Filed under: Odds and ends
Why I'm Not Wild About Podcasts
You wanted a podcast. Well, you got one. There will likely be more where that one came from, too. See what you've done?Chris K summed it up best:
It's a great format if you want to listen to people blabber about a specific topic, but it's a horrible format for getting lots of information in a short time, which is really why we're all reading TUAW and other blogs in the first place. (...as I glance at the long list of RSS feeds in my news reader...)
The main problem I have with podcasts (other than being a kneejerk anti-trendy kind of guy) is that unless you're very careful to duplicate everything from your podcasts, there's likely going to be things ONLY covered on your podcast, which us actual readers will miss.
Great minds think alike, Chris. Podcasts are a passing fad I'd prefer to wait out. I think they are impractical and serve the blogger's ego more
than the blog reader's purpose. The irony of my stand on podcasts is
that I'm a person who really does love to hear herself talk. Ask anyone
who knows me :) But in the end, I'll admit that what I have to say is
generally better communicated in writing than by spoken word.
Interestingly, though, I write the way I speak...if you knew me in
"real life", you'd recognize the patterns, the cadence... even the
punctuation. Yes, I speak with a lot of ellipses (and parentheses). The
only advantage to podcasts I can see is that I don't have to
spell-check when I'm done speaking.
Having said all that, sinceC.K.'s mouth
Pandora's box has been opened already, there's a good chance I'm going
to have to participate in the occassional TUAW podcast. I consider
myself a good sport, so I'll take one for the team and I'll try to
sound like I'm enjoying myself.
Just remember... you have only yourselves to blame.
Having said all that, since
Just remember... you have only yourselves to blame.
![TUAW [Cafepress]](http://www.blogsmithmedia.com/www.tuaw.com/media/tuaw-cafepress-promo.png)
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Rob said 4:18PM on 6-16-2005
Number of Podcasts: 1000's
Number of quality Podcasts: ~80-100
I like that anyone can podcast, I don't like that *anyone* can podcast. In other words, I'm glad that it has given some very interesting people a chance to connect with the world in a new medium. Not all of those people are connecting though, so some trimming of fat still needs to take place.
That being said, I think C.K. did a great job. I enjoyed the TUAW podcast quite a bit. It was concise, and he didn't just preach Apple. It was more of an add-on to TUAW.com than a verbalization of it. I appreciated the candor.
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C.K. Sample, III said 4:18PM on 6-16-2005
I like being paralleled with Pandora. Unless you're a hardline misogynistic reader, I think you have to read both Pandora and Eve as positive characters, trapped up in the workings of powers beyond any titan / human.
Keep in mind that Pandora means "all gifted" and that she did manage to unleash hope upon the world as well.
So having my mouth likened to an all-gifted releaser of hope is very flattering. Thanks, Laurie. ;-b
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C.K. Sample, III said 4:18PM on 6-16-2005
Oh, and thanks Rob.
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danb said 9:21AM on 6-24-2005
i'm with rob.
and the situation with blogs is quite similar.
anyone can blog/podcast so one has to sift through a lot of rubbish to find quality. I think podcasts do have their place. If i'm in a hurry in the morning, i sometime dont have time to read my feeds, downloading a poodcast uploading it to my ipod and bolting out the door is a good alternative.
You do have to be careful that you don't forget to include all the info on the site. A transcript would be nice.
TUAW the first was a well presented cast nevertheless.
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Lido said 4:18PM on 6-16-2005
Where's the feed? I'm guessing that's on the way. Nice cast by the way, keep it up!
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Brett said 4:18PM on 6-16-2005
I agree with the "trimming of the fat" comment, in that some podcasts seem as though the 'caster simply turned on the mic and started talking without planning their topics first.
This was not the case with C.K. however. I was pleasantly surprised to find his podcast both interesting and informative.
A podcast shouldn't be simply a verbal reading of the week's blogs, it should be used to expand upon and discuss the topics in more detail. That's why I would like to see Laurie, C.K., and Scott all discussing the interesting points of the week. That way it's available for those who want more detail, but those who just want their quick fix can stick to the blog.
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narco said 4:18PM on 6-16-2005
Well, I think podcasts are great, at least the music ones are. Unless it's a debate, or something that required sound bites -- I think verbal podcasts just take too much time. With music, it's totally different. I think the future in podcasting is with music.
Fishes,
narco.
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Glenn said 4:58AM on 9-03-2005
Podcasts are a natural result of oppression at commercial radio. The best ones still share many qualities of a good radio program: planning, purpose, and production. Not everyone who has a web site needs to have a podcast, too. That's not a knock on TUAW at all, but doing one just to do one ain't necessarily a good thing. For listeners or 'casters alike.
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Andrew Kaufmann said 4:18PM on 6-16-2005
Blogs don't come always from trained writers, and so it only goes to follow that podcasts won't always come from professional broadcasters. Like any other public-medium, there's going to be some work that just won't interest a large portion of the audience.
But assuming that a medium is flawed because of some projects not having quality discounts the well done projects. I think some podcasts are really well done, and some are... just some guy with a microphone being boring. Just like I think that some blogs are really well done, and some are just some guy with a blogger account being boring.
The podcast is an interesting alternative to radio. I like Glenn's point that they're a natural revolution against commercial radio. I'm all for the proles. The more podcasts there are, the more quality podcasts there are. We just have to find them.
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Chris K said 4:18PM on 6-16-2005
For a podcast to be useful and overcome its inherent inefficiency, it would have to do something that CAN'T be done with text. The biggest thing that really can't be done well in text (versus voice) is to convey emotion or a sense of community.
Podcasts can add value to an interview or a personal journal, as both benefit from knowing the speakers' mood, which can't be done easily in cold text.
Conversely, podcasts add nothing to informational sites like TUAW or Engadget. It is slower to listen than read, it's very difficult to skip topics you don't care about (how often have you wanted to fast forward a news broadcast on the radio!), there is no good connection with the Internet (ie: linking), and they are very slow to publish.
Of course, there's always the ability to listen while driving/working, although doing either while listening is going to affect your concentration. Please don't reach down to rewind that podcast while merging your Ford Excursion onto the Interstate, people!
I agree, podcasts are a fad, and will fade. There will remain a small contingent of podcasters who use the medium successfully, but most will dry up at some point.
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Jay said 4:18PM on 6-16-2005
Exactly. Which is to say I agree with Chris K and danb, and disagree fervently with brett. Using podcasts as and "extension" or "add-on" that disadvantages and inconveniences regular readers is to be avoided at all cost. I think post casts are an opportunity to create a sense of community, if that's what authors want; a way to give the readers a better sense of the people behind the post. But anything that is discussed in a podcast should be available on the site, and in as much or more detail. If nothing else, sites like TUAW are a quick, searchable technical reference for tips, tricks, and hacks. podcasts are neither quick nor searchable. At the very least, sites should offer transcripts, either as normal posts along with the 'cast, or in a separate archive.
Where I do see 'casts as useful is as a way to make blogs protable. I can't take my laptop out and read TUAW during my morning commute. The subwayis too crowded, and the cops don't have a sense of humor about that sort of thing on the days that I drive. I can, however, download a podcast and listen to it on the subway or with the cassette adapter in the car.
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