Media and consulting company Sounds Profitable has released the Podcast Industry Glossary, located HERE. It’s an online product — and, as such, is a living document. Not only can Sounds Profitable keep it updated, but there is an open invitation for community updates.
While that might sound Wikipedia-ish, there is more control built in. A feedback form is provided which collects the contributor’s name and company. This process can be used to suggest an edit, or a new term.
As it is at launch, the Podcast Industry Glossary is categorized into six segments: Buying/Selling, Creative, Reporting, Ad Service, Distribution, and Industry. This organization makes it more quickly navigable and productive than an alphabetical presentation. (The terms in each section are listed alphabetically.)
Our testing reveals a careful comprehensiveness. For example, a reference to “supply side” in the definition of Bid Request could be confusing if Supply Side were not also a defined term — it is. Many examples abound.
The definitions are notable for concision and clarity. Nobody will get bogged down in a thick explanation of any term. The Glossary serves quick, basic knowledge.
Although we did not read the Glossary top to bottom, we note that abbreviations seem well-covered — for example, “Dynamic Ad Insertion (DAI),” and “Cost per Mille (CPM).” The unabbreviated format is what rules the glossary’s indexing; “DAI” and “CPM” do not have their own entries, but searching for both is rewarding.
We observe one peculiarity: The terms “host read” and “live read” are covered under “Read, Host” and “Read, Live” — perhaps correct according to an indexing rule, but maybe not for colloquial use. Searching the Glossary for “host read” or “live read” delivers zero results.
In summary, even in the first edition, the Podcast Industry Glossary is an important, useful, concisely written, living document that will evolve from here.
