Podcasts are making a comeback
Last fall, the popular podcast Serial was downloaded over 5 million times, and it’s social impact was tremendous. At dinner parties, over coffee or on Facebook, people were talking about the investigative series. Friends were speculating if Adnan Syed, the man who inspired the podcast, was wrongfully imprisoned for the murder of a teenage girl. It felt like everyone binged on Serial together, and developed their own conspiracy theories around who was guilty, and why. “Remember that time that Adnan and Jay were in the car? What about that? I think Jay killed the girl!”
But Serial isn’t the only podcast that America is listening to en masse: This American Life, Radiolab, WTF with Marc Maron, and Invisibilia all have content that become topics of conversations on social media, or over coffee with friends.
A new startup seeking to augment your podcast listening experience
A new startup is responding to this trend–to the idea that podcasts are not only popular, but a part of our lives that we want to talk about. The Tung app, in its final stages of being designed, wants to serve as a place to not only listen to favorite podcasts, but to share and discover podcasts as well. The free app will give recommendations for podcast episodes from friends, including their comments on specific shows, and clips they’re interested in sharing.
Tung will also provide a way to share outside of the app; clips will be easily shareable to social media. Want to talk to your mom, who doesn’t have an iPhone, about the latest episode of Radiolab, or President Obama’s appearance on WTF with Marc Maron? With Tung you’ll be able post a clip from a podcast on her Facebook wall (just brace yourself for the mom comments that follow!)
Making podcasts more social
The creators behind Tung are working to get a beta out as soon as they can; they’re hoping for the end of August, possibly sooner. This projected release will be just in time for Serial Season Two–set to come out this autumn. Get ready–in a few months your Facebook and Twitter feeds will probably be flooded with conspiracy comments from your closest friends, and an influx of clips (via Tung) that prove who the guilty party really is this time!
