John C. Dvorak says podcasting "isn't ready for prime time" -- and then launches into a pedantic ramble to explain why not (link hat-tip to Doc Searls.)
For me, Dvorak misses the point completely. It's not about format -- it's about content.
If Podcasting isn't ready for the big time, it's mainly because most of the Podcasts on offer are pretty damned dull.
I currently grab radio programmes onto my PC via the WinTV digital terrestrial box and then drop them onto my iPod.
It's a laborious process -- but it means I'm able to catch up with hours of fantastic radio while cycling to work or doing the grocery shopping that I'd otherwise miss.
If that sort of content was available to download as a podcast, then we'd be talking great technology.
For me, Dvorak misses the point completely. It's not about format -- it's about content.
If Podcasting isn't ready for the big time, it's mainly because most of the Podcasts on offer are pretty damned dull.
I currently grab radio programmes onto my PC via the WinTV digital terrestrial box and then drop them onto my iPod.
It's a laborious process -- but it means I'm able to catch up with hours of fantastic radio while cycling to work or doing the grocery shopping that I'd otherwise miss.
If that sort of content was available to download as a podcast, then we'd be talking great technology.
posted by Stuart at 14:05
1 Comments:
I think a bit of both of these things is true. It is about format, in the sense that at the moment it takes a lot of mucking around to get things to work automatically on anything other than an iPod. And the iPod is just the first iteration of these devices, like the Sony Walkman was the first mass market portable tape player.
But content is king, like it has been with the web. Too many podcasts up until have been incestuous discussions about podcasting.
You're right that proper radio is what's really worth listening to. I've been using my Psion Wavefinder and the wonderful little Dabbar program to automatically record radio programmes for a couple of years now. I love it - I listen to so much more radio than I ever used to.
And I recently managed to set-up a system that leaves my Palm freshly synced every morning with the likes of the BBC News and Guardian websites in Avantgo, alongside a nice half-hour audio download of the BBC World Service from around 5.30am. So by the time I head off to work, I can listen to live radio until I reach the underground, and then switch to recorded news from the World Service.
But the other issue with podcasting reaching a wider range of people is the fact that most of us don't have unlimited bandwidth on our websites for vast numbers of bulky mp3s. And if we all start putting together our own radio shows then the music industry is bound to start paying us all a visit in case we're using music. If it's just speech we're doing, then most people are going to be pretty dull.
On another note, I'm pleased to see that BBC Radio is again trialling mp3 downloads - with Christian O'Connell's "Fighting Talk" now available to download rather than stream, as part of Five Live's Digital Week. I hope that more programming with fewer rights issues, including news and documentaries, begins to appear as a download as well as streaming options.
Adam
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