I am interested in a community Podcast directory. Get away from the corporate aspects of podcasting and do like it use to be. Just people communicating with each other on ideas.
Kevin Peyton
· 3 years ago
The podcast directory is a good one, but it would be great if it could be at an episode level as well - a digg style recommendation.
I've become awfully selective of my listening, due to much reduced grey time; I'm not one of those astonishing people that can work at their desktop AND listen.
So while I might be subscribed to a feed, that does not mean I will listed to each installment. Either I will scan the shownotes or the title, and then copy manually to my mp3 player (I am sans iPod)..
The Fish has put me on to some good podcasts I'd probably not have found otherwise. It's more a prediction service in the vein of "If you like X, you'll probably like Y."
We've been adding some digg-like features at PodcastDirectory.com this week, including a 'spy' and what we call 'Criss-Cross' which shows 'what else' listeners of one podcast are listening to. We'd like to add some digg 'thumbs up/thumbs down' but didn't want to be seen (like everyone else) as just doing the same thing that digg does. We're going to try to bring in some more cross-recommendation features because, as you said, it's hard to find podcasts. Even with my long commute, I barely have time to listen that many new podcasts (there just isn't enough time in the day).
Maintaining our directory is kind of a bear sometime. There is a lot of spam, and a TON of poorly formed XML that the parsers choke on. Some people think that podcasts about xxx-rated porn should be labelled 'adult contemporary' and others insist that their 'Detroit/Ambient/Goa with a swing of House' cannot be placed in any category any person can possibly comprehend ('because they don't work at the same record shop as us..'). And then there are the 404 and 500 errors as podcasters come and go...
But it would be fun to find a better way to share the nuggets we do find.
C.C. Chapman
· 3 years ago
I'll second checking out AmigoFish. Dave Slusher has come up with something very cool there that I use all the time.
I find I "discover" a lot less when it comes to podcasts (as opposed to blogs or other text-content-driven web media) largely because it is very time consuming to just 'quickly scan through them and pull out the good from the bad, or vice-versa.'
I wish there was not only a directory, but one where ranking was truly community-driven and reliable, and where podcasts were at least meaningfully categorized. Odeo is probably the closest thing out there to this right now, but it's not perfect.
It's particularly ironic that humans need simple top-of-category style directories, to make it easier for them to consume "good content," they in part need to be told what "good content" is. If this happens in a community-driven way, I expect that roughly 90% of listeners will listen to some top 10% of content, leaving the long tail collecting dust.
I, too, wish there was a good source that aggregated all the podcasts and allowed us to rank them. Rankings should have several components, beyond content. How was the audio quality? Was the show edited to remove distractions?
By far the absolute best podcasts, both quality and content wise are coming from Carl Franklin's PWOP Productions (www.pwop.com). Even the "low" audio quality versions of Dot Net Rocks (for example) are far superior to a lot of what I hear on the web.
Robert C
Elvis Pelfrey
· 3 years ago
what is the standard for a "good podcast"? How do we know there are a bunch of good ones out there?
Would love to know what qualifies as a good podcast. Other than radio shows, content from the WSJ, and content produced by other professional entertainers, I've not found many "good podcasts". What qualifies as a "good podcast"?
I'd like to I guess Third the suggestion for AmigoFish - I don't use it all that often (though as a number of my previously listened to Podcasts have changed/stopped perhaps it is time I revisit it) but it definitely works extremely well in suggesting new and very interesting (to you) shows. Either by looking at your OPML file from your podcatcher OR simply by starting from shows you like and going out from there - plus you can have it generate an OPML file to import into your podcatcher of choice (I use Doppler which I love though they haven't seemingly updated it in quite a while and it isn't flawless).
Shannon
Steven Ickman
· 3 years ago
What are the legal/moral issues with aggregating excerpts from other podcasts into a single bits & pieces podcast?
I'm enjoying the whole podcast thing but it does take a while to listen to even a handfull of podcasts. I'd love to find topic specific podcasts that pull in the best parts of other podcasts and maybe add a little commentary along the way. Hmmm... sounds like a blog. :)
financialaidpodcast
· 3 years ago
I vote for AmigoFish as well. It's pretty darned good. As for ratings, reviews, etc. there will ALWAYS be a way to game ratings and such; if a human being needs to interact with it (rate this, vote for this, etc.) then there will be a way to cause mischief with it. How do you find good podcasts? How do you find good X? Most often, I ask a close circle of friends.
Still a little work to do, but the app was created in just a few hours work. If the interest is there I plan to add any requested features and roll it out along with a few international versions.
Dave
· 3 years ago
Thanks for the kind words on AmigoFish, amigos. I'm glad it is working for you.
To respond to #10, Elvis - I don't think there exists any objective "good" or "bad" standards for podcasts. In fact, we don't need them and we are better off without them. There is no centralized authority that can tell me which of the 20,000 podcasts will matter to me and which ones are "good". For everyone annointed one deemed "good", there are plenty of people who hate it and vice versa for the "bad" ones.
The AmigoFish project is dedicated to the proposition that these value judgements are irrelevant to the post-scarcity world in which we are drowning in content. What matters is the continuum from "is useful to me" to "is useless to me". By collaborative filtering and comparing your ratings to other people, the aim is to bring you shows that are useful to you, and hang the objective standards.
Robert Heard, MA
· 3 years ago
International Phone counseling. Free for all of North America. The areas we deal with through therapy/counseling are marriage and relationship, physical abuse, sexual abuse, emotional abuse, addicitons, domestic violence, post traumatic stress, suicide and depression. Our rates are very competitive. For further information or to make an appointment call 866.877.9770, 604.272.5211 or email; orana1@shaw.ca. Robert Heard, MA, BCETS
ACT Professional Marriage Counseling
Graeme
· 3 years ago
Yes, who can say which podcast is better. Surely this depends upon the listener. A niche community is better qualified to rate podcasts in their own niche, but even so there will be divergent opinions, even amongst their own.
Once the technical aspects of the podcast meet a quality standard, it comes down to the market itself, although the record industry has proven that promotion has a wide effect in the popularity and hence audience of a particular media product.
What we are perhaps looking for is that rare gem, that no-one has cottoned on to yet. To that end, the opinion leader becomes a vital conduit in getting it exposure.
There is currently a vacuum for this role which I am sure will be filled. A new medium does not mean it won't follow the same basic laws.
A community may pass on the news about a podcast but an opinion leader will start the ball rolling.
Just my two cents on the topic at hand.
Nathan S.
· 2 years ago
A community Podcast directory sounds interesting, although it can get crazy at times.
Dan
· 2 years ago
Community Podcast? Podcasts are all getting so more and more popular these days yet a decent one can be hard to find. Good Find!
Dean
· 2 years ago
Podcast are the future all the radio channels will start using them
bob gardener
· 2 years ago
podcasts are the way forward and will continue to expand
Ryan
· 2 years ago
Is there a podcast directory yet? I have found so few good podcasts. I am sure there are many out there, but I do not know of them. They are great to listen to while working.
Dean said that radio channels will start using podcasts, which makes me wonder if any podcasters have went to radio based on the success of their podcasts?
bob gardner
· 2 years ago
when will there be a full podcast database, i look for all sorts of different podcasts
Chris
· 2 years ago
definateley a good idea and for those who like comedy check out Ricky Gervais' podcast hilarious
Jerome
· 2 years ago
You can find good podcasts through itunes if you have it
bucon
· 2 years ago
thanks for this blog it helped me to find podcasts i never knew were available
Andy
· 2 years ago
A community podcast directory. This will be intresting!
drew
· 2 years ago
Podcasts rock, great idea!
:D
Carvids
· 2 years ago
Podcast directory would be great, I cant belive I haven't found a good one yet.
SlackAlice
· 2 years ago
I haven't done a podcast yet, but I look forward to completing one in a couple of weeks, wish me luck!
All Comments
I've become awfully selective of my listening, due to much reduced grey time; I'm not one of those astonishing people that can work at their desktop AND listen.
So while I might be subscribed to a feed, that does not mean I will listed to each installment. Either I will scan the shownotes or the title, and then copy manually to my mp3 player (I am sans iPod)..
You may wish to check out the AmigoFish at:
http://amigofish.com/
The Fish has put me on to some good podcasts I'd probably not have found otherwise. It's more a prediction service in the vein of "If you like X, you'll probably like Y."
The Fish has a blog, too: blog.amigofish.com
Check it out!
-k-
Maintaining our directory is kind of a bear sometime. There is a lot of spam, and a TON of poorly formed XML that the parsers choke on. Some people think that podcasts about xxx-rated porn should be labelled 'adult contemporary' and others insist that their 'Detroit/Ambient/Goa with a swing of House' cannot be placed in any category any person can possibly comprehend ('because they don't work at the same record shop as us..'). And then there are the 404 and 500 errors as podcasters come and go...
But it would be fun to find a better way to share the nuggets we do find.
We also have a directory at http://www.newenglandpodcasting.com . It's nothing fancy, but it gets the job done.
I wish there was not only a directory, but one where ranking was truly community-driven and reliable, and where podcasts were at least meaningfully categorized. Odeo is probably the closest thing out there to this right now, but it's not perfect.
It's particularly ironic that humans need simple top-of-category style directories, to make it easier for them to consume "good content," they in part need to be told what "good content" is. If this happens in a community-driven way, I expect that roughly 90% of listeners will listen to some top 10% of content, leaving the long tail collecting dust.
hi robert! :)
By far the absolute best podcasts, both quality and content wise are coming from Carl Franklin's PWOP Productions (www.pwop.com). Even the "low" audio quality versions of Dot Net Rocks (for example) are far superior to a lot of what I hear on the web.
Robert C
Would love to know what qualifies as a good podcast. Other than radio shows, content from the WSJ, and content produced by other professional entertainers, I've not found many "good podcasts". What qualifies as a "good podcast"?
You do his laundry, dishes and feed him grapes too?
...now - presenting : http://canada.podcast.com
:)
A rating system to rate any folder, feed, podcaster or episode are on the way.
Stay tuned!
check out http://www.todmaffin.com/ and http://www.todbits.com
he is with the CBC and plays a very active role in Canadian Podcasting
JP
http://www.indypodcasts.com/
I spend time with it as my schedule allows, but it is fully functional. I am going to implement a rating/digg type system in the next week or so..
I'd *LOVE* to have some user submitted content, as I have the bandwidth/resources to continue hosting this as it scales up.
I would appreciate any comments and/or feedback.
Indysawmill
http://blog.rumor.net/
No.
Shannon
I'm enjoying the whole podcast thing but it does take a while to listen to even a handfull of podcasts. I'd love to find topic specific podcasts that pull in the best parts of other podcasts and maybe add a little commentary along the way. Hmmm... sounds like a blog. :)
I also second http://www.NewEnglandPodcasting.com and the shows in New England Podcasting. We're a fun bunch.
Christopher S. Penn
http://www.FinancialAidPodcast.com
I noticed that http://www.weblogs.com now tracks podcasts.
In addition, can't find podcasts? How about automatically making them as you like from web pages that have interesting mp3 files.
I wrote a greasemonkey script that does this:
http://blog.medallia.com/
Al
http://podcastdir.ning.com/hits/
Still a little work to do, but the app was created in just a few hours work. If the interest is there I plan to add any requested features and roll it out along with a few international versions.
To respond to #10, Elvis - I don't think there exists any objective "good" or "bad" standards for podcasts. In fact, we don't need them and we are better off without them. There is no centralized authority that can tell me which of the 20,000 podcasts will matter to me and which ones are "good". For everyone annointed one deemed "good", there are plenty of people who hate it and vice versa for the "bad" ones.
The AmigoFish project is dedicated to the proposition that these value judgements are irrelevant to the post-scarcity world in which we are drowning in content. What matters is the continuum from "is useful to me" to "is useless to me". By collaborative filtering and comparing your ratings to other people, the aim is to bring you shows that are useful to you, and hang the objective standards.
ACT Professional Marriage Counseling
Once the technical aspects of the podcast meet a quality standard, it comes down to the market itself, although the record industry has proven that promotion has a wide effect in the popularity and hence audience of a particular media product.
What we are perhaps looking for is that rare gem, that no-one has cottoned on to yet. To that end, the opinion leader becomes a vital conduit in getting it exposure.
There is currently a vacuum for this role which I am sure will be filled. A new medium does not mean it won't follow the same basic laws.
A community may pass on the news about a podcast but an opinion leader will start the ball rolling.
Just my two cents on the topic at hand.
Dean said that radio channels will start using podcasts, which makes me wonder if any podcasters have went to radio based on the success of their podcasts?
:D