Okay, it’s time to go slightly off piste. I can tell already that this post is going to require positive, optimistic thinking, you are going to have to use your imagination, see the possibilities. Momentarily put aside all those voices and thoughts that are saying no, no, no, no, step through the portal into the parallel dimension of infinite possibilities. We are going to inflate reality, it will be fun, it might be silly, but it might just give us the perspective we need. Here we go.
So these days you hear nothing but people complaining about evil billionaires taking over the world. Yeah okay sure that would suck big time. Certainly. But having everyone shouting at the void and at each other just isn’t going to lead anywhere that’s even in the same dimension as to what we need. It all seems very important, and some of it is to a certain extent but it’s all arguing over grains of sand when we need to be moving space pyramids. Let’s get into the right literal scale.
Everyone is hating on the Elon Musks, on the Donald Trumps. They are breaking all the rules! How dare they! How dare they write tiny 140 character messages, destabilising THE ENTIRE GLOBAL ORDER! Those techno pirates are going to destroy civilisation! They must be stopped! Come on. Get a fucking grip. They have found a way to use these new technologies really effectively. They’ve done it in public, on front of everyone. It’s actually very remarkable.
But intead of tearing them down, maybe the thing to do is to realise that the game has changed profoundly, for everyone. And to use these directionally correct examples as ways to shape the next wave of technologies in a way that is better for all. We’ve been doing this for decades already. The radio changed things, as did television, and now the internet. We’ve had actor presidents, we‘ve had reality TV presidents, we’ve even had comedian presidents. How long until a head of state runs his own podcast?
You might think it sounds silly, but the fact is that leaders that complain about Musk and Trump are really just angry, because they aren’t competing in the same arena, but they totally could, and in fact they could be far better at it. Elon and Trump have done it using propriety platforms for tiny messages, but that’s only a tiny fraction of what’s possible. Yeah sure Elon runs 4 or 5 of the most successful companies in the world, very impressive, but that’s peanuts compared to running an entire nation. And podcasting is the new medium. You just have to look at the US elections to see that. Rogan had way more viewers and listeners than all the television networks. He interviewed almost all the interesting candidates in long form format. People loved it. Same for the All-in podcast guys.
The great thing about podcasting is that you can make it into anything you want. You can make it a simple thing, a big production, something experimental, something exploratory. Look at the OG podcasters to realise that it’s very much a tool for communication and feedback, and sales, and persuation, and raising awareness, and gathering a following. It’s a way to give people an inside view of what’s really happening. A way to communicate directly to your followers.
What I like about Starmer is he really looks the part. He has presence. He feels and speaks like a priminister should. He has authority. He’s great on prime minister’s questions in parliament. Imagine if he had a public version of prime ministers questions, that he fully controlled. It could be a sort of weekly global sales call. A way for interested people to see into the machinery of government, into all the various institutions and watchdog organisations he’s corralling to create a better country. People would love to see that, to feel connected, to feel like they were all on the same team.
The great thing is that though it seems like we are very far down the line when it comes to social media, that the big players have it all sown up, that’s unlikely to be the case. We are likely still at the beginning. It’s still a wide open field. We have a few useful tools, but the real magic, the magic that is in line with why the web is such a great humam invention in the first place, is still to be discovered. It’s about working together, it’s about open protocols, it’s about creativity.
He could start out with a relatively small team. Look at what someone like Peter McCormac has managed to achieve with his new podcast and his old one with just a hand full of people. He has some of the best political content out there. And there are plenty of establishment folks too. Rory Stewart and Alistair Campbell are taking the world of political podcasting by storm. Why should they be having all the fun? I want our leader to have the same reach. He would no doubt shape his podcast in a very different way. All these shows would be complimentary.
It could be serious. It could be humorous. It could show case different creative talent. Get everyone in the nation pumped, help us rediscover ourselves as a nation. Fight the good fight, promote open protocols for social media instead of relying on propriety platforms owned by billionaires. The best way to build a future that has rubust tools that benefit us all is to be using the tools yourself, to build them yourself. Then you really would have an understanding of what’s needed. Yes it might be challenging, but podcasting isn’t like television or radio. The rawness, the authenticity, the warts and all is what makes it so great. Building in public, discovering in public, sharing your experiences is all part of the podcasting experience, even I dare say, if you are the prime minister of the United Kingdom. The best country in the universe.
Fight censorship with better free speech, be the media. Have a small dev team, release open source code. When you think about it, a podcasting prime minister is about the most Labour thing you could do. Might even start a new trend in world politics. And when he’s done being prime minister, he’d be a podcaster. He wouldn’t need to go around doing shady speaches at diner parties. I mean he could if he wanted to, but I think the world would be a better place if our leaders had their own podcasts.
Even if it’s just low key fireside chat one hour a week, it would be awesome. #