![\"\"\/](\"https:\/\/ypod.cymru\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/aled-jones-1-200x200.jpg\")
<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\nHelo, I’m Aled Jones. Director, developer and creator of Y Pod<\/a><\/strong> – Welsh language Podcast service. <\/p>\n\n\n\n You can find out more about me and my career from my LinkedIn profile<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n As I begin to roll out new features and developments for Y Pod I thought it would be an opportunity to look back on the development of the service through stats and figures.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I found that it was impossible to browse podcasts in my\nnative language on any of the podcast platforms.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The major podcast players (Apple Podcasts<\/strong> \/ Google Podcasts<\/strong> \/ BBC Sounds<\/strong>) find it difficult to list podcasts by language and it was incredibly frustrating for me as a Welsh speaker that just wanted to find out what podcasts were out there in Welsh.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The idea behind Y Pod<\/strong> was to create a list of the Welsh Language podcasts<\/strong>. A number of Welsh language podcasts had come and gone since podcasts appeared in 2004. <\/p>\n\n\n\n After searching the internet and social media I discovered\nthat there were 38 Welsh language podcasts currently active and being produced.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I began thinking about how I could introduce the podcasts to\na wider audience and make them easily discoverable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The objectives I set for the project were:<\/p>\n\n\n\n + Welsh language podcasts should be found in one place.<\/p>\n\n\n\n + The Podcasts should be easy to discover.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I set about developing a fairly basic website for Y Pod (The Pod)<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Spotify<\/strong> stepped into the podcast market at the beginning of 2019. Although users were unable to browse podcasts by language within the product. A Welsh language tag was available in Spotify owned Anchor.fm<\/a><\/strong> for podcast production although this wasn\u2019t (and still isn’t) used for browsing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n After a year of developing the project for my own satisfaction\nI began to tell people about the project.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 38 podcasts<\/strong> existed at this stage and the main focus of the website was to direct people to listen on other podcast platforms.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In May of 2019 I created a Twitter<\/a><\/strong> and Instagram<\/a><\/strong> account for the project (the Facebook<\/a><\/strong> account was created in November). <\/p>\n\n\n\n There was a great response on social media and the account accumulated followers quickly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n More and more producers started to get in touch with podcasts that they were in the middle of creating or were ready to launch.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In January of 2020 I was invited by Sali Collins from Jomec<\/a><\/strong> to give a presentation about Y Pod at PodCon Cymru<\/a><\/strong> \u2013 Wales\u2019 first podcast conference.<\/p>\n\n\n\n As I prepared the presentation I was surprised to discover that the original 38 podcasts <\/strong>had grown in number to 72<\/strong> (there were others in production).<\/p>\n\n\n\n It became obvious that Y Pod<\/strong> was working as a promotion platform and had given producers confidence to create podcast content through the medium of Welsh.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The numbers visiting the website increased and it was at this point that I realised Y Pod<\/strong> had grown from a simple website into a Welsh Language Podcast Service<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n March and April 2020 were important months for the service.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Working with S4C<\/a><\/strong> and Mobilise Cloud Services<\/a><\/strong> resulted in the launch of the Welsh Language Podcasts skill on Amazon Alexa<\/a><\/strong>. It is now possible to listen to Welsh language podcasts on an Alexa device<\/a><\/strong> \u2013 and speak Welsh to Alexa. More here<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n A number of young creative producers had channelled their energy into creating podcasts as a way of communicating with a young audience. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cLockdown\u201d saw a number of Welsh language podcasts being launched and by Mai 2020 the number was at 90. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Following a conversation at PodCon<\/strong> Cymru<\/strong> with Matt Deegan<\/strong> from the British Podcast Awards <\/a><\/strong>(the follow up to a previous email exchange) we created a Welsh language category in the 2020 awards<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n We received a number of entries and the judges \u2013 myself, Sali Collins, and Sian Eleri (Radio Cymru \/ Radio One) agreed on a short list.<\/p>\n\n\n\n + Dwy Iaith, Un ymennydd<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n + Haclediad<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n + Siarad Secs<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n The award (presented by Si\u00e2n Harries and Rhod Gilbert) was won by Dwy Iaith, Un Ymennydd<\/a><\/strong> fronted by Elis James.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It was announced at the beginning of September Y Pod<\/a><\/strong> would be part of the Clwstwr<\/a><\/strong> cohort for 2020 \/ 21.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cY Pod is a minority language audio journalism and podcast project aiming to create an economically sustainable service for languages unsupported by the major podcast providers. <\/p> With over one million podcasts within Apple Podcasts alone, discovering minority language news and audio journalism through existing podcast services is challenging without the ability to filter by language. <\/p> Using the Welsh language as a case study the project sets out to increase the discoverability of audio journalism and news in Welsh through a range of innovative solutions and products. \u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n The project will enable Y Pod to develop the next stage of the project and look at supporting other languages that could benefit from the Y Pod<\/strong> model.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It is an amazing opportunity to receive advice and support from leaders within the creative sector, collaborating with other Clwstwr cohort members.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I look forward to sharing developments soon. <\/p>\n\n\n\n It\u2019s been an exciting year for Welsh language podcasters. <\/p>\n\n\n\n There are now over 130 podcasts<\/strong> available in the Welsh language and the numbers listening have increased massively.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Anchor FM<\/a><\/strong> has certainly helped podcast producers with a number of podcasts launching and using the platform.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The audience statistics and user experience for Y Pod have been very interesting and provide an insight for how the project develops.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The demographic is young with 37% of users under the age of\n34. There is a great interest in podcasts for Welsh learners on a weekly basis.<\/p>\n\n\n\n By the end of 2020 users are spending a greater amount of\ntime listening to podcasts through Y Pod rather than going to different\nplatforms.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I\u2019m looking forward to discussions with advertisers in Wales that want to reach a Welsh language audience that traditional broadcasters aren\u2019t reaching.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I have presented several podcast workshops and presentations about Welsh language podcasts and Y Pod during the past 12 months, They include the Arts Council for Wales<\/strong>, Jomec Cymraeg<\/strong>, Sir Gar Greadigol<\/strong> and Coleg Cymraeg<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n A number of producers have contacted through Y Pod to seek information and advice about creating their own podcasts, I look forward to chatting with more creatives during 2021.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Get in touch if you\u2019d like to discuss advertising with Y Pod, podcast ideas, or even to get some advice on recording and producing your own podcast. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Aled <\/p>\n\n\n\n LinkedIn<\/strong>: https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/aledhjones\/<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n2018 – Y Pod – v. 1<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
![\"Developing](\"http:\/\/www.ypod.cymru\/about\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/ypod-1024x576-1.jpg\")
<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n2019<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
May \u2013 Social Media<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
2020<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
January – 72 Welsh language podcasts<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
![\"72](\"https:\/\/ypod.cymru\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/social-pods-768x538.jpeg\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\nMarch \/ April \u2013 Alexa: Enable Welsh Language Podcasts<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
![\"Alexa:](\"http:\/\/www.ypod.cymru\/about\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/alexa1.jpg\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\nMay – 90 Welsh language podcasts<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
June – 100 Welsh language podcasts<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
British Podcast Awards 2020 – Welsh Language Category<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
![\"Nominations](\"https:\/\/ypod.cymru\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/Picture-1.png\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\nSeptember \u2013 Clwstwr<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
![\"Y](\"https:\/\/ypod.cymru\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/clwstwr-cohort-full-1080x206.jpg\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\nNovember \u2013 130 Welsh language podcasts<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
![\"130](\"https:\/\/ypod.cymru\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/pods100-768x768.jpg\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\nWhat next?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Statistics<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Podcast Workshops<\/h3>\n\n\n\n