The Lab's Sasha Koren and Alastair Coote explain how they designed a mobile web player that integrates audio and visuals
The Guardian Mobile Innovation Lab launched an experimental audio series called Strange Bird, to test a new audio player they developed for mobile web browsers.
The team aimed to address some of the limitations of the podcast listening experience, such as it being mostly confined to apps, which narrows down the potential audience to mostly people who are already podcast aficionados. They also wanted to test how audio could be augmented through the use of visuals that offer additional context, without distracting listeners or making them feel like they are missing out if they do not interact with images or links.
In this week's podcast, we speak to editor Sasha Koren and developer Alastair Coote about how the Lab built the audio player, and why more news organisations should explore the potential of mobile browsers for audio consumption.
Illustration of Strange Bird by Guardian data editor Mona Chalabi.
If you like our news and feature articles, you can sign up to receive our free daily (Mon-Fri) email newsletter (mobile friendly).
Sign up to receive job alerts of your choice by email, or manage your subscription
Featured recruiter: click to view its vacancies
Publisher of professional magazines and web sites seeks experienced editor to maintain market-leading products and develop additional channels. To be based at its Kent offices
Subscribe to our newsletter for latest news, tips, jobs and more
End that deadline stress today and find help in our freelance directory
Cargo Force stuns the world: free 10kg shipping to India in celebration of ICC Trophy victory – offer ongoing until Sunday, 16 March!
Our 35th Newsrewired conference will be held 13 May 2025, News UK, London.
Balance quality content with strategic growth
A new report by FT Strategies and smartocto reveals how newsrooms are increasing relevance, engagement and revenue by focusing on why readers consume news rather than what journalists think is important
The Scandinavian media company is using innovative tools, including bullet-pointed explainers embedded in crime stories, to rebuild trust among young audiences and counter growing news avoidance
How do the likes of DER SPIEGEL and L'Equipe turn fly-by readers into loyal subscribers? The Audiencer's Madeleine White dives into top case studies, best practices and benchmarks
