I stumbled across the idea of a personal podcast recently and have not been able to stop thinking about it. The format is simple enough: up to ten minute chunks of audio espousing some aspect of ones’ worldview. There is a simplicity in its form; no ads, no fluff, just candid self-expression. It can be scaled accordingly to meet your time budget. It also offers another medium through which to cultivate online serendipity i.e. the opportunity for serendipitous connection via the medium of publicly available works whether that be writing, video, or podcasts.
The beauty of recording what essentially is a short audio clip is that the standards for polish are lot more affordable from a time perspective. With video-making or writing, there is a lot that goes into the process to edit the final work. With a podcast, you wouldn’t expect anything other than a casual attitude or demeanour to come across … no editing required. In some ways, it is a purer form of expression.
In terms of who would want to listen to personal podcasts, I would say no one in particular. But by making it available, anyone that could want to know more about you would have another avenue through which to run by. It is one part of an online identity people can engage with, and the more material there is, the more likely serendipity will play a role i.e. engaging with cool people and receiving exciting opportunities.
The one major cost of this endeavour is ensuring good sound quality. It is tolerable to watch a video in 360p, but listening to poor audio is just painful. Painful enough to prove a detractor. Investment into some kind of audio setup is probably advised if this is something that one wants to commit to.