Podcast Analysis (Serial)

http://serialpodcast.org/

1. Title of Podcast

Serial | Season 1| Fall 2014

2. Creator of Podcast, provide details and background

• Creator of Podcast: Ira Glass and Torey Malatia
• It is hosted by Sarah Koenig and it tells one story - a true story - over the course of an entire season.

3. How long has it been produced

• It was produced from Oct, 2014 and there are 12 episodes for season 1.

Market Placement

1. Target Audience

• The target audience would be anyone who is interested in crime investigations or murder cases.

2. Evidence that it is reaching this audience

• On Facebook the serial podcast has over 270,000 people who liked their page. On Twitter the serial podcast has about 224,000 followers. Since the podcast has so many followers most of them have to the target audience.

3. Identify 3 Competing Podcasts that target the same audience

• True Murder: Every week host Dan Zupansky will interview the authors that have written about the most shocking killers of all time.
• Working: People Talk About What They Do All Day and How They Feel About What They Do, and it consists of interviews with 134 Americans about their work.
• This American Life: It choose a theme each week and present various stories on that theme.  

4. Describe how each of the 3 succeeds at reaching the audience, and compare to your initial podcast

• True Murder: It is a live podcast on every Wednesday 8:00pm. Sound, a brief text about the story and related pictures are posted.
• Working: For every podcast, a guest is invited to talk about his or her job like a Mediator and a Barber. Throughout the episode, the producer asks lots of questions about what did the guest do all day. Sound, text and a image of the guest are presented on the website.
• This American Life: Instead of solely talking the story, relative background sounds and music make each episode sound more dramatic and alive.  
• Our initial podcast-Serial: Some parts of the episode have background music . It includes a picture, a brief text of the story and some recorded conversation relevant to the story are displayed in the podcast.

5. What are missed opportunities in reaching this audience, how can the Podcasts do this

Multi-Media

• If it can have a brief note or information about the  “upcoming podcast” before the cast, audiences can leave some comments so there will be more engagements with the audience during the cast.

Multi-Media

1. List all multi-media sources used on the Podcast you are analyzing

• Related pictures, data and documents
• A brief text about the story
• Previous relevant recorded conversations
• Background music

Steven’s part (not completed)

2. Describe the value of the media sources

3. Describe what multi-media can be added or improved in the existing site

Cross-Promotion

1. How effectively does the Podcast point to all other linked social media

2. Which other social media tools are linked to the site

• Social Media tools that are linked to the Serial site are Facebook and Twitter. On the site I can go through the Twitter and Facebook links to the find Serial’s official social media site. On the Podcast’s I can share the podcast I like to my personal Twitter or Facebook.

3. What are opportunities to expand the social media linkage

• Opportunities to expand the social media linkage is that they can include the Google Plus link. Also I feel if they had a YouTube link they would be able to find more of an audience. The podcasts are free so they would not lose any profit from putting the podcast’s to YouTube.

Look

1. Overall, how does the Podcast sound and look?

• The Podcast sounds very clear, and there are good background music when the speaker is telling the story that really helps with the creating anticipation. The podcast is visually appealing, the color combination follows the logo that they have created.

2. Does it look professional?

• The website looks extremely professional. You can tell it has a team behind it. It has easy navigation and is really clean.

3. How timely and updated is it?

• When it was first uploaded, it was updated weekly. Now all podcast episodes are available to listen on the website. They have updated where its available and news on season 2 is still pending.

4. Does the sound and look fit with the image of the target audience and topic of the Podcast

• It does. There’s almost an eerie feel to the layout when you play each episode that has a specific image as its background. People who listened to Serial are people who enjoy crime shows with the content similar to what Serial contained. It makes you feel like you’re almost part of the investigation with the visual aids it provides.

Transparency

1. Do you feel you know the creator?

• I do feel like I know the creator. The narrator describes her interest in this story, and why they are telling it. Also on the Podcast site there are biographies for all of the people who worked to make the Podcast a reality. This really helped me get a feel at the creator.

2. Does it seem to be personally produced, or a corporate statement?

• Serial seems to be personally produced. There was team created and as a viewer/listener I can see who was a part of its production.

3. Would you want to follow regularly? Other: Add anything else that stands out to your group

• This is a very interesting Podcast and I would follow it regularly. This is a different type of podcast I noticed, because unlike other podcast’s they work based on seasons. As of now they have one season completed with twelve episodes. They are currently working on season two with a new story focus.

Podcast Analysis (College Central)

http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/college-central-podcasts-career-and-job-search-advice

1. Title of Podcast

• College Central Podcasts: Career and Job Search Advice

2. Creator of Podcast, provide details and background

• Creator: College Central Network, Inc.
• College Central podcasts provide clear, concise, expert advice and tips for entry-level job search and career related issues. Find insight and instruction on resumes, interviews, internships, etiquette, and more.

3. How long has it been produced

• it started from Mar 05, 2012 so it has been produced for more than three years.

Market Placement

1. Target Audience

• The target audience would be anyone in college that is looking for job search advice and career advice.

2. Evidence that it is reaching this audience

• This podcast was designed to help college students so the only way that it would still be an active podcast would be if it were reaching its active audience.  

3. Identify 3 Competing Podcasts that target the same audience

• Secrets of the Hire: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/the-secrets-of-the-hire-podcast
• Career Tools: https://www.manager-tools.com/podcasts
• Career Cloud- Job Search Advice and tactics: http://www.careercloud.com/careercloud-radio/

4. Describe how each of the 3 succeeds at reaching the audience, and compare to your initial podcast

• Secrets of the Hire: It provides interview tips, resume advice and career advice for College Students and Recent Graduates. Text and sound are the two medias it use to reach the audience.  
• Career Tools: Each cast is clear and answer three questions related to the topic. A conversation between the two hosts sharing their ideas about career tools.
• Career Cloud: It belongs to CareerCloud.com. It is hosted by Chris Russell, CEO of CareerCloud. He invites guests like career coaches, recruiters and job seekers to talk about job hunting. Text, sounds and a image of the producer are shown.
• Our initial podcast belongs to College Central Network, Inc. Sound is the only media it use to reach the audience. It has a title but does not have any notes about each episode.

5. What are missed opportunities in reaching this audience, how can the Podcasts do this

Multi-Media

• Missed opportunities: background music, images, and guest speakers.
• The podcast can be in live situations, the use of a speaker and “props” together with sound and images, which will be more attractive.

Multi-Media

1. List all multi-media sources used on the Podcast you are analyzing

• Text and Sound are the only sources “College Central Podcast” used.

Steven’s part (not completed)

2. Describe the value of the media sources

3. Describe what multi-media can be added or improved in the existing site

Cross-Promotion

1. How effectively does the Podcast point to all other linked social media

2. Which other social media tools are linked to the site

• Social media tools that are linked to the site are FaceBook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Google plus. Also there are links for the app store and google play store to have access to the site on phones or tablets.

3. What are opportunities to expand the social media linkage

• I feel as if Stitcher has all the social media linkage that they need. They have an option to embed the podcasts, FaceBook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Google plus icons. These are the top social media sites that have access to many viewers.

Look

1. Overall, how does the Podcast sound and look?

• Overall the Podcast has a good sound quality. When listening to the Podcast there were no issues or difficulties understanding what was being said. The Podcast is visually appealing. It is very easy to navigate and the background and theme of the Podcast is not confusing to look at.

2. Does it look professional?

• It does look professional. Not as professional as Serial but it has a clean look.It is uploaded on Sticher which hosts different radio shows and podcast. Whereas Serial was an individual project, this one is uploaded in a platform where it allows it to personalize a template.

3. How timely and updated is it?

• It uploads a roughly 7 minute long podcast once a month. It is usually in the first week of the month between the 5th and 7th of each month so there is consistency there.

4. Does the sound and look fit with the image of the target audience and topic of the Podcast

• The sound of the podcast is reminds me of a 70s how-to video. It’s almost too jolly for lack of a better words. College students might be put off by the speaker’s tone but the topics are very relevant to their needs. The look is very much there but the sound needs a bit of work.

Transparency

1. Do you feel you know the creator?

• No, I do not feel like I know the creator. This website shows different types of podcasts on various different subjects. There is no biography describing the person who is giving the information. I learn on a certain subject, but I do not learn about the creator.

2. Does it seem to be personally produced, or a corporate statement?

• This Podcast seems to be a corporate statement. Stitcher is a site that has a wide variety of podcasts on different subjects. One person alone can not produce all of those podcasts. The one we focused on was College Central which is a company that helps college students network and look for jobs.

3. Would you want to follow regularly? Other: Add anything else that stands out to your group

• I would follow this certain blog regularly. Looking for jobs or learning about applying online is a hard process and not something that seems particularly interesting to read. Being able to listen about these tips makes the situation easier.