This is a guest article by Stephanie Fuccio — host of the GeoPats Podcast and co-host of the Creativily Complicated Podcast.

Have you ever found yourself complaining about something only to realize that you are part of the problem? This is what happened to me at the end of 2019 and (spoiler) #PodRevDay is my attempt to rectify my podcasting wrongs.

So, one day a month we are posting podcast reviews as part of #PodRevDay, podcast review day. And guess what, today, February 8th, 2020 is a #PodRevDay. Join us!

⭐️ Simply write a review and post it on Twitter with the hashtag #PodRevDay to participate. It is that easy to share the podlove!

First there was #PodRevMo

As with most cathartic moments since I started podcasting, the catalyst was a podcast interview. I was chatting with Jennifer Navarrete, the Founder of #NaPodPoMo, National Podcast Posting Month, a 30 day podcast publishing challenge, about the event background. But during our conversation I found myself in a bit of an attitude pickle. I was very selfishly complaining about how silent the feedback on podcasts is. Jennifer matter of factly admitted that she rarely leaves feedback or reviews for podcasts or even products that she buys and enjoys. The conversation moved on but her level headed admission stuck with me for awhile. By the end of #NaPodPoMo I decided I wanted to change my own behavior and give more podcast feedback as a listener of this genre that I adore. The thing is, as a podcaster, I love talking with my podcast guests but the rest of the podcasting making process is very quiet. Crickets quiet. So, when I, as a podcaster, get an email, Tweet or DM on Instagram about a specific episode, all of that quiet creation time feels instantly worth it and I feel like I have made a small difference in the emotional life of expat or geopat (the subjects of Geopats Podcast). Can I tell you a secret? This impact, this connection, this feedback, this is why many independent podcasters do what we do.

So, on December 1, 2019 I started my own podcast review challenge. It was simple, I would write one podcast review a day the entire month. But on December 4th, something I never anticipated happened: someone decided to join in on the podlove, Andrew Wang, Host of the Inspired Money Podcast.

If Andrew wanted to join in, I thought, maybe other listeners would as well. My mind was spinning with podlove possibility. I tweeted him back with an idea and a name.

I wrote a quick outline of how I was doing my own reviews, in case more people wanted to join in and I pinned them to my Twitter account. I also recorded a quick Geopats episode explaining why #PodRevMo started.

The reviews took on a life of their own. I started #PodRevMo to give feedback to the podcasters making these creations but then it also became about sharing these amazing podcasts with other people so they could enjoy them. It also became important to recognize the excellent podcasts being made but it was also important to do it in a very public way so that other listeners could find these podcasts and enjoy them also. In fact, I initially chose Podchaser as the platform to do this podcast review challenge because of this characteristic. Let me explain.



Why I Review on Podchaser

Unlike more traditional podcast review spaces, Podchaser has 3 characteristics that, when combined, are game changers for both podcast creators AND podcast listeners.

1. Open access:

You can view Podchaser.com from anyone in the world on this platform without device or country divisions on the website.

2. Ease of use:

Podchaser is easy on the eyes. It’s bright, colorful, cheery looking and very user friendly.

3. Community building:

Podchaser is often called the “IMDB of podcasts” because of its’ organization but I found the website an equal balance of informative and playful, with heavy tones on the playful part. With social media saturation running strong in many people these days, I was not expecting to like the interconnectedness of the reviews, guest, host and list pages. I found myself jumping from review post to host to reviewer to guest to list like swinging from tree branches.

Making an Impact on Podcasters

As mentioned before we wrote reviews on Podchaser and then shared them on Twitter with the #PodRevMo tag to reach the largest audience. Other surprising moments were when the Podcast Hosts would reply to the reviews. One of my favorites was from Skye Pillsbury, a Podcaster many of us in podworld admire greatly.

The 8th is #PodRevDay

Like most challenges, it was not easy to do these reviews for 30 days in a row, but it was worth it. And I am happy to report that by the end of December the event included over 20 frequent podcast reviewers rocking the #PodRevMo tag. A quick survey at the end of the month confirmed that the majority of participants would like to turn #PodRevMo into #PodRevDay in 2020.

So on the 8th of every month we are using #PodRevDay to write 1 podcast review and share it on Twitter. Are you tempted to join us in 2020 to tell podcasters what we think of their creations AND spread podcast recommendations to other podcast listeners? I hope so. Remember, it’s #PodRevDay and it’s on the 8th.

When in doubt, check out my Twitter handle; https://twitter.com/stephfuccio

Thanks and happy listening and review writing!

About Stephanie Fuccio

Stephanie is an American who has been living overseas for the majority of the past 15 years. She lived in Asia from 2003 to 2019, with a few breaks for two stints at graduate school in the U.S. In Asia, she lived in places like Taiwan, Vietnam, Malaysia, Japan and China. She has been in Berlin, Germany since January 2020.

Most of Steph’s projects started after leaving a PhD program in the U.S. in late 2016. The program was excellent but it was not leading to the creative or research path she wanted long term. After returning to China in January 2017, she needed a space to create, share and think: thus these podcasts (and their accompanying YouTube channels) were born. All of the projects revolve around questions that Stephanie is trying to answer.

The podcasts have changed and grown a lot since the first one in April 2017 and she imagines that they will continue to do so going forward. What doesn’t change is a desire to share language and culture and quite often, where they intersect.

In addition to the Geopats Podcast, she is also Co-Host of the Creatively Complicated Podcast with Summer Rylander. They are digging into their own messy creative process weekly.

Follow Stephanie on Podchaser and on Twitter.