This US election cycle has been a giant shitshow, but it has caused two terms - RINO and DINO - to become a part of our cultural lexicon. Both are pejorative terms that are summed up nicely (?) by their actual meanings: Republican In Name Only and Democrat In Name Only.

Podcasting has this problem as well, where “elites” or “OG” podcasters look at the flood of new apps that make podcasting more accessible than ever before and, instead of being excited by the flood of new interested people, turn up our noses or insist these noobs aren’t doing podcasting “The Right Way”.

Choosing the PINO path is not a negative thing. Letting someone else (or something else) worry about the technical underpinnings of podcasting is, for my clients, super smart! Let me make a really bold statement that will upset “full-stack” podcasters but come as welcome news for those who’ve taken the PINO path: 

In the next five years, podcasting will see more advancements than seen in the previous 16 years since podcasting began. And almost all of those amazing technological advancements will benefit PINOS, not full-stack podcasters.

Rather than disparaging these podcasters in name only, we should be learning from them to make the podcasts we create much, much better.

1. Better Storytelling - While full-stack podcasters go into tactical mode contemplating the right DAW, hosting platform, release schedules, feed management and more, the PINOs are focused on telling a great story. They aren’t thinking about waveforms and noise profiles. They’re thinking about the words they’ll use to tell their story over a series of episodes, and how sections of words can be re-arranged to tell that story better.

2. Better Soundscaping/Scoring - Different skills are required to effectively use a DAW - digital audio workstation - to build an immersive aural experience than to edit out filler words from an interview. Yes, the tool is the same, but it’s wielded in vastly different ways. “I know what sounds good” is a perfectly acceptable perspective, if you can pull it off. And they’re pulling it off without being able to teach a Master’s class in audio engineering. 

3. Better Resilience - Many PINOs are used to services closing, getting acquired and shut down, or pivoting with little warning. It’s us full-stack podcasters with all of our acquired knowledge and rigid processes that are thrown into a tailspin when we upgrade our OS only to discover that our plugins don’t work.

4. Better Creativity - Unburdened with the linear thinking that plagues those with near-encyclopedic knowledge, the brains of PINOs are free to think creatively. They don’t have an immediate answer at the ready, which frees them on a creative path as they explore various ways to make amazing content. They experiment or try weird things that many of us would never consider. And sometimes, they strike gold.

Once we can go back to seeing new people in real life, I’m going to start befriending DINOs and actively trying to learn from them. When the PHX Podcast Club meets again, I’ll no longer try to convince members - mostly hobbyists - to join the full-stack podcasting way. Instead, I’ll fliip the tables on them and will eagerly listen as they school me on how they make their podcasts. 

Because I think that these podcasters in name only are a lot closer to the future than I am. You too, perhaps.

Only one more article tomorrow from me, then I go on Evo’s Long Winter’s Nap until early January 2021. If you’re subscribed to the podcast, you’ll still get content: just not from me. A few working podcasters who listen to this show or read these articles have agreed to do their own pontifica