Spotify pushes for podcast listening with new feature

Do you want to listen to podcasts but don't know where to start? Spotify is adding a button to free users' homepages that will ask them what topics they're interested in so that the streaming service can suggest podcasts for you to listen to. These will only show up for users who have never listened to podcasts on the service before, and it'll only be available in Canada, Brazil, Denmark, the US, Ireland, Great Britain, New Zealand, Sweden, Mexico, and Australia. The topics will differ by country and user, because recommended shows will be based on factors, including local popularity.

With Spotify's acquisition of Gimlet Media, Parcast, and Anchor, as well as creating teams to develop exclusive shows, Spotify wants as many people to listen to their content. But the streaming service wants to clarify that they won't just recommend their shows.

Source: The Verge

‘Always Be My Maybe’ gets a directory commentary track through this Netflix podcast

It looks like Netflix is trying to give fans of its movies a bit more context about these films with a recently launched podcast series. Called Watching With, the podcast series has two episodes so far. One is for Someone Great with director Jennifer Kaytin Robinson, and the latest one is Always Be My Maybe with director Nahnatchka Khan and actor Randall Park. You can listen to the show on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. Unfortunately, it isn’t available natively on Netflix’s platform, so if you want to watch the movie while listening to the podcast, you somehow have to manage to play it at the same time. Or you can just choose to listen to the commentary without having to watch the film. It’s all up to you.

Source: The Verge

Google to bring Full Coverage feature and podcasts right into Search

Google’s Search engine has a lot of nifty tricks you can use it for. One of the newest tricks it’s getting revolves around news and podcasts. Google Search will be getting support for Google News’ Full Coverage feature. Launched last year, this feature introduces a more complete picture of a certain story. It introduces a timeline of how events unfold, so you get a better understanding of how it happened. As mentioned, this was unveiled in the Google News app, but it’ll be making its way to Search.

Search will also be getting support for podcasts. This means you can play them right from Search. It’ll surface relevant episodes of a given program based both on the title and content. You can even save episodes for later listening. It isn’t clear if podcasters will gain access to analytics based on those who listen right from Search. According to Google CEO Sundar Pichai, "These are all examples of how we are making search even more helpful for our users by surfacing the right information in the right context."

Source: TechCrunch

Create clips from public podcasts on Overcast

Jon Fingas/Engadget

Maybe you want to share something insightful said in a podcast you were listening to. The iOS app Overcast will make it easy for you to do just that. It’ll let you create minute-long clips of public podcasts—whether these be videos or audio recordings. When you choose to share a clip, you’ll get a basic timeline editor with different aspect ratios to make the video clips more social media-friendly. There will also be badges for listening in specific podcast apps, if you want to share where your followers or loved ones can hear the rest of the episode.

Source: Engadget