How Podhome supports Podcasting 2.0
Podcasting 2.0 is a “catch-all“ name for an initiative to “synthesize the fragmented world of podcast namespaces“.
A vital part of the Podcasting 2.0 initiative is the “Podcast namespace”. This prescribes features that modern podcast players apps can use to enhance listening experiences. These features are expressed in tags that appear in your RSS feed.
At Podhome, we are big fans of the Podcasting 2.0 initiative, as we want listeners to have the best possible experience. Because of that, we have implemented most features (tags) of the Podcast namespace:
Transcript
We support the Transcript tag. You can create your own transcript, or use Podhome AI. Podhome AI creates transcripts for your episodes and creates three transcripts:
One HTML transcript with Timing and Speakers
One .vtt subtitle transcript
One .srt subtitle transcript
Modern apps can use this to show close captions, or the full, searchable transcript. Apple Podcasts also uses these transcripts.
Locked
You can indicate that your show is locked in your show settings. Directories and apps recognize this tag and won’t ingest your feed if it is locked.
Funding
In your show settings, you can add a URL and description to a funding site, like Parteon. We add this to your RSS feed with the Funding tag. Modern apps and websites show this to your audience, so that they can support your show.
Chapters
We support chapters in many ways. We detect chapters in your audio file and in your episode description. You can manually add chapters, generate them with Podhome AI, or create them from your Value Time Splits.
We use chapters to create a Podcast namespace compliant chapter file, that we link to in your RSS feed.
Soundbites
Soundbites are clips. Snippets of audio that you can, for instance, use to promote your show, or an episode.
You can create clips manually, or let Podhome AI generate them. We incorporate them in your RSS feed as soundbites.
You can download clips as audio- or video clips, and use our Audio Helper, or your transcript to easily create clips.
Person
Persons are people that associated with your show (like a host), or episodes (like guests, or producers).
In Podhome, you can add people to your show or episode manually, or let Podhome AI detect and generate them. You can also choose a Person’s role within your show or episode (like host or guest), and we’ll add it to your RSS feed.
Persons are also tagged as speakers in transcripts, so they show up as the speaker in your transcript.
Season and Episode
We use the Season and Episode tags when you enter an episode- or season-number. Modern podcast apps can use this to sort and group your episodes.
Trailer
Your episodes can have a type, like regular, bonus and trailer. When you create a trailer episode, to promote your show or season, we include it in your RSS feed with the trailer tag.
License
You podcast can have a license. For instance to indicate that it is open source, and you can use its content as you like. You can enter license information in your show settings in Podhome, under Advanced Settings
Guid
In Podhome, every show and episode has a unique identifier (a GUID). We publish this in your RSS feed, so that directories and apps can keep track of your show, even when you move hosts.
When you move your show to Podhome, we make sure to re-use your show and episode GUIDs (if they exist).
Medium
You show can be of many types. Most shows are regular podcasts, with spoken content. But as a musician, you can also use your show as an album and upload tracks (as episodes). We enable that by supporting the medium tag.
In you show settings, under Content Type, you can pick what your show is about. This tells modern podcast apps how to use your content. For instance, when you pick music, Podhome changes its terminology to tracks, and transcript becomes lyrics. You can also change to show to a course or audiobook.
Also, when creating remote items for Value Time Splits, you can search for feeds with the tag music, which will show music that you could play in your episode.
Images
We include the images tag in your RSS feed to let browsers and apps know which artwork is available and what size they are.
We also automatically make your show- episode, and chapter artwork much smaller, so that your show loads fast in podcast apps.
Txt
When you submit your podcast to a directory, it often uses your email address that is visible in your RSS feed, for validation. Alternatively, you can remove your email address from your RSS feed in your show settings, and display a custom text value. Some services can work with this to validate your ownership of the podcast.
Remote Item
A Remote Item is a pointer to another RSS feed, or to an item within another RSS feed. In Podhome, we use Remote Items for Value for Value Time Splits.
Podping
We love Podping! It is an effective way to let directories, like the Podcast index, know that your show, or an episode is updated. We send a “ping“, and within seconds, the Podcast index and modern apps, like Fountain, show the latest updates.
Podroll
Podroll adds entries to other podcasts in your RSS feed. These are podcasts that you recommend, and that apps can use to send users to.
In your show settings, you can recommend other podcasts. These are added to your feed in the podroll tag. Your recommendations are shown in modern apps and in your Podhome website.
Update Frequency
We calculate the update frequency (every day, week, month, etc..) of your show and include that in your feed. Some apps show this to users, to give users a sense of when to expect new episodes.
Value (Value 4 Value)
Value 4 Value is a great way to let your listeners support you. We have extensive support for show- and episode level Value configuration (the value tag structure), and include this in your RSS feed.
Value Time Split
In our Value 4 Value support, we enable you to create Value Time Splits with Recipients and Remote Items. We even offer simple ways to enter Recipients, and to search for and include Remote Items, like music tracks.
Live Item
We support live podcasting with the Live Item tag. We enable you to go live using our own live streaming server (or another that you prefer). You can schedule live sessions, configure everything, including a fallback Url that user can go to when the stream doesn’t work in a podcast app (we use the podcast:contentLink tag for that).
More to come
As Podhome and the Podcast Namespace evolve, we will implement new features to provide you and your listeners with more value. Stay tuned!