Exactly! Reading stuff through a news aggregator is fine, if you have access to a PC and a net connection most of the time. I have a field job that requires I go to customer sites and I live in a rather small city. That means no net access (wifi hotspots are nearly impossible to find and there's no EVDO service out here) and no PC much of the day unless I want to pull the car over to the side of the road. Podcasts help me stay informed despite my less wired life.
ajaxian
· 3 years ago
So true, i think that it depends on where you are, and everything like that
Michael Moncur
· 3 years ago
I've often expressed my opinion that the podcast phenomenon depends entirely on commuting. People who commute to work (car, bus, train, whatever) love podcasts, and people like me who work at home don't see the point of them at all.
There are plenty of people commuting, so I don't think you're wrong to join a podcast company...
The only people who are wrong are those that think podcasting will REPLACE weblogs. Just like you said, use the right tool for the job.
P.S. If I were walking in the scottish highlands I'd be enjoying the sights and sounds... Not listening to a podcast. :)
Robert Scoble
· 3 years ago
Michael: well, the guy who told me that lives there. It'd be like me listening to podcasts on the beach in Half Moon Bay. It's stunningly beautiful there (come and visit!) but I do my best thinking when I'm in such an environment so that's when I listen to smart people telling me interesting things.
John Walker
· 3 years ago
Gotta say you're right. I wish I had more time to listen to podcasts, but those times when I take my dog for an hour long walk, I love listening to them. It's like Tivo for my ears...my stuff when I want it. Long plane trips too.
John Walker
· 3 years ago
Ooh, yeah...Robert, now that your going to be involved in video podcasting too, let me make my pitch. Each week I download the .wmv version of the Digg show and I watch it via my XBox 360 Media Center extender. It's so great to watch that show on a big-screen TV, even if it's not High-Def. Please push the folks at PodTech (and others) for more .wmv versions of video podcasts.
I think there'd be a good market there for Xbox 360 users like me. Best of luck in the new job too!
rockwatching
· 3 years ago
Also reading takes effort and concentration, audio is passive, subliminal. I hear people are now fed information in short little clips, a result of our decreasing ability to concentrate for anything other than short periods. You can sign your subconcious over to the podcast.
Peter
· 3 years ago
Well, I may be a bit out of it, my commute involves a set of stairs and walking to the room on the other end of my kitchen. If I’m excercising indoors, I watch tv, if I excercise outdoors, I enjoy the sights and sounds of nature. When I’m driving, my four-year-old in the back seat generally drowns out the sounds of anything resembling a podcast. I do wish you well, and hope your service finds a successful market, but I’m just not seeing it.
Robert Scoble
· 3 years ago
Peter: don't worry, I'll do a Podtech blog for you and we're working on getting transcripts so you can follow along.
mutiny
· 3 years ago
One other area poscasts stand out is language. My native tounge is Malayalam. Although I speak it fluently, I'm not good at reading it. Now I can keep upto date with news and views from my home state of Kerala via podcasts, earlier I had to depend on someone reading it out to me. Since reading is not involved, Podcasts are good for visually challenged people too.
nortypig
· 3 years ago
Podcasting is really handy when I'm working, instead of listening to music sometimes I find its convenient to listen to an available podcast.
I'm a bit confused how anyone could not see the use of podcasting...
Similarly last year at the University of Tasmania a senior lecturer in Information Systems, one who is on the state government board here for innovative technology grants, bailed me up in his office asking
"I don't get this RSS thing, I just dont get it. What's the point???"
Neuromancer
· 3 years ago
Quite right I often listen to TWIT when i'me doing by boring scut work if somthing interesting comes up I can go to the site under discussino
Robin Capper
· 3 years ago
Podcasting is inefficient compared to text but for me it's like "Radio Tivo". I love listening to radio while working, or doing boring chores, but cant choose what I hear or when it's broadcast. Podcasting means I can.
jaap
· 3 years ago
He's wrong. You can't read blogs or books on a bike or while doing the dishes, or vacuuming, or working out. Podcasting is efficient because it uses time in which you can't do anything else.
Nicole Simon
· 3 years ago
There is a place for blogs, there is a place for podcast, there is a place for IRC and one for Second Life - and the other ones I am missing.
Yes, a lot of people react strongly to not liking the audio they need to insist on how useless it is - probably to make the feeling go away that they notice there is something coming which they don't understand - and it is going to be huge.
Which is okay. They don't need to. But if they want to play "i am so hip I do all the cool stuff" - well, then they need to engange in podcast too.
Or gain enough self confidence and self reflectivness to be able to say "Yes, Podcasting is great - for others and I am happy for them. It is just not for me."
Jeff
· 3 years ago
Your point about Podcasting being a handy way to consume some time where reading is impratical is well taken. But Podcasters should also note that time is not without limits. I listen to the iPod in the car or while exercising. Knowing that I have X hours a week to listen to Podcasts, I have become VERY selective about what I listen to. Podcasts are going to have to get much, much better in my opinion in order to keep an audience. The homespun, "gosh gee-whiz look at us we have a Podcast where we talk about whatever pops into our heads" Podcasts are over. They got their 15 minutes in the spotlight. Now bring on the good (but brief) stuff.
razib
· 3 years ago
Podcasting will take off after millions of people in third world can have better internet connection. In my country, podcasting has hardly any user base because of low internet speed.
Jon B
· 3 years ago
Podcasting is good as an alternative. When it becomes the only way to get access to content, that content is pointless for people like me.
Some would argue that the majority of content in podcasts is poor anyway and that I'm at an advantage for not having been exposed to it, but I would like to make that decision for myself.
So those of you who do podcasts, make the content available to those that are not able to listen to it, or give up any pretence that this is the next wave.
Adrian Lee
· 3 years ago
I tried listening to some podcasts when I was catching the train to work. An hour and a half journey, with no net access, perfect for Podcasting?
Well no. I found podcasts excrutiatingly boring to listen to while on the train. I was much happier listening to music and reading a book.
It also required a lot more preparation. I had to download the podcasts and get them transferred to my mp3 player. Which I usually couldn't be arsed doing.
Until my mp3 player can connect to the internet and download podcasts itself (without an extra cost), I probably won't bother with it. Most of the podcasts I have listened to, have been on my PC.....
Podcasting is always going to ahvea smaller niche market than text RSS feeds.
Angel
· 3 years ago
I listen to my podcasts while I'm getting ready for work in the morning, cleaning my house, or while driving. I've found myself listening to podcasts on my iPod more than music. It's an excellent way to get information during a period of time when you typically wouldn't be able to.
vinnie mirchandani
· 3 years ago
also some are better listeners than readers, and within readers some are still better at reading printed copies than on screen...market segmentation does not die...
DC Stultz
· 3 years ago
I've never listened to a podcast and the few videos (mostly humor) that I've been sent have been watched with the audio muted. Why? I'm hearing impaired. I haven't been able to understand electronic speech for about 10 years. If you don't offer transcripts, you won't get your message to me.
I'm not alone with this handicap. AND, millions more will be having it due to hearing loss caused by the too loud music on your MP3 player, at concerts and sporting events, and from those damn boom boom cars that are annoying as hell. Enjoy the podcasts and videos while you can. Closed captions on TV and transcript wishes may be a fact of life for you too in the near future.
John
· 3 years ago
I listen to podcasts while I'm reading my top 50 sites through aggregators, checking my email and doing everything else.
Come on... anyone ever heard of multitasking. In fact, most people who listen to podcasts ARE doing something else while they're listening, because the majority of people don't listen to podcasts on portable media players, they listen directly on their PCs.
BlogReader
· 3 years ago
This Peter guy is out to lunch -- the only time I find podcasts least efficient that reading blogs is when I'm in front of a computer in the office. And guess what -- that's the time I should be reading and not listening.
His complaint is like spoons are more efficient than forks as you can eat soup with them.
There's no way I could read on the bus into work, with all the jostling and all the talk going on around me. But put on some good earphones and Audible on my iPod and the 50 minute trip is bearable.
Dana Gardner
· 3 years ago
Couple of other podcast modality benefits ... multitasking. Even when at a PC I can do lots of work and listen to a podcast. I can't read more than one thing at a time. Also, absorption ... I retain information better listening then scanning text (could be just me). Group activities ... I know a developer who puts his team in a room, closes the door, plays a relevant podcast and does a group brainstorm on it. He says if he sends out a document before the meeting, most people won't have read it. By listening in a group, he knows the whole team is on the same page, and they get a discussion in real time on it. Podcasting is a strong business tool.
Jason Kolb
· 3 years ago
I work at home, and I still use podcasts--at the gym, while I'm driving, and when I'm relaxing. I really don't think it's wise for a content publisher to ONLY offer podcasts--it makes the most sense to me to do a weekly summary podcast that boils down what's happened in the text version over the past week. That would serve the additional purpose of luring in listeners who may not want to subscribe to and read yet another blog but want to keep up to date on what's happening while they work out.
Kosso
· 3 years ago
Exactly!
- Text requires your eyes' attention and hand coordination. - Video requires your eyes' and ears' attention - Audio just needs your ears.
: So you can get on with doing something else - like drive/code/work/farm/walk/etc/etc....
and LEARN!
Eric Rice
· 3 years ago
La la la let's play the medium-is-not-the-content game boys and girls, yes that's right! Okay, your challenge........ rewrite all the posts and comments and snarky, by doing the following things...........ready? GO!
Replace 'podcast' with 'radio'; replace 'videoblog' with TV; replace 'blogs' with newspaper.....
Hi, hello, what up, zOMG. You watch stuff, you listen to stuff, you read stuff. And you do one or all of those where it makes sense or convenient. But i think that might be too obvious.
reading is blogs are great but you are rigt about the times when you don't have a computer to read them and i think listening to podcast are a better form of entertainment. I listen to a lot of podcast (mainly from the TWIT Network when im out and about but not when i am at a computer.
mp
· 3 years ago
a podcast is basically talk radio 2.0. so just insert podcasts in the place where you normally put in radio...
webomatica
· 3 years ago
My short list for why I listen to podcasts:
1. Long commute. 2. I listen to talk radio. 3. I own an iPod. 4. I'm comfortable with technology.
As far as I'm concerned if any one of these items weren't part of my life I doubt I would listen to podcasts, but right now I'm addicted to them. The last 2 are pretty important because one has to be comfortable with the concept of downloading files and pushing to the iPod regularly, which I'm afraid is not an easy concept for some. Some people just digitize their whole music collection, push to the iPod once and don't sync regularly after that.
mobile jones
· 3 years ago
The observation of TV, radio, and newspapers is mostly on target. Yes, those are today's models and analogies for new media, BUT.... What makes vlogging, pocasting and blogs stand out from the parent medium is timeshifting, placeshifting, and nicheiness.
Teevee and radio especially as broadcasting makes time (when broadcasted) and place (your home or other stationary location with a TeeVee) critical to receiving the information or entertainment. So, you must plan your life around the information or entertainment that you want. With timeshifting and placeshifting you plan the information and entertainment into your life. Or when receiving it across the mobile network, little or no planning is required either.
Examples include, listening to podcasts at the laundrymat, a sporting event, on a commute, during class (you are recording the lecture, right?) while waiting for a bus, train or other transportation.
RE: placeshifting...I listen to podcasts on my mobile phone at the dog park. It could also be while I'm waiting for a dentist, doctor or hair stylist. Having podcasts on the device which is always with me is liberating from the whole planning cycle of placeshifting my fav content. This applies to video too as today I watch bliptv on my phone. I would also watch check out lots of other videos if I could.
Jeremiah Owyang
· 3 years ago
I'm backing you up here Robert --I'd also like to coin that Podcasting is an ambient medium
I can't wait to see what you do with this new media. I think you're more effective as a speaker than a writer, for example.
I'm curious to know what your role at PodTech will be. As always, time answer these questions.
The audience for podcasting is growing... there's no denying that it fills a need for millions. I listen while I commute for 10 hours and lately have started listening to work safe content as I work. My co-workers play the radio or have XM devices and I just have my iPod handy to add another layer to my "wage slave" environment.
Christopher Coulter
· 3 years ago
A View From the Vlog Smog
1. Vlogs about Vlogs all Vlogged up - Blog-level egos gone Video, endless pontificational ramblings about blogs, vlogs, podcasts, RSS feeds and the whole annoying scene. Circular content circling itself, squared (and then some). Video Killed The Blogging Star.
2. YouTube Stupidisms and MySpace-Cadets - Mimicking that song or doing goofy grade-school-level humor spoofs, funny for the first time maybe, but even a stretch there. Passable for some teen-ager yucking around around with a camera, but downright embarrassing for 30-something geeks. Grow up, please.
3. Tech Conference reports on Tech Conferences and the Tech Conference Attendees - Insider-baseball extreme, after recording the panels, the shaky cam's wander around to the audience for another redundant poke. All smug and self-important.
"What you weren't at this conference? Well, obviously you don't matter. But have a gander at what these so-so-important people have to say. You should consider yourself darned lucky that I am sooo kind-hearted and democratically-minded as to report on this and bring it down to your level, you lower-caste low-life pond-scum miserable excuses for human beings".
4. Geek Out, Freak Out - Geeks talking about their Computers, Gadgets and all things SciFi. The neurological and medical science research vlogs are few and far between, but boatloads of geeks taking geeky. These are the sort of people you run away from at parties, or feign a fainting spell if cornered. Run, scream and hide.
Christopher Coulter
· 3 years ago
5. Video Game Central - Endless upon endless unedited droning bluster about, geee, video games, as an added bonus, 2 hour heated-debates on Xbox 360 vs PS3. Occasionally, self-important types wax philosophical about the social implications of World of Warcraft.
6. Egocasts - Look at me. Look at me. Did you see me? Huh? You want me to repeat that? Look at me. Random misc. daily happenings, of no particular importance whatsoever, but said blustered ego, thinks the world should know when he or she decides to change toothpaste brands. Oft times tries for the humorous outlook on daily life, but always fails miserably. Making the ordinary, transcendent, is an art-form only a rare few ever achieve, most often found in great literature, not quite via dizzy-headache-inducing retail-purchased handheld camera's.
7. Cults of Personalities - Self-appointed Silicon Valley notables and Venture Capitalists, vlogging and podcasting themselves and their friends all up. You are supposed to worship them and join their Cult of the Moment, as heck, that's what it takes to get in this game. We are the big dogs, and if you don't know that, I suggest you get with the program, fast.
"You gave me fortune. You gave me fame. You me power in your god's name. I'm every person you need to be. I'm the cult of personality."
8. Pretty in Pinks - No talent beach-ball Valley Girl wander-arounds, but get the audiences and the hits on account of the Secret Decoder Ring 34DD Codename.
9. Empty Heads - Bland dull-as-rocks, corporate press-releasey talking-heads; thought of as brand new frontier by any number of Valley podcast start-ups. Has as a main feature, the inability to maintain EYE CONTACT with the camera. Here's a word that might be too big for Corporate Spokespeople types, T-E-L-E-P-R-O-M-P-T-E-R, they are pretty affordable these days, use and love.
10. Analyze That - Analysts and Journalists (that should really really stick with print) blathering on and on about the weeks general news in tech, lots of 'ummms', 'yeah', 'cool', 'likes' with endless sputterings and long pauses. Sort of 'Washington in Week in Review' only with half a bottle of Sleeping Pills extra. Broadcasting and radio takes talent...not much of that here.
11. Wannabee Independent Film Makers - Art films and low-budget gore films podcasted and vlogged up for their own sake. Unwatchable -- all Direction and no Script. In the immortal words of Sire Joe Bob Briggs, "I hear the word 'independent,' and I see movies about schizophrenic lesbian performance artists spouting freeform poetry."
Chris
· 3 years ago
I'm looking forward to what the next wave of 'casts will bring. Ultra portable and easy to store, what with the low costs of players and storage nowadays. Repalce that dusty stack of old newspapers with an iPod and a NAS device :)
Joe Baressi
· 3 years ago
Definitely, Robert's post and all these comments have, ad nauseam, delineated the boundaries of what the demand for Podcasts is/will be.
The next question is how many competing suppliers will enter the market to satisfy that demand.
My bet: a stunningly high amount.
And so I just do not see alot of profit ahead for PodTech.
Jeremiah Owyang
· 3 years ago
Robert and All
My thoughts are the following:
Podcasting is an Ambient Medium:
"Podcasting is an Ambient Medium enabling listeners to perform other primary duties while consuming audio content. Typical podcasts consumers will consume audio content on a mobile MP3 device, or direct from a browser --both consumption styles enable users to multitask."
It is not only about the usage but the content. Would someone want to read a 500 page transcript of bloggercon or listen to it? And most people can't go to all the conferences, but they want to get the knowledge. Podcasting changed my world.
Mike Dorring
· 3 years ago
That guy Peter is all 'wet'. Podcasting and video podcasting are complementary media formats to text. Text is great for comprehension and speed but audio and text have amazing benefits. Listening to someone 's voice is powerful and targeted and intimate.
Good move on Scoble and PodTech. The future is often not seen by average people until it's upon them...Scoble has always been a visionary and what PodTech seems to be doing is along those lines... can't wait to see podcasting and videopodcasting get easier and better quality
You can hear he's intelligent, thoughtful, so you trust it's worth adsorbing while he sets the tone with background music and really draws you in...
Dave
· 3 years ago
What will sell me on it is when I can adjust the playback speed of the recording. Most people (particularly the ones that are trained public speakers) speak painfully slow.
I recently discovered that I can adjust the playback speed of audio and video in Windows Media player. In almost all cases, I can listen to the audio at 160% of regular speed and still catch everything. I've found that 130% is a decent listening speed for the average speaker.
If I have the ability to set the playback speed of a podcast to 130% of the regular pace, then I will be 100% on board. Until then, I find it too painful to listen to the slow-talking people.
Dan
· 3 years ago
I have always had similar thoughts to David's regarding Podcasting. In an age when we try to cram more and more into tighter periods of time, I have never understood how talk radio (podcasts) can make much of a comeback in the mainstream. It is not just that I can't scan it quickly like a newspaper, but many of these people are amateur commentators: slower than they should be, and more impressed with themselves when they can squeeze in an extra joke or two. In terms of the view that this can be listened to in downtime when other media are not reasonable (commuting, driving, plane rides, etc), you still have to factor in the time it takes to organize the media. I understand that Podcasts will probably do just fine without my approval, and I am happy that it really works for some people. If it worked for everyone - that would be great too. But for me, I devour media, and cannot find a way to make Podcasts work for me. Video Podcasts I think are another story entirely. I think that will continue to grow and become a mainstream part of the net. (good move robert!)
Philip Ferris
· 3 years ago
Robert, I decided to use my responmse to your blog to kickstart my blogging.
Peter is right when he says podcasts are inefficient, since the content behind it is inefficient.
However I'd have to disagree on the fact that it cannot replace text content. Multi-media content is the wave of the future (both for web and mobile) and I think slowly but surely the rest of the world (amateur and corporate), will come to realize its effectiveness. But that cannot happen without proper changes in the format/structure of the content itself.
Yes podcasting I'd argue is a very american and especially californio-centric idea. Where else do so many people spend so much time in long commutes stuck in their cars? I'd argue that in most other cities and countries a far great percentage of people spend less time commuting or commute by other means, for instance on trains where reading interfaces often work quite fine, or by bike where headphones (or reading too, heh) would just likely get you in an accident.
zhonghuarising
· 3 years ago
As others have said, there is definitely a time and a place for podcasts. to me, listening to a podcast is akin to listening to talk radio. I only do it for background noise while commuting or puttering around the house.
Christian Burns
· 3 years ago
other things that can be done while listening to podcasts, this is going to include actual manual labor thatsome people do for money 8+ hours a day,
I mostly listen to podcasts on my iPod taking the train from Auburn to Seattle each morning. It doesn't give me motion sickness like reading a book or watching a video does. And many of the best podcasts are as entertaining as the best books or movies. I find myself listening to less radio, watching fewer movies and reading fewer books now that podcasts are so easy to find and download. iTunes still has some kinks in the managing subscriptions but it works fairly well and I'm sure it will improve.
Wendy
· 3 years ago
Personally I find podcasts tedious and distracting...unless I put them on the old MP3 player and go for a walk. I LOVE listening to stuff when I'm walking for an hour sans kids, it's my decompress time of the day, and I feel like I'm still being productive since I usually am catching up on various conferences.
I've tried to listen to podcasts while working but I end up writing down what the person is saying; not real good there.
Eric Rice
· 3 years ago
Haha, so Chris Coulter hates *everything*. Ring ring, It's not the clue phone it's Time Life. They have a new 37 disc DVD set about the nuanced behavior of various molecules of dirt particles on Venus. Which, btw, if you saw that series LAST time they released the 25 DVD set, you'd know that Venus has direct historical connection to the Renaissance, and the origins of Latin derivativity in most common nomenclature in Chemistry.
I dunno, I could be wrong. ;-)
Cameron Reilly
· 3 years ago
we used to hear this kind of argument a lot more 12 - 18 months ago but I haven’t heard it for ages. I had assumed most people now realized that comparing podcasts to blogs was like comparing radio to a newspaper. They are different mediums servicing different needs. And yet you never hear people arguing that radio is inefficient and we should all just read newspapers. Maybe there were people making that argument back in 1920, when Westinghouse’s KDKA-Pittsburgh broadcast the Harding-Cox election returns and began their daily schedule of radio programs?
Alex Castro
· 3 years ago
I totally agree with you. Certainly, I'm biased as the CEO of a local Podcasting start-up (www.pluggd.com), but I don't think of things in terms of text vs audio vs video. All of these things will coexist today as Radio, TV, and print newpapers/magazines have coexisted for a long time.
I don't think podcasts are just about communiting or going to the gym. In fact, a majority of podcasters listen to the content on their PCs. It really comes down to the individual.
I don't really understand the skeptics out there. If you forget about the name "podcast", and just ask if consumers would accept time-shifted on-demand audio/video that is free, relevant to their interests, and avoids all the DRM hassles, would anyone question the possibilities?
@66. you left out one other key element, "produced by people with actual talent that have something useful and relevant, and entertaining to say". Lacking that key element podcasts are no different than high school radio broadcasts, except with the time shifting. And the majority of podcasts fall into that talentless category today.
Dmad
· 3 years ago
@37, you mean like books on tape, DVR material I can download to my PC or portable device with Tivo or WMC? Nothing new to see here.
Time-shifted radio broadcasts are great. I love listening to PhilHendrie, ESPN's PTI, LauraIngraham, or even some WSJ podcasts. But the reason I do is that those are well produced, delivered by people with talent that are entertaining and have quality content. The few Valley type podcasts I've attempted to listen to, I swear I'm listening to Dr. Nick Riviera, Professor Frink, or Comic Book Guy. The lack of talent or skill in broadcast detracts from the actual message. And don't get me started on video by talentless geeks. Even worse. It will take off only when there is talent behind the mic or the camera. Not there today.
Jonathan Washburn
· 3 years ago
When I am on a run, the only thing I want to listen to is my inner thoughts, not Amanda Condgon. Same goes for when I am walking the Scottish Highlands.
Laurent
· 3 years ago
I still have one problem with podcasts, in the inability to "scan" hundreds of sound files the way I can scan hundreds of blogs.
It's tough to say in a one second if a podcast will interest you (or not), while it can be easily done (with good accuracy, not perfect but good) with text.
But I'm sure a tool like podzinger will help correct that... Podcasting will rock!
Nick Dynice
· 3 years ago
Why listen to the radio when you can watch TV (both sight and sound is better/more/faster right?) Why go to the concert when you can just download the song for free? Why text chat when you can skype? Why meet in person when you can just meet in Second Life?
Oh, freedom of choice.
Bryan Haardt
· 3 years ago
Imagine if it was easy to subscribe, manage and was device independent...oh it already exists...
All Comments
There are plenty of people commuting, so I don't think you're wrong to join a podcast company...
The only people who are wrong are those that think podcasting will REPLACE weblogs. Just like you said, use the right tool for the job.
P.S. If I were walking in the scottish highlands I'd be enjoying the sights and sounds... Not listening to a podcast. :)
I think there'd be a good market there for Xbox 360 users like me. Best of luck in the new job too!
I'm a bit confused how anyone could not see the use of podcasting...
Similarly last year at the University of Tasmania a senior lecturer in Information Systems, one who is on the state government board here for innovative technology grants, bailed me up in his office asking
"I don't get this RSS thing, I just dont get it. What's the point???"
Yes, a lot of people react strongly to not liking the audio they need to insist on how useless it is - probably to make the feeling go away that they notice there is something coming which they don't understand - and it is going to be huge.
Which is okay. They don't need to. But if they want to play "i am so hip I do all the cool stuff" - well, then they need to engange in podcast too.
Or gain enough self confidence and self reflectivness to be able to say "Yes, Podcasting is great - for others and I am happy for them. It is just not for me."
Some would argue that the majority of content in podcasts is poor anyway and that I'm at an advantage for not having been exposed to it, but I would like to make that decision for myself.
So those of you who do podcasts, make the content available to those that are not able to listen to it, or give up any pretence that this is the next wave.
Well no. I found podcasts excrutiatingly boring to listen to while on the train. I was much happier listening to music and reading a book.
It also required a lot more preparation. I had to download the podcasts and get them transferred to my mp3 player. Which I usually couldn't be arsed doing.
Until my mp3 player can connect to the internet and download podcasts itself (without an extra cost), I probably won't bother with it. Most of the podcasts I have listened to, have been on my PC.....
Podcasting is always going to ahvea smaller niche market than text RSS feeds.
I'm not alone with this handicap. AND, millions more will be having it due to hearing loss caused by the too loud music on your MP3 player, at concerts and sporting events, and from those damn boom boom cars that are annoying as hell. Enjoy the podcasts and videos while you can. Closed captions on TV and transcript wishes may be a fact of life for you too in the near future.
Come on... anyone ever heard of multitasking. In fact, most people who listen to podcasts ARE doing something else while they're listening, because the majority of people don't listen to podcasts on portable media players, they listen directly on their PCs.
His complaint is like spoons are more efficient than forks as you can eat soup with them.
There's no way I could read on the bus into work, with all the jostling and all the talk going on around me. But put on some good earphones and Audible on my iPod and the 50 minute trip is bearable.
- Text requires your eyes' attention and hand coordination.
- Video requires your eyes' and ears' attention
- Audio just needs your ears.
: So you can get on with doing something else - like drive/code/work/farm/walk/etc/etc....
and LEARN!
Replace 'podcast' with 'radio'; replace 'videoblog' with TV; replace 'blogs' with newspaper.....
Hi, hello, what up, zOMG. You watch stuff, you listen to stuff, you read stuff. And you do one or all of those where it makes sense or convenient. But i think that might be too obvious.
/end ridiculously patronizing, sarcastic, yet, insightful comment.
1. Long commute. 2. I listen to talk radio. 3. I own an iPod. 4. I'm comfortable with technology.
As far as I'm concerned if any one of these items weren't part of my life I doubt I would listen to podcasts, but right now I'm addicted to them. The last 2 are pretty important because one has to be comfortable with the concept of downloading files and pushing to the iPod regularly, which I'm afraid is not an easy concept for some. Some people just digitize their whole music collection, push to the iPod once and don't sync regularly after that.
Teevee and radio especially as broadcasting makes time (when broadcasted) and place (your home or other stationary location with a TeeVee) critical to receiving the information or entertainment. So, you must plan your life around the information or entertainment that you want. With timeshifting and placeshifting you plan the information and entertainment into your life. Or when receiving it across the mobile network, little or no planning is required either.
Examples include, listening to podcasts at the laundrymat, a sporting event, on a commute, during class (you are recording the lecture, right?) while waiting for a bus, train or other transportation.
RE: placeshifting...I listen to podcasts on my mobile phone at the dog park. It could also be while I'm waiting for a dentist, doctor or hair stylist. Having podcasts on the device which is always with me is liberating from the whole planning cycle of placeshifting my fav content. This applies to video too as today I watch bliptv on my phone. I would also watch check out lots of other videos if I could.
http://tinyurl.com/m6hv5
I can't wait to see what you do with this new media. I think you're more effective as a speaker than a writer, for example.
I'm curious to know what your role at PodTech will be.
As always, time answer these questions.
The audience for podcasting is growing... there's no denying that it fills a need for millions. I listen while I commute for 10 hours and lately have started listening to work safe content as I work. My co-workers play the radio or have XM devices and I just have my iPod handy to add another layer to my "wage slave" environment.
1. Vlogs about Vlogs all Vlogged up - Blog-level egos gone Video, endless pontificational ramblings about blogs, vlogs, podcasts, RSS feeds and the whole annoying scene. Circular content circling itself, squared (and then some). Video Killed The Blogging Star.
2. YouTube Stupidisms and MySpace-Cadets - Mimicking that song or doing goofy grade-school-level humor spoofs, funny for the first time maybe, but even a stretch there. Passable for some teen-ager yucking around around with a camera, but downright embarrassing for 30-something geeks. Grow up, please.
3. Tech Conference reports on Tech Conferences and the Tech Conference Attendees - Insider-baseball extreme, after recording the panels, the shaky cam's wander around to the audience for another redundant poke. All smug and self-important.
"What you weren't at this conference? Well, obviously you don't matter. But have a gander at what these so-so-important people have to say. You should consider yourself darned lucky that I am sooo kind-hearted and democratically-minded as to report on this and bring it down to your level, you lower-caste low-life pond-scum miserable excuses for human beings".
4. Geek Out, Freak Out - Geeks talking about their Computers, Gadgets and all things SciFi. The neurological and medical science research vlogs are few and far between, but boatloads of geeks taking geeky. These are the sort of people you run away from at parties, or feign a fainting spell if cornered. Run, scream and hide.
6. Egocasts - Look at me. Look at me. Did you see me? Huh? You want me to repeat that? Look at me. Random misc. daily happenings, of no particular importance whatsoever, but said blustered ego, thinks the world should know when he or she decides to change toothpaste brands. Oft times tries for the humorous outlook on daily life, but always fails miserably. Making the ordinary, transcendent, is an art-form only a rare few ever achieve, most often found in great literature, not quite via dizzy-headache-inducing retail-purchased handheld camera's.
7. Cults of Personalities - Self-appointed Silicon Valley notables and Venture Capitalists, vlogging and podcasting themselves and their friends all up. You are supposed to worship them and join their Cult of the Moment, as heck, that's what it takes to get in this game. We are the big dogs, and if you don't know that, I suggest you get with the program, fast.
"You gave me fortune. You gave me fame. You me power in your god's name. I'm every person you need to be. I'm the cult of personality."
8. Pretty in Pinks - No talent beach-ball Valley Girl wander-arounds, but get the audiences and the hits on account of the Secret Decoder Ring 34DD Codename.
9. Empty Heads - Bland dull-as-rocks, corporate press-releasey talking-heads; thought of as brand new frontier by any number of Valley podcast start-ups. Has as a main feature, the inability to maintain EYE CONTACT with the camera. Here's a word that might be too big for Corporate Spokespeople types, T-E-L-E-P-R-O-M-P-T-E-R, they are pretty affordable these days, use and love.
10. Analyze That - Analysts and Journalists (that should really really stick with print) blathering on and on about the weeks general news in tech, lots of 'ummms', 'yeah', 'cool', 'likes' with endless sputterings and long pauses. Sort of 'Washington in Week in Review' only with half a bottle of Sleeping Pills extra. Broadcasting and radio takes talent...not much of that here.
11. Wannabee Independent Film Makers - Art films and low-budget gore films podcasted and vlogged up for their own sake. Unwatchable -- all Direction and no Script. In the immortal words of Sire Joe Bob Briggs, "I hear the word 'independent,' and I see movies about schizophrenic lesbian performance artists spouting freeform poetry."
The next question is how many competing suppliers will enter the market to satisfy that demand.
My bet: a stunningly high amount.
And so I just do not see alot of profit ahead for PodTech.
My thoughts are the following:
Podcasting is an Ambient Medium:
"Podcasting is an Ambient Medium enabling listeners to perform other primary duties while consuming audio content. Typical podcasts consumers will consume audio content on a mobile MP3 device, or direct from a browser --both consumption styles enable users to multitask."
http://jeremiahthewebprophet.blogspot.com/2006/...
's voice is powerful and targeted and intimate.
Good move on Scoble and PodTech. The future is often not seen by average people until it's upon them...Scoble has always been a visionary and what PodTech seems to be doing is along those lines... can't wait to see podcasting and videopodcasting get easier and better quality
You can hear he's intelligent, thoughtful, so you trust it's worth adsorbing while he sets the tone with background music and really draws you in...
I recently discovered that I can adjust the playback speed of audio and video in Windows Media player. In almost all cases, I can listen to the audio at 160% of regular speed and still catch everything. I've found that 130% is a decent listening speed for the average speaker.
If I have the ability to set the playback speed of a podcast to 130% of the regular pace, then I will be 100% on board. Until then, I find it too painful to listen to the slow-talking people.
See http://lowjib7.blogspot.com/2006/06/response-to... for my 2 penny-worth.
However I'd have to disagree on the fact that it cannot replace text content. Multi-media content is the wave of the future (both for web and mobile) and I think slowly but surely the rest of the world (amateur and corporate), will come to realize its effectiveness. But that cannot happen without proper changes in the format/structure of the content itself.
Good luck at Podtech.net.
- Mario Sundar
Marketing Nirvana
http://mariosundar.wordpress.com/
frame houses,
hang sheetrock,
lay bricks,
dig ditches,
mow grass,
pull weeds,
wash dishes,
mop floors,
build decks,
drive truck,
Here is a hint, if you are reading Robert Scoble's blog you might just live inside the tech bubble. The worrld is much bigger than one industry.
I've tried to listen to podcasts while working but I end up writing down what the person is saying; not real good there.
I dunno, I could be wrong. ;-)
I don't think podcasts are just about communiting or going to the gym. In fact, a majority of podcasters listen to the content on their PCs. It really comes down to the individual.
I don't really understand the skeptics out there. If you forget about the name "podcast", and just ask if consumers would accept time-shifted on-demand audio/video that is free, relevant to their interests, and avoids all the DRM hassles, would anyone question the possibilities?
Hell No!
Time-shifted radio broadcasts are great. I love listening to PhilHendrie, ESPN's PTI, LauraIngraham, or even some WSJ podcasts. But the reason I do is that those are well produced, delivered by people with talent that are entertaining and have quality content. The few Valley type podcasts I've attempted to listen to, I swear I'm listening to Dr. Nick Riviera, Professor Frink, or Comic Book Guy. The lack of talent or skill in broadcast detracts from the actual message. And don't get me started on video by talentless geeks. Even worse. It will take off only when there is talent behind the mic or the camera. Not there today.
It's tough to say in a one second if a podcast will interest you (or not), while it can be easily done (with good accuracy, not perfect but good) with text.
But I'm sure a tool like podzinger will help correct that... Podcasting will rock!
Why go to the concert when you can just download the song for free?
Why text chat when you can skype?
Why meet in person when you can just meet in Second Life?
Oh, freedom of choice.
www.podcastready.com