Rhett, I've been underwhelmed by podcasters and suspect it will not take off as expected. Two points: Lots of bloggers are now doing a regular podcast so, of course, I listened. Big disappointment. For example, Ann Althouse, who has a clear informed voice on the blog page, has a tentative girlish voice on the podcasts, sounding as though she wants you to like and agree with her. I couldn't take more that a few minutes of one podcast. I still read her, but have no interest in listening to her. There is a reason so few folks get to be TV or radio personalities and why Star Search used to have a spokesmodel category. Our untrained voices are rarely inviting. Another point: podcasts tend not to be tightly communicative. I'm not willing to wait for someone to get to the point or to be cute (one of the reasons I find local news annoying and rarely watch.) On the written page one can quickly scan the off-point or soi-distant amusing stuff to get to the meat of the piece. So I guess what I'm saying is that pod casting is the tipping point of the blogosphere for me. I acknowledge that the experts on any issue are members of the public (bloggers et al.) and not the reporter, but the reporter is invariably better at communicating. And once one gets off the written page, that counts for a lot, lot, more.

That said, good luck with yours.

Chris

Chris,

I find it odd that you suspect podcasting will not take off-- it HAS taken off. Between September and today the number of available podcasts has risen from something like 4,000 to over 25,000. The number of ipods out there is something like forty-million. People are sick of the same old music, same old hosts, same old limitations of radio.

You find local news uninteresting-- but local news consistently ranks as the number one program on most (if not all) local network stations. Heck, sometimes I get sick of hearing about the President or Iraq, and just want to hear about the local guy who found a python in his truck or something stupid like that.

The middle-accent talking-head type is okay, and many will gravitate to that type, but many others like unique accents and flavor.

Granted, there will be shows that no one will listen to, even as there are blogs that are not read, but there will be shows that will draw millions of listeners, even as there are blogs that are read by millions. There are already a number of shows that draw tens of thousands.

Traditional network broadcasters are now making their shows available as podcasts.

So anyway, the medium is exploding in popularity and changing at the same time. As just one more media option, it allows great flexibility for the listener-- gives choices for the morning or evening drive that are unprecedented. You can find a podcast on just about any subject you like.

All this is not to say that mine is anything great. It's just that I wouldn't put down a form of media that is growing in popularity at an exponential rate that is almost unprecedented, even faster than the internet itself, which took years to get to the place where podcasting has gotten in months.

But I do appreciate your high tastes.

Rhett, I suspect it is less my high tastes and more my short attention span.

I know the statistics on podcasting, and I do love my iPod. Perhaps, too, I'm narrow on my definition of podcasts. The Diane Rehm show had an hour on new technology and tv last Thursday and it included some talk about podcasts. I just went to find it, and when I did, I also discovered that they have added podcasting as a way to listen to the shows. In fact, NPR is offering many podcasts of its shows. I guess I just see it as an alternative distribution of mass media. These were shows I was listening to on-line before they were podcasts. I also like the podcasts Moore does of each episode of Battlestar Galactica and the fact that podcasts are available of each episode from the iTunes store for what looks to be cheaper than I bought them on DVD. Once again, this is stuff that would be available to me by more traditional methods.

I want podcasting to be the voice of the informed citizen, not just a tool for the MSM.

I'd entirely agree with this. The BBC have been doing "listen again" over the Internet of their best shows for literally years. If they then decide to "podcast" them, that's really nothing new.

What is new is the idea that there are now tools to make it easy for anyone to make their own radio show, rather as there are tools to make it easy to blog. But I can't help feeling that there will be a "podosphere" which will be lots of podcasters all listening to each other, rather like the blogosphere.

And I suspect, like the bloggers, that they'll take themselves far more seriously than they actually warrant.

25,000 podcasts? Big deal. It'll be a million soon. And, like blogs, nine hundred and ninety nine out of every thousand will not be worth listening to.

exactly what Maritn said. I have yet to understand why so many people think that what they have to say is that interesting to the rest of the world. I read a couple of bloggers on a regular basis and tried a couple of podcasts but was underwhelmed. The media is dumbing down at a rapid rate and even those with talent are getting lost in the shuffle.

I just subscribed to your podcast out of curiosity. I LOVE podcasts, I never go anywhere without my iPod and I swear I don't know how I ever got any chores done without it before. Some of them are trash (DELETE), some I listen to as soon as I get a new one. I am preparing for a trip to Italy so I've started listening to Italian podcasts. I don't understand everything, but it's great practice, puts me in the mood for my vacation. I used to stream radio shows but that required being near my computer so I didn't get around to it much. I have a harder time with audiobooks because it requires too much concentration.