Free and Open Podcasting: A Conversation with Rob Greenlee - Part 1

“And it surprised me that it took so long for people to adopt the on-demand aspects of audio. It’s been a very, it’s been kind of a slow adoption curve is what I’ve seen. I think that the on-demand side of video grew much quicker, which I think is an interesting case, even as it applies today as we look at the podcasting space. We’re still, you know, we’re still chipping away at it, as they say.” -- Rob Greenlee   This episode’s guest is the CEO of Spoken Life Media and host of the Spoken Life Show. He’s also the co-founder and advisor to PodcastEZ.com, and has worked in senior roles with Podbean.com, Libsyn, and Advertisecast. He’s a well-known public speaker, technologist, evangelist of the podcasting industry and its potential, and a trainer for podcasting globally. And he’s a founding Board of Governors member, and former founding chairperson of the Podcast Academy (which is responsible for the Ambies Awards). In 2017 he was inducted into the Academy of Podcasters Hall of Fame, and is a current chairperson of the Induction Committee for the eight-year-old “Podcast Hall of Fame.” Along with Todd Cochrane, who’s also been on this podcast, he co-hosts the 10+ year running New Media Show at NewMediaShow.com and hosts the “Spoken Life Show” at podpage.com/spokenlife/. His accolades are numerous, and his background, extensive. He’s even a former college basketball player at Pacific Lutheran University and is also a Guinness Book of World Record holder for building the World’s Largest Glass of Orange Juice for the State of Florida. His name is Rob Greenlee, and I’ve been looking forward to this discussion for a number of reasons. The state of podcasting is currently in flux, considering what’s happening with AI, podcast hosting, RSS, and a whole host of other considerations. It’s still going strong, and there’s still a sizable audience out there – my listeners being a case in point. But there’s definitely a lot to talk about. As always, if you have questions for my panelists, you’re welcome to reach out through the links in the show notes.  If you have questions for me, visit www.audiobrandingpodcast.com where you’ll find a lot of ways to get in touch. Plus, subscribing to the newsletter will let you know when the new podcasts are available. And if you’re getting some value from listening, feel free to spread that around and share it with a friend, along with leaving an honest review. Both those things really help – and I’d love to feature your review on future podcasts. You can leave one either in written or in voice format from the podcast’s main page. I would so appreciate that.   Embracing the Timeshift As the episode starts, Rob recounts his early memories of sound and one of his first forays into the audio industry back in 1999. “I asked this radio station,” he recalls, “it was a small market radio station at the time, if they had a technology talk show. And I said ‘I’ve got some friends, we can come in and do one.’” He tells us about the pioneering days of digital audio and podcasting, well before smartphones and streaming content existed, and how online shows changed the audience’s expectations when it came to radio. “The audience,” he says, “was starting to