Podcasting, RSS, Openness, and Choice

> Put another way, publishing via RSS does not enable much choice for the creator.

From a user's perspective, this lack of choice is great. You can listen to any podcast in any app, with minimally obnoxious skippable ads, limited tracking, no DRM, and no headaches.

I hope that Spotify's play to take over the podcast industry doesn't kill the open podcast ecosystem. It's one area where digital media seems to be working really well not just for listeners, but also for creators. Ad rates are much higher than on the web, and a surprising number of people are able to make a living through Patreon and the like.

Podcasts almost seem like they come from a mirror-universe version of the internet where everything went as the crazy dreamers like Steward Brand had hoped. An open standard allows ordinary people to share what they're interested in and support each other. There's no algorithmic feeds to be found. People engage in long, humane discussions without shouting at each other. Weirdness flourishes. I wish more of the internet was like that.

The corporate-speak and disembling here is frightening. Unless you have a concrete proposal to make to the open RSS podcasting standard, absolutely zero of what you're talking about will ever be part of podcasting. Or maybe you're talking about proprietary audio shows like those promoted by Spotify? Have fun with that. No interest from me whatsoever.