Ones to Watch: Vodcasts
Curated by Megan Collins, Cultural Anthropologist, Generational Expert and contributor to the MTD blog
Video podcasts, also known as vodcasts or vlogs, seem to be growing in popularity as brands like YouTube and Spotify continue to invest in these areas. After all, videos do take things to a whole new level! You get to see people's expressions, body language, and all the cool visuals that make it so much more interesting. Unlike audio only podcasts, watching the hosts and guests on screen feels more engaging. It's almost like hanging out with them in real life! While this is very new, we are keeping an eye on the key players and Gen Z upstarts innovating in this space.
Jay Shetty is getting the big names to YouTube
Jay Shetty is a modern-day philosopher, storyteller, and influencer who has used podcasting to captivate his audience with his wisdom and compassion. Born and raised in London, England he often draws on the teachings from his time as a monk in India. His video podcast boasts 1.54 million followers on YouTube and has a wide array of guests and topics. From discussing the power of mindset with Tom Holland to talking boundaries with Kendall Jenner to Mental Health with President Joe Biden he’s bridging the gap between traditional institutions and the vodcasting space.
Hosts leaning into community & merch
Look, we’re not recommending you drop everything and follow this podcast who’s About Me reads “don’t piss on good grass.” But we do want to point out how these creators are leaning into community building through absurdist merch drops with exclusive early access for their patreon subscribers. This follows the tradition of other podcasters dropping merch for their devoted listener base like Tinx’s Rich Mom sweatshirts and of course podcast queen Alex Cooper’s Call Her Daddy merch empire.
SFV strategy goals
In the "Insanely Chill" podcast, the hilarious Viner-turned-YouTuber, Cody Ko engages in captivating conversations with his friends, entrepreneurs, and athletes, exploring various aspects of life, business ventures, and training. The podcast itself is pretty classic, relying on Ko’s inside jokes with his audience and chemistry with his guests. However, one thing Ko and the Insanely Chill team have done incredibly well is selectively clip their episodes for SFV and they often go viral on both TikTok and YouTube Shorts. This allows Ko to grow his audience by showing off some of his best moments and slowly introduces him to potential new fans.