The Center of Attention podcast is for anyone with (or in) an online audience who wants to understand how their digital behavior relates to the attention economy at large.
By questioning data from multiple perspectives, Parse.ly co-founders and hosts Sachin Kamdar and Andrew Montalenti attempt to illuminate what we’re really paying attention to.
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Episode 09: Political News Supply and Demand Curve // "Is 'Trump fatigue' real?"
March 13, 2018Sachin and Andrew get the backstory on HuffPost’s “Trump fatigue” data investigation. HuffPost’s Ethan Klapper, Senior Social Media Editor, and Vincent Wu, Head of Insights & Growth, unpack supply and demand for politics news. Plus: +1/-1 on sports.
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Episode 08: The New News Feed // “The existential identity crisis that Facebook is going through”
February 27, 2018Sachin and Andrew dig deeper into publishers’ risk exposure following changes to Facebook’s News Feed algorithm. Plus: increase in younger demographics using social media, favorite newsletters, and +1/-1 on Silicon Valley.
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Episode 07: Mobile Mythbusters // “My assumption is desktop is basically dead.”
February 13, 2018Sachin and Andrew analyze data behind the growth of mobile in 2017 and how referral traffic from platforms like Flipboard and Instagram factored in. Plus: Facebook’s News Feed algorithm, aggregation theory, and +1/-1 on taking your phone to bed.
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Episode 06: And Now, Our Feature Presentation // “Moneyball the movies.”
January 30, 2018Andrew talks with special guest Sal Gionfriddo, a UX Engineer at Parse.ly, about a new data set showing how internet attention for films relates to box office success. Plus: platforms and content policing, Reddit headline browsing, and Spotify’s IPO.
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Episode 05: Feeding Online Appetites in 2017 // “There’s a huge hunger for political and news content.”
January 3, 2018Sachin and Andrew reflect on assumptions the digital media industry made about 2017 and see what the data says about how trends really played out. Plus: Facebook’s impact on emotions, new Chrome ad-blocker, and predictions for 2018.
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Episode 04: Get AMPed // “Google’s back, baby.”
December 20, 2017Sachin and Andrew discuss implications of Google surpassing Facebook as the top traffic referrer to publishers and how AMP and FBIA may have played a role. Plus: net neutrality, media consolidation, Reddit IPO, and why one does not simply remake LOTR.
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Episode 03: Long Live Long-form // “So, our attention span isn't getting killed?”
December 4, 2017Sachin and Andrew take a look at engaged time data and find we have a greater attention span for news content than what traditional bounce rate suggests. Plus: media mergers, the FCC, and +1/-1 on “podfasting,” pivoting to video, and Google AMP.
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Episode 02: Search Intent vs. Social Serendipity // “The war for people’s time”
December 4, 2017Sachin and Andrew decode data behind the Facebook/Google traffic duopoly, comparing how we find content through social serendipity vs. search intent. Plus: optimism for subscriptions, DNAinfo and Gothamist shut down, and +1/-1 on 280 character tweets.
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Episode 01: The Great Reckoning // “The ad only internet is basically a thing of the past.”
December 4, 2017In the inaugural episode, Sachin and Andrew discuss the current pivotal state of the attention economy, aka “the Great Reckoning.” Plus: Google ending “first click free,” Facebook testing new tools, and how many hours/day they spend with digital media.