November 14, 2004
So this podcasting lark
(No, don't worry, I'm not going to subject you to my voice, especially given the current state of my throat.)
I still don't understand it, just as I didn't when it was merely called audioblogging. Robert Scoble obviously gets it, even though he only manages to listen to an hour or two of podcasts a day, compared to the almost 1000 regular blogs he reads. Dave Winer obviously gets it, and will no doubt be claiming to have invented if before too long1.
But despite the long list of blogging luminaries who think podcasting is the best thing since the invention of the potato waffle, I really can't understand the appeal. Sure, I guess it's quicker to produce, because most people can speak faster than they can type; it's a hell of a lot slower to consume, though, because the reader can almost certainly read quicker than you can speak. And since, even on an insignificant, little-read blog like this one, readers outnumber writers dozens to one, I can't see how this tradeoff makes any sense at all.
Is it that people who audioblog don't realise how slow speaking is compared to reading? Is it that people who listen to audioblogs think what's being said is so important, it's worth the extra time to take in? Or is it just that audiobloggers have even bigger egos than regular bloggers?
Answers on a postcard, comment, or trackback...
Posted by James at 00:40
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Comments
maybe it's because you can convey more through speech than the written word. maybe people think it is more personal to hear what someone is saying, like they are speaking just to you.
Posted by: susie at November 15, 2004 12:07 PM
I can't read blogs while driving 90 minutes each day. I *can* easily load new audio onto a portable device and listen in the car after it is *automatically* downloaded to my computer every night.
(Don't drive much? Do you go for walks, work out, do anything where you might normally listen to the radio?)
Posted by: Pete Prodoehl at November 15, 2004 08:34 PM
No, actually, in fairness I've only ever listened to audioblogs sat in front of my PC. I really should invest in some better portable MP3 playing kit some day...
Posted by: James at November 16, 2004 01:23 AM