Overcast is one of the best podcasting apps out there, and it’s introducing a new feature that should make it even more useful to listeners: the ability to share clips of episodes to share online.
The app’s latest update allows users to converts an excerpt of a podcast into a short video, which can then be shared on social media, (or by email or text message). Developer and Overcast founder Marco Arment notes in a blog post that people have long been able to share podcast episodes, but that it’s been a cumbersome process, and that it’s easier to share a short video than it is an audio link.
To share a clip in the app, click on the share icon in the top right-hand corner, and select the “Share Clip” option. That will bring you to the interface to select the desired segment of the episode you’re listening to. You can then customize it a bit to share it as straight-up audio, a vertical, landscape, or square video, and add on a “Shared from Overcast” badge, if you so wish.
Arment uses his post as an opportunity to stump for the health of the overarching podcasting industry, taking a stab at recent startup Luminary, which launched earlier this week with a resounding thud. That app launched with considerable backing from venture capitalists, branding itself as the “Netflix of podcasting,” and coming with a large roster of premium shows. However, because it also launched with a free tier for people to listen to existing shows, many creators felt that the app was using their shows to lure listeners in to get them to sign up for its exclusives. As a result, numerous studios have since pulled their shows.
Many in the podcasting world see Luminary’s launch as a threat to what’s up until now, been a fairly open system. Arment says that “for podcasting to remain open and free, we must not leave major shortcomings for proprietary, locked-down services to exploit,” and notes that sharing podcasts isn’t exactly the easiest thing to do. Hopefully, this update will make the practice a bit easier to accomplish — and maybe make it easier to introduce someone to a show they haven’t yet heard.
This article is from The Verge
