follow me” by Uncle Kracker on loop. But my belief system was about to change.

I started by listening to various recommendations, none of which impressed me enough. It was nice, but nothing that could replace my lovely music.

But then my schedule became fuller. I had less time to read books that weren’t connected to my law studies, and I wasn’t able to watch countless hours of YouTube content — at least I shouldn’t have done it anymore. Still, I wanted to discover new concepts and ideas, fathom new tips, and ultimately stay in the self-improvement industry. That’s when I rediscovered podcasts again.

Podcasts are great! Mainly, of course, because of their content. From Joe Rogan and Impact Theory, up to Not Overthinking — as well as countless other awesome creators — there is something valuable about listening to well-produced discussions or interviews. I have heard so many great pieces of advice by listening to podcasts that I think my life today would be massively different if I hadn’t dared to change my listening habits.

But podcasts are winning because of another important aspect. They don’t require your eyes.

I have been fighting my YouTube watching habits for years now. Not because the content isn’t valuable, but because they require too much of my attention. I can’t watch a video while driving to work, walking around, or working out. But I can do all of this while listening to a podcast.

In the past, when I was doing mundane tasks that need execution rather than abstract thinking, I usually watched a series next to it. Ultimately interrupting my workflow, as at some point, my eyes rather wanted to follow the plot than whatever I had to instead. I wouldn’t face this struggle when listening to a podcast in place of watching videos.

But there is also another benefit of podcasts: the hurdle for starting is smaller.

It’s easier for most people to record their voice instead of filming a video. It takes less work, and you feel less exposed. This will lead to more people producing podcasts, and by that, diversifying the industry. Ultimately, providing the listener with more choices.

“Nothing vast enters the life of mortals, without a curse.” - Sophocles

With all of the benefits podcasts are offering, we still have to be aware of the risks. As long as social media companies are profiting from our attention, we need to stay in control of it.

Social media companies are currently trying to extract as much attention from us as possible. But this attention is limited. I am either scrolling through Instagram or Twitter at the same time. And although my phone has a multiwindow feature, my extractable attention doesn’t multiply with it.

Following the arguments above, there is something I can do while browsing Instagram: listening to podcasts.

Suddenly, social media companies have multiplied my attention and are now accessing two of my attention streams.

But this phenomenon isn’t new at all. It already happened before, right in front of our eyes. Back in the days, when television was still a thing, it was quite common to check your smartphone while commercials were running. As we became more and more addicted to our smartphones, we used them while having a movie run in the background. This way, companies again doubled the extractable attention.

This isn’t serving us, but the companies. I became aware of this problem recently.

When I started listening to podcasts, there were small ad breaks here and there. Sometimes, I had to skip 30 seconds to then again enjoy whatever interview I was listening to. Nowadays, podcasts are stuffed with ads. 5 minutes of ads right in the beginning and several more in the middle. I am not blaming the creators here for trying to make money. I believe that great content should be financially compensated.

I blame ad revenue models for it. The main problem of an ad approach is that the company has to make the user spend more time on the app or website to generate more money and satisfy the shareholders. This leads to users becoming addicted and worsens their lives. This isn’t a friendly symbiosis of giving and taking.

But it could be.

If you are reading this article, you might be quite familiar with another possible approach: memberships.

If you pay for using a social media platform, you are not only paying for the service itself. You are also paying for staying in control. You are paying for the company behind the product, to be your friend, instead of extracting all of your attention while not caring about your life.

If a company finances itself by asking for membership prices instead of bombarding you with ads, it won’t need to keep you on the platform all day. Instead, it wants the relationship to be pleasant — for the user. The company will have to make sure that the content is valuable enough to make you want to stay a member. And since you are in control of your behavior and not continuously distracted by the platform, you will easily generate the money for the membership and some more, with the time you would usually waste because of the addictive features.

Currently, Spotify is running a hybrid model: You can either listen to ads or pay a monthly fee. While writing this, I think it’s ironic that I pay to not have to listen to ads, while then the content producers stuff their episodes with ads. All in all, this is actually outrageous, but this problem can wait for another article.

I have not yet heard of someone that is addicted to Spotify podcasts or similar. This means we have probably not yet reached the point of no return. But we have to be aware of the risk that audio platforms can impose on us, too. Simply being aware of a problem may not be the solution. But as we observe it further, we may figure out what we want to have. And if we prefer revenue models that run on memberships, we can start to demand such products. In the end, the market will have the last say, and, luckily, we are the market.