What is a podcast?
In 2004, when journalist Ben Hammersley published an article in the British newspaper The Guardian, he used iPods and broadcasts to piece together Podcasts to describe the emerging Internet audio content at that time.
Although nearly 20 years since its inception, English podcasting has grown in full swing. But at least in Chinese podcast circles, "podcasts are on the rise" has not yet become an outdated topic, and the interpretation of "podcasts" as an imported medium is quite complicated.
Whether we want to be a new podcast listener or want to give a friend Anli podcast, it seems difficult to explain in one sentence what a podcast is, let alone where to start.
And as the Creed says, "Don't try to understand it, but feel and experience it."
This Christmas, the podcast visualization project "Podcast Town" launched by four podcast enthusiasts is such a convenient and intuitive experience.
Every show is a tree
The "Podcast Town Construction Committee" is composed of four podcast enthusiasts, LGiki, Forktail and I Don't Run Out of Tune, and Ponty. They took inspiration from the "Podcast City" map of Audiomeans, a one-stop hosting platform in France, to create a Chinese version of the podcast map.
Podcast City. Image courtesy of audiomeans
Enter the podcast town and be greeted by a panoramic view of the town. Fresh color schemes and spontaneous hand-painting, presenting the state of a distant town. This is also what distinguishes this localized "podcast town" from the "podcast city": compared with the full swing of English podcasts, the Chinese podcast ecology is still in a relatively simple state, more like a town waiting to be built and perfected, but also comfortable.
Podcast town panorama. Image courtesy of podtown.xyz
And when we zoom in on the map slightly, the secrets hidden in the town are immediately revealed: every tree in the town is a podcast program. In other words, they turned each show into a tree that grew lushly on this podcast town.
Podcast Tree on Podcast Town. Image courtesy of podtown.xyz
From a virtual, indescribable "podcast" to a tree, a "very living existence", in such a virtual space, the podcast trees together form a podcast town. Newcomers can get to know and understand podcasts as they explore the visualized world of podcasts, while old listeners can discover new podcasts in a more random and interesting way.
Take a walk through the streets of Podcast Town
Podcast Town hardly requires any "hands-on" guidance, it is just a map, zoom in and walk around the town, and click on a small tree that may be of interest.
If you like unexpected surprises, try clicking on the dice icon in the lower right corner, which will randomly take you to a small tree and pop up a card about the podcast: podcast LOGO, intro, and the latest episode of podcast content.
Podcast of the little tree card. Image courtesy of podtown.xyz
When you encounter a podcast that interests you, tap the play button to audition. A small playback window will pop up in the lower left corner, click to put it away to the left, so that you can continue to find new podcasts while listening.
When you want to subscribe to your favorite podcast, the card has collected all the platforms that this podcast has logged on: Apple Podcast, Small Universe, Himalaya, Litchi FM... Tap to jump to the app.
Of course, you can also click on the "RSS" icon at the bottom to copy the link directly to your favorite generic podcast client.
Oh, and don't forget to water your favorite podcast tree, and it'll grow stronger. Note that you can only water it three times a day.
If you're interested in more of the stories behind the podcast town, you can click on the first "Temporary Interlude" icon in the lower right corner, where there's more to the story behind the creation of the town.
Temporary episodes about Podcast Town. Image courtesy of podtown.xyz
Share good content to people who want to share it
How did you use a podcast to a friend about Amway? Share the link to the WeChat chat, and then briefly introduce; but if the other party does not understand the podcast, or happens not to use the same podcast platform, you also need to download the corresponding app first, the probability of successful sharing is greatly reduced.
Podcast Town brings us a more convenient and ritualistic way: Christmas cards.
Although the short Christmas is over, the sharing form of passing greeting cards still seems warm and solemn. Click "Send Gift" at the top right of the podcast card to generate a greeting card, save it and share it with friends, who can scan the QR code on the greeting card to come to this podcast town.
It is a slight pity that the greeting card QR code generated by each podcast tree is consistent, pointing only to the podcast town itself, and cannot accurately locate the small tree being shared. But it doesn't matter, the greeting card has written the name of the podcast that was shared, and you can search in the search box at the top right of the map.
Feel and experience together
Today, two years after the epidemic lasted, a large number of offline activities have been suspended, and the demand for online access to information, companionship, communication and expression is increasing. Podcasts based on chat-style dialogues are both fun and entertaining, with a special medium of voice that brings companionship and emotional connection during this increasingly lonely time.
Flights to Podcast Town. Image courtesy of podtown.xyz
Podcast Town, on the other hand, minimizes the cost of understanding podcasts and discovering new ones in a visual way. Listening to podcasts doesn't require you to first research how to subscribe, how to listen, or find podcast recommendations.
Just find a small tree in the podcast town, or simply roll the dice to believe in randomness. Tap the play button to participate in a conversation with a strange friend.
Perhaps the meaning of the podcast itself lies in this.