Whither podcasting
By Billy DennisNovember 27th, 2006
I’ve flirted with the idea of trying my hand at a daily or weekly podcast, but this Vaspers the Grate post leaves me wondering if I should even bother:
According to a new Pew Research podcast usage report, in the Pew newsletter that entered my email inbox today, only 1% of Internet users download a podcast, on any given day, for later listening. But 17% of Internet users have downloaded a podcast at some time in the past. I would be more interested in how many have subscribed to podcast channels and how many are doing their own podcasts.
My guess is that people are far more interested in hearing music, than in hearing lectures, interviews, and other verbal ramblings. Why download a podcast that you’ll only listen to one time, and maybe not the entire thing if it gets boring, which most are?
Well out of the millions and millions of blogs that exist, how many of them have any interest to anyone other than the blogger’s immediate friends and family, if that. In the end, the quality of the content that matters. And of course, whether the podcast has to be marketed to enough people to create an audience large enough to sustain itself.
Still I have to think that there is an audience. Not every news junkie wants to sit in front of a monitor all day. Some folks might prefer to hear, rather than read, what blogs have to offer.
I’d give it a try, but it’s more of an effort that I have time and energy to expend. Besides, I have a voice like a 7-year-old girl on helium, and would probably need to digitally alter it so I sound like James Earl Jones in order for anyone to stand to hear it for longer than 30 seconds.
Related Amazon Ads:
November 27th, 2006 at 10:57 pm
I’m a one-percenter. I download (subscribe to) several every day. And I usually listen to two a day on the way to work and on the way home.
Actually, my favorite is a radio show that is also put out as a podcast. Penn Jillette from Penn & Teller has an hour long radio show which translates to a 45 minute podcast which is perfect time filler on the bus and El. On the way home I’m currently rotating between a few real podcasts in hopes of finding another regular. I would love to have an Illinois political podcast in the mix, but I’m weird that way.
To me, it seems podcasts have more potential filling smaller niches that current talk radio doesn’t fulfill. That limits the market and profit potential so it really can only be a labor of love. Still, I think a weekly 1 hour podcast on Peoria (& area) politics would have some potential. Treat it as a radio show and invite guests and have a podcast team of two or more. Once your download numbers start coming in, I would think several Peoria area companies would want to sponsor the show or buy ads.
I say go for it Billy. Get a few Peoria political bloggers together once a week and have at it. Your topics can come from your blog posts that week or the local news, so that’s easy enough. I’d be game if I were still there.
November 28th, 2006 at 1:40 am
I contradict myself brilliantly in my miserable little post on podcasting that good Peoria Pundit esteems enough to link to, poor misguided chap.
I end my little harangue of bad podcast practices, saying I gravitate toward podcasting more than video, which until lately, I was championing like a deeply disturbed marketing guru.
I have done short sci fi stories (”Hair From Hell”, “Age Reversal Ray”, etc.) and my noisey CompuMusik songs, plus some random ignorant blogology rantings, over at Evan William’s post-Blogger project Odeo.
Forget ROI, most everything’s free nowadays. I use mostly open source and free web services, like free Odeo podcast studio and it even converts your podcast to mp3 for emailing or otherwise hosting or distributing.
I contradict myself, as usual, because I’m operating on several planes of metaphysics and web analysis simultaneously.
November 28th, 2006 at 2:12 am
Vaspers — I just left the Odeo Studio site. Me likee. Me likee even more of my headset rig had a properly working microphone. I’ll have to invest in a replacement if I’m gonna do any podcasting at all.
November 28th, 2006 at 10:28 am
“Well out of the millions and millions of blogs that exist, how many of them have any interest to anyone other than the blogger’s immediate friends and family, if that.”
I’m still looking…
Ha! I kid, I kid. Just a comedy moment. Makes me giggle.
November 28th, 2006 at 11:55 am
Keep your day job, Floyd.
