Podcasting is Dead! Again!

Podcasting is Dead! Again!
Number	3379
Broadcast Date	OCTOBER 1, 2018
Episode Length	32:40
Hosts	Tom Merritt, Sarah Lane
Guests	Andrew Zarian

With declining ad revenue and company layoffs podcasting was declared dead as an ad revenue platform just a few years ago. But was that an exaggerated analysis? We examine and discuss the details behind the alleged decline of podcasting.

Guest

• Andrew Zarian
  • GFQ Network

Quick Hits

• Google Maps is getting in-app music support and new commuter tab

Google is adding a commute tab to Google Maps that highlights congestion and disruption on your route. In 80 regions, it will show your bus or train in real time on the map. In Sydney, Australia it will show passenger capacity as well. Maps is also adding playback controls for Spotify, Apple Music and Google Play Music. The updates are rolling out worldwide to Android and iOS this week.

• Best Buy mistakenly sold a next-gen Chromecast well before Google’s Pixel 3 event

A Best Buy mistakenly sold a customer a third-generation Chromecast that has not been announced and is likely to be part of Google's October 9th event. The buyer said it wouldn't scan at checkout because it wasn't supposed to be sold until October 9, but since the price was the same as the old Chromecast, they let him buy it anyway. The buyer also could not set it up since it requires a new version of the Home app that has not been released yet.

• Facebook's Instagram promotes from within for its new leader

Instagram co-founders Kevin Systrom and Mike Krieger named VP of product Adam Mosseri as the new head of Instagram. The founders said that think Mosseri will continue to keep the Instagram community front and center.

Top Stories

• Elon Musk's SEC Settlement Is Sending Tesla Shares Through the Roof

Saturday, Tesla CEO Elon Musk changed his mind and settled with US SEC over tweets about taking the company private. The SEC had filed a lawsuit claiming the tweets were fraud. Musk and Tesla will pay $20 million each in fines. An independent chairman will replace Musk on the board of directors and two independent directors will be added to the board. Musk will remain CEO and a separate investigation by the Department of Justice continues.

• The FBI used a suspect’s face to unlock his iPhone in Ohio case

On August 10, the FBI executed a search warrant on the home of Grant Michalski looking for evidence of sending or receiving child pornography. The agents found an iPhone X and asked Michalski to look at the phone to allow them to unlock it using FaceID, which he did. It is thought to be the first case of law enforcement using FaceID to unlock a phone as part of an investigation. Since Michalski cooperated willingly this case does not test whether suspects can be compelled to use their Face to unlock a phone.

• Sir Tim Berners-Lee’s new startup wants to give people control over their data again

Fast Company reports Tim Berners-Lee will launch his company Inrupt this week to offer user control over personal data using the decentralized platform Solid developed by Berners-Lee's team at MIT. Inrupt stores data in a Solid pod which lets users own their data and control which services and applications can access personal data, rather than storing it separately with every service. Developers can build decentralized apps through the Inrupt site.

• California Signed Its New Net Neutrality Bill Into Law Sunday. The Justice Department Is Already Trying to Block It

Sunday, California Governor Jerry Brown signed a net neutrality bill into law that forbids ISPs from speeding up or slowing down certain kinds of content or charging companies to deliver their sites or apps faster. Within hours, the US Department of Justice filed for an injunction against the law on the grounds that the Internet operates across state lines and states cannot regulate interstate commerce. The California law would not go into effect until January 1st.

• Verizon switches on 'world's first' commercial 5G network

Verizon has turned on 5G service in parts of Houston, Indianapolis, Los Angeles and Sacramento. The expected average speed is 300 Mbps. Customers get free access for the first three months after which it will be $70 a month. At the same time, Pew Research has published a study showing that the percentage of people in the US who use smartphones as their only internet connection has risen from 8% in 2013 to 20% this year. The number of households with home internet connections has dropped from 70% in 2013 to 65%.

Discussion

• The Rumors of Podcasting’s Death Have Been Greatly Exaggerated

Mailbag

Maciej from humid Boston had some feedback on our quarterly hangout content idea brainstorm
I like the idea of a DTNS product review show. You could differentiate yourselves from others by spending at least a month with a product.

I once got an XPS laptop that was well-reviewed. After a few days with the laptop, I realized that it is actually pretty hard to find the volume button when I am watching Netflix at night; something I do frequently. I think that if any of the reviewers actually used the laptop for a month or so, they would notice this and similar small issues, and list them in their articles.

By spending more time with a product, and not solely replying on first impressions and specs, you would provide your audience with relevant, quality reviews that your supporters would appreciate. Hopefully ;-)

Links

• This episode on dailytechnewsshow.com
• Support DTNS on Patreon
• DTNS subreddit
• DTNS Facebook Group

Preceded by: "Between a Rock and Hardware"

Podcasting is Dead! Again!

Followed by: "Assassin's Chrome"