Way back when, we had some discussion of the importance of podcasting, as a counterpoint to my enthusiasm over wireless text messaging.
With Apple’s recent addition of podcasting support to Itunes, I’ve done a lot more playing with podcasting in the past couple weeks. I was able to get podcasts before, but even if it wasn’t difficult, it was inconvenient. Itunes fixed that.
I was listening to several podcasts on my morning walk with April today, and some thoughts about podcasting gelled for me:
- I am far less tolerant of amateur audio than I am of text. I find myself only really wanting podcasts of professional shows like On the Media and Le Show. I’ve been downloading several other podcasts that I should, on paper, like. And I do like parts of them. But I just can’t slug through the ums, ahs, and chatter about peoples’ kids, family, etc. Even when there’s other good stuff in there. Which brings up the other point…
- There’s a lot of talk about video and audio eclipsing text online. But there’s something to be said for the ease of skipping through irrelevant text to find what you’re seeking. And for the ability to read a bit without distracting others in an open office or public place.
This is not intended to be a podcast-bashing, or disrespect for non-print citizen journalists. But with the additional attention demanded by audio and video, I think the quality and relevance bar is higher.
UPDATE: Mark Cuban says it better, and with more experience.
