Thing #22: Podcasts

Thing #22: Podcasts is one of the things I was dreading when I started this program, but by the time I reached it, I was enthusiastic. I'd had so many good experiences during Nebraska Learns 2.0 exercises that I was hyped and ready to go.

Unfortunately, my enthusiasm died quickly. Searching for podcasts was much less fun than searching for YouTube videos or blogs to follow. After more than two hours sifting through several different podcast directories, I still hadn't found anything to keep my interest. I'd listened to the beginnings of several podcasts on a variety of subjects, but hadn't made it to the end of any of them. They all bored me to tears. If they couldn't hook me within the first few minutes, I moved on. Don't waste my time.

I realize that, for me, the main problem with podcasts is that they're just like radio programs. When I listen to the radio, the instant I hear a DJ talking, I change stations until I hit one that's playing music. I can't stand talk radio.

Rather than sifting endlessly through directories of stuff trying to find one gemstone in an endless beach of common sand, I decided to check out blogs and comics I was already following to see if they had podcasts. That way, I stood a better chance of finding something to my liking. But even the podcast by the creators of one of my favorite webcomics bored me. It was still just like a radio show, with more random, tedious banter than interesting content. While the podcast was playing, I found myself reading unrelated blogs, just to keep myself from leaving the computer altogether.

I finally found some decent, non-chattering podcasts from NET. These were informative and enjoyable. Finally, I'd found podcasts produced by people who valued the listener's time! Not one word was wasted. Even so, I'd still rather read news than listen to it.

I added a couple of the NET podcasts to my Bloglines account--News & Features from NET Radio (audio) and Arts in Nebraska from NET Television (video). I'll follow them for a while to see if they grow on me, but right now I'm suspecting that I'll eventually drop them in favor of blogs and text-based news. The video podcast will probably be the first to go, because the .mp4 files take too long to download, even with DSL. YouTube is much faster.

For Library-related podcasts, I really enjoyed Uncontrolled Vocabulary. It was nice to hear the voices of people I follow in the blogosphere, like Michael Sauers and Tim Spalding. The podcast was focused, organized, and informative. However, I'm not sure I heard much info there that I hadn't also read on various blogs and mailing lists.

I'm not saying I dislike the concept of podcasts. Many people do prefer to get their input through audio-visual channels rather than reading. Podcasts are undoubtedly valued and valuable tools for many people, and I completely understand that. However, I just don't think they're for me.