On Podcasting
(Wed Aug 31, 2005) [/Misc] #
No, I don't plan on podcasting anytime soon, but I'm sure enjoying listening to it take off. In-transition moments, such as when I'm on a long drive or hanging out in various airports, just melt away when I'm engaged in a good podcast. It's entertainment and education, piped almost effortlessly into my brain wherever I am. More importantly, I get to control the time, place, and the content. But podcasts don't make for good background noise when I'm focused on other things, like writing code. For the same reason, I rarely listen to music with vocals when I'm hacking code, which pretty much rules out all variations of rap.
Unlike blogging which basically requires that you're able to press the "Submit" button, podcasting seems to take a bit more skill and equipment. Of course that's not stopping a lot of people from attempting to broadcast their voice to your ears. But I think the adoption curve of becoming a podcaster will be markedly different than being a blogger, for at least three reasons that may be blatantly obvious.
You need a good voice. When I put those buds in my ear, I want to hear something pleasant (see previous comment about rap). That doesn't mean you need a radio voice. In fact, podcasts with exaggerated radio voices can be some of the most painful for me to listen to. And yet you don't want the voice to sound scripted. It's ok to read from a script, but it needs to be a "loose" reading. There's a delicate balance to be struck here. Instead of trying to describe the voice I'm looking for, give a listen to Manton Reece's first podcast. The story transitions with mixed in content are something to be admired, but it's his wonderful voice that keeps me listening.
You need good equipment. When I first tried my hand at screencasting with a software movie, I used a cheap microphone and it showed. Poor audio in a screencast may not bother you much because you're distracted by the video, but low-quality sound is immediately noticeable in a podcast—and there's nothing to distract you. Oh, you can mix in other music, sounds, and interviews, but even then you need good (though not necessarily expensive) equipment to make it all sound professional. And for that I refer you to Ryan Irelan's shopping list. His audio sounds great even if he is broadcasting from a closet.
You need good content. This is obvious, but I think it's all the more important with podcasting. I can skim through hundreds of blogs a day in short increments of time, but I only have so much in-transition time to listen to podcasts. I could load up a bunch of podcasts and try to skim them, but that's not really the experience I'm looking for while cruising down the highway. And I'd think it would be highly inefficient. Perhaps it's because my text synthesizing skills have been through more training over the years than my audio skimming skills. So I want good content either in terms of highly entertaining or informative. For example, I'm enjoying the Ruby on Rails podcast because it's hot new tech and they interview interesting people. I'm also keen on anything produced by IT Conversations because I can quickly learn about tech topics that I don't regularly keep up with, and they have a rating system that helps the cream rise to the top.
Unfortunately there's not much you can do when it comes to having a good voice, except maybe practice and take voice lessons. Some people just have better voices than others, and they'll naturally gravitate toward podcasting. Good content, however, is something you have a lot of control over. Whether it's sizzling tech news or a captivating story, there's usually someone willing to listen... at least once.
But I'm not seeing voice or content getting in the way of people trying their hand at podcasting. Rather it's investing in good equipment and learning how to use it that I think will be the primary reason that bloggers don't become podcasters. Not everyone wants to have a mini recording studio in their home or office, and yet I think they'd be eager to go "on air" just like the pros. That's not a problem as much as it's an opportunity. Perhaps we'll soon see mobile podcasting studios roaming our neighborhoods. Or imagine a soundproof podcasting station in your local Kinkos or public library...
