Since podcasting’s earliest days, there’s been an inherent need to try and organize the chaos that appears to be inherent within the medium. After all, podcasting was born of the old notion that the internet is a free and open environment, where not everything has to be stuffed into a singular vertical. While there are plenty of forces at work today that’d like to fence podcasting in, the medium is still mostly open, and still mostly free. Hence, the need for continued organizing of the ever-expanding podcast space remains essential.
If you’ve ever needed to look up specific information on a movie, TV show, or even a video game, you’ve probably visited the Internet Movie Database (IMDb). It’s one of the oldest and most trusted authorities on all things actor, director, producer, etc. on the web. A new startup called Podchaser is working on creating what it’s calling “the IMDb of podcasts.”
Podchaser was recently introduced via Reddit, where it spawned a lively discussion thread:
Podcast discovery is an ongoing problem for podcast listeners. Some recommendation algorithms exist, but they’re generally based off podcast show preferences, rather than episode preference. Generally, the same 10 or so podcasts are recommended and remain on top charts. So, we are building a system around individual episode ratings and reviews. Our front page will feature the hottest episodes rather than podcasts, allowing users to discover a broader array of content. Users can also check out reviews on individual episodes before diving in. Some podcasts have shows with varying degrees of quality, and now you can just check out feedback in one place rather than googling around fan forums and subreddits.
Podchaser is beginning a beta program on June 10, 2017, and is currently soliciting feedback from the podcasting community to see what features people would like from a service like this. To get involved in that discussion, follow the Reddit thread linked above. To sign up for Podchaser’s newsletter and see some teaser images of what the service may look like, go to the Podchaser website.