How This Mobile App Will Shake Up The World Of Podcasting

I have always wanted to start a podcast.

It started with The Joe Rogan Experience. I listen to the Joe Rogan podcast frequently. It has been a recent discovery for me. I remember the first time I found myself truly enamored, it must have been about a year ago. I was doing chores around the house and I was listening to an episode with Andreas Antonopoulos. In case you don't know, Andreas M. Antonopoulos is a technologist and serial entrepreneur who has become one of the most well-known and well-respected figures in bitcoin.

I remember being fascinated with this new digital world and the idea of digital currency. At the time, digital money still seemed far-fetched. At that moment, I realized that I was walking around the house listening to a live interview that was being recorded on the other side of the country that was being transmitted through this magic device in my pocket. The age of the mobile device had officially arrived.

I felt inspired. Anything is possible, so at that moment I decided to start my own podcast.

It has been a year later and still no podcast. :(

Creating a good podcast is very hard. Equipment, editing and scheduling all make podcasting very laborious. I am the kind of guy who likes to create content as it comes to me. I don't do well with scripts and with pre-planning. My mother says this means I am impulsive, but I prefer free spirited.

None the less, today is the magic day.

Introducing Anchor - Radio By The People

I recently discovered a new mobile app and I am very excited about it.

Anchor is a social network that allows you to record audio content right on your phone. It also enables you to share content as well as network and follow other content producers. It is the new micro-content dispensary for audio.

This is big for a few reasons...

No More Hassle

One of the reasons why podcasting has never truly made it to the mainstream is because of the equipment required. iTunes has a strict publication policy and audio equipment can be challenging with a serious learning curve. In the mobile world we live in, it is easier to record a video of yourself then it is to record a quality piece of audio content.

Not anymore.

Anchor is making it easy to do this. We no longer need to have microphones and mixers and audio editing equipment. Now, we can simply open the app and start recording.

Embed Audio Files Directly Into Blog Posts

This is the real game changer. To be frank, if I weren't able to embed a "wave" directly into a blog post, I would find almost no value from this platform.

In the past, we have had two options.

We could embed audio files from sites like SoundCloud or Stitcher, but this was challenging for the same reasons as before. Recording the audio in the first place required expensive equipment and also requires large server space because audio files are big files.

Our other option was to simply record a video on our iPhones. We could then upload the video onto YouTube, and embed the video into our blog posts.

Both options are still available, but there was never an option for someone like me who doesn't like videos and doesn't want all the hassle of podcasting. I just want to record my thoughts and have immediate access to them.

The time has finally come that we can quickly and easily record audio and embed them directory into a blog post.

Below is the audio file of my first wave. I openly asked the Anchor community if they knew how to find the embed code. Another user of anchor replied to my wave with his own wave and instructed me how to do it. It was that easy.

It is still strange listening to my own voice but I'll get over it.

The Possible Downside

I recently wrote an article about the downfall of Twitter. I went into great length about the collapse of Twitters stock and touched on some philosophical points regarding today's internet user and their intolerance for spam and abuse.

Unfortunately, I see a high probability for those problems in Anchor.

Ironically, the downside of podcasting was also the upside of podcasting. The commitment and investment required to make a podcast also made it so that the content produced was of good quality. It was very difficult for just anyone to make a podcast and get recognition. Almost every podcast ever created had a good opening, a good format, interesting and compelling topics as well as interesting interviews.

If it were so easy then everyone would do it. Well, now everyone can.

Any time you give every person the ability to be heard, the chances are that you will end up with a lot of garbage.

Within 5 minutes of browsing the Anchor app, I listened to a wave of a man ranting about Target. Don't believe me? Listen for yourself...

My hope is that my predictions are correct and that the savvy internet user of this day and age will simply ignore the irrelevant content and gravitate towards the content of value. Time will tell.

What Does This Mean For You?

It means you can start creating audio content right now!

Right this very second, you have the ability to tell stories through audio. You can create short audio waves of tips or advice about any industry.

Here's a crazy idea... you don't even need to use Anchor to grow your brand. You can simply keep track of the ideas that spin through your mind by recording them and listening to them later.

This platform is just getting started. I don't ever remember being so excited about a new mobile app. Not since Settlers of Catan made the game available on iPhones. I am the Lord of Catan.

I am not very active on Snap Chat (although I certainly appreciate its value) and I do not enjoy being in front of a video camera. This makes new apps like Periscope and Meercat difficult for me. However, I have long been looking for an outlet that I can quickly create compelling content outside of the written word.

The day has finally come!

I look forward to experimenting with this platform and getting all I can out of it. I will keep you posted!