Hey BuzzFeeders, We Have Podcasts Too!
Four reasons people should explore the podcasts on BuzzFeed.
BuzzFeed is an Internet media firm in New York that provides entertainment, breaking news, video and original reporting. In order to provide their content they lean on digital media and digital technology. Producing podcasts for companies like BuzzFeed might be uncharted territory, but gradually more companies have been producing audio. BuzzFeed launched its first podcasts in March 2015. Several classmates and I explored BuzzFeed’s podcast network during Monday’s class. Here’s what we discovered why people should listen to their podcasts.
- Adapting to the moment: Listening to audio is a powerful medium for people to learn information. That’s why BuzzFeed has transitioned to providing podcasts for people to listen to. Many Americans don’t get their first experience of listening to a podcast until age 12. That number has been increasing over the years and the reasons why has been for the different genres for people to listen to and podcasts are an accessible mobile medium. As audio is becoming a medium where more people are turning to, BuzzFeed is building that intimate relationship with their listeners and content.
2. Attractive genres: Even though BuzzFeed currently has seven podcasts to offer, the different genres from their small selection is likable. The focus on pop culture discussion race, gender, humor, uplifting stories, politics, love and current news is evident through their podcasts. Another Round is BuzzFeed’s most popular podcast. Two African American women, Heben Nigatu and Tracy Claytonwho, talk about their own daily lives, daily news and minority issues in this podcast. See Something Say Something, hosted by Ahmed Ali Akbar, is a podcast where he gathers people to tell stories about being Muslim in America. These two podcasts have been the most successful and are still producing new episodes from two to three times a month. BuzzFeed podcasts truly do a great job of talking about issues that are happening “right now”.
3. Length: Depending on which podcast people decide to listen to, the length can range from almost up to an hour. Rerun, hosted by Doree Shafrir, is a podcast that likes to talk about memorable moments from TV shows. One of its episodes can be up to eight minutes long. Whereas in Another Round, an episode that talks about immigrant stories is almost an hour. My classmates and I believe their length for their podcast episodes is appropriate because we don’t want to listen to something that’s simple or something too long that we will lose interest.
4. The creators of content: Something interesting to point out is that Ahmed Ali Akbar, Doree Shafrir, Heben Nigatu and Tracy Claytonwho besides producing podcasts have regularly published articles on BuzzFeed. Sometimes the articles they post go in depth in episodes from their podcasts. They tend to have guests on occasions and sometimes they’re celebrities, which can bring in more attention. This is an example of the commitment of the creators trying to generate worthy content for their listeners.
Another Round
BuzzFeed’s Internet Explorer
No One Knows Anything: The BuzzFeed Politics Podcast
ReRun
See Something Say Something
The Tell Show
Women Of The Hour
Andrea Gardner, Matthew Ishii, Cosme Velazquez and Kyle Webster contributed to this article.
