After doing lots and lots of podcast reviews, it seems like we’re witnessing the beginnings of new media genres on the internet. Podcasting makes it galactically easier to express yourself creatively and distribute it to like-minded viewers.100 Word Stories is a great example of a podcast that has built a community around its theme. The theme is simple: a (very) short story. It’s easy to fall into the groove of this format. If you have a creative mind you can come up with such a story in no time, and it’s easy for people to consume as well.
Sketch comedy is another podcast theme that has broken out. A lot of these seem to be video podcasts, which is probably due to classic shows like Saturday Night Live and Mad TV. As a kid, I used to pretend I was a cast member on SNL. I would come up with my own characters and comedy sketches and act them out. Podcasts like Ask Blackie and The Monkey Box took it a step further than me. This is the kind of stuff I would have done if the technology was available at the time. Am I old?
Let’s look at some aspects of these two formats.
- Short duration. Short episodes are easier to produce. They don’t require expensive equipment and a lot of time editing. If you’re doing a video podcast, there is certainly more expense and more work to be done during production, but it’s very manageable. For listeners, there is less investment required to sample the podcast and determine whether or not they want more. I favor shorter podcasts in general (unless it’s a topic I’m fascinated with), because in my experience, longer episodes tend to contain less relevant content.
- Familiar format. Everyone’s seen Saturday Night Live or some reasonable facsimile. You know what to expect. There is fond nostalgia built in here as well. These podcasts remind me of watching Bill Murray specials and the commerical for Jewess Jeans.
- Timeless. Content doesn’t get old. It’ll still be as funny and as relevant 5 years from now as it is today.
- Produces on a consistent schedule. Many popular podcasts don’t produce every day or even every week. There are numerous podcasts that run in seasons, just like TV. They produce a few episodes a month on their on-season. However, the majority seem to release an episode every day or on a specific weekday.
We’re always on the lookout for new podcasts that fit into these genres. There are a ton more that I haven’t mentioned, but we’ll be talking about them over the next few weeks on our podcast. If you know of any, please leave a comment or submit it to our directory, or both!
