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Why Podcasts Are A Cultural Artefact
Podcasts, like other technology tools, were once massively hyped, but not to the ridiculous degree of Artificial Intelligence, then declared dead, then on life support, then hyped again and now some declaring them on their death spiral. The reality however, is that podcasts have become a cultural artefact. Meaning they’re far from dead and are becoming a key part of the fabric of the aesthetic elements of culture.
What does it mean when an information technology becomes part of the cultural fabric? When a technology is adopted into sociocultural systems it takes on a degree of cultural relevance, which can then have meaningful impact on society, good or bad.
First I’ll look at the important peripheral influences that have lead to podcasts becoming a cultural artefact and then I’ll look at fundamental reason of why they’re successful and here to stay.
Much of the downplaying of podcasts in recent years has been purely from an economic, capitalism oriented viewpoint. Likely driven by a mix of competitive fears in the battle for ever fracturing ad dollars and secondly by the increasingly intense competition for ears and eyes. Yet economic factors rarely win out against the invisible hand of society.
Economic models have long played a role in human societies. In anthropology, we call them reciprocity systems…
