Back in May of 2020, Twitter started an experiment in changing the tone of the discourse on its service. Twitter was testing to see if the equivalent of a tap on the shoulder or a subtle ahem could get people to be... well, uh, you know... less of an asshole to one another.
The results of that experiment have been announced, and those results are dramatic.
Nearly a third of people, when prompted to reflect on what they were about to do, actually changed their behavior. Can we do that in podcasting?
Fair warning: this is going to sound like some crazy Big Brother, nanny state, liberal pansy bullshit. Please assume that I'm well aware of that and play this out with me, if you can.
Why can a podcasting hosting company use A.I., Machine Learning, and other advanced algorithms to do something similar before we published a podcast episode?
But that could be too late. Editing a Tweet takes a few seconds. Not true for a podcast episode that took many hours editing and assembling.
Can we do that earlier? A Yoast or a Grammarly-style plugin that looked over your shoulder as you draft your outline or reviewed the transcribed portions of your in-production episode?
That's not all that crazy, as we already use those tools to do a similar job to make our content sound better. Is it really a bridge too far to have them look out for accidental misinformation as well?
Before you let loose your anger and point out what a naive dumbass I am for even suggesting such a thing, I want to restate that I do know how Orwellian this sounds. I see the same slippery slope you do. And I know this won't do anything to curb intentional disinformation.
But scrutiny is coming to podcasting. You may think the best course of action is for us to do nothing. And that's your right. But I think that approach is equally as naive as what I just put forth.
But sure; light me up in the comments. I can take it!
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Podcast Pontifications is a production of Simpler Media. New episodes are released weekly, providing ideas and questions every serious podcaster should be thinking about.
It's created and hosted by Evo Terra. Follow him on Twitter for more podcasting insights as they come. Allie Press assists with the production and transcription of the show.
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Mentioned in this episode:
Support For Abortion Rights
While Americans overwhelmingly support the right of an individual to make their own decisions about abortion, unfortunately, that right is no longer protected everywhere in the U.S. The Supreme Court overturned Roe v Wade on June 24th. Abortion is a basic healthcare need for the millions of people who can become pregnant. Everyone should have the freedom to decide what’s best for themselves and their families, including when it comes to ending a pregnancy. This decision has dire consequences for individual health and safety, and could have harsh repercussions for other landmark decisions. Restricting access to comprehensive reproductive care, including abortion, threatens the health and independence of all Americans. Even if you live in a state where abortion rights are upheld, access to safe medical procedures shouldn’t be determined by location, and it shouldn't be the privilege of a small few. You can help by donating to local abortion funds. To find out where to donate for each state, visit donations4abortion.com. If you or someone you know needs help, or if you want to get more involved, here are 5 resources: 1. ShoutYourAbortion.com is a campaign to normalize abortion. 2. DontBanEquality.com is a campaign for companies to take a stand against abortion restrictions. 3. Abortion.cafe has information about where to find clinics. 4. PlanCPills.org provides early at-home abortion pills that you can keep in your medicine cabinet. 5. Choice.CRD.co has a collection of these resources and more. We encourage you to speak up! And spread the word.
This podcast uses the following third-party services for analysis:
OP3 - https://op3.dev/privacy