Peter says podcasting is inefficient

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.

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.

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,

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.

Hey Robert, have you seen the Everyday News Network yet?

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.

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.

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.

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?

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?

Hell No!

trackback at Ontelecommuting.com http://www.ontelecommuting.com/2006/06/27/on-podcasts-and-podcasting/

@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.

@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.

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.

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!

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.

Imagine if it was easy to subscribe, manage and was device independent…oh it already exists…

http://www.podcastready.com

Buon luogo, congratulazioni, il mio amico!

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