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Thursday Oct 19, 2006
Podcast listening makes me lonely
Podcasts, along with blogs, social networking, wikis and video sharing, are seen as key developments of the new, fancy Web 2.0 approach to the web.An ethos of all these services is one of user participation, a DIY system where users can easily become creators. Another binding factor is that of multiple niches; that no matter what you're interested in, you'll find content around that interest - and other people interested in it too (ala the Long Tail).
Now, I love podcasting. There's a bunch of audio shows that I download every week, copy on to my MP3 player and listen to on the bus on the way home from work. But I do have one big problem with it. Instead of being a connecting thing, where you meet others with mutual interests it instead feels like a totally solitary experience.
No one I know (in the real world) listens to the shows I do. Fragmentation and personalisation means that we all stick to our own interests and there's no chance for water cooler conversations.
Each week, I listen to s US tech show called This Week in Tech. Not even the techies in my office would listen to this as the angle of the show is more about the business of IT than IT itself. It is also Very, Very American, something many Brits can't acquire a taste for.
I also listen to a couple of podcasts from my home country New Zealand, and there aren't many people in London who would choose to do that. And I look out for NBA podcasts, particularly if they're talking about the Houston Rockets. Yup, that's niche listening and unsurprisngly, no one in my offline networks remotely cares about Yao Ming, Tracy McGrady and co.
But I'm missing the point, I hear you say. The internet also enables me to go online to talk about these shows and the issues they bring up. True, but I just don't get round to it. Podcast-capturing software means you don't even have to visit the sites where the communities are; the software just pulls the files down automatically so I have no reason to visit the online homes of This Week in Tech or bFM. And even when I have, you come across frightening reminders that user-gnerated content isn't always the most readable content. Also, just because me and a Texan 16 year old both follow the Rockets, it doesn't mean I want to be his friend. Which is probably a good thing, right?
I'm not necessarily pining for the old days of three TV channels and everyone listening to the chart show on Radio 1, but there's something great about sharing media experiences with colleagues and friends - something I'm not currently getting with podcasts. Posted by Dom Waghorn ( 3:17 PM ) Link to this post Comments[3]
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Therefore, podcasts are not as interactive as other web 2.0 platforms but they certainly lead to more interactivity...
Then again, what about enhanced podcasts?
My ten pence :-)
DK
Posted by DK on October 19, 2006 at 03:53 PM GMT+00:00 #
As for enhanced podcasts, is this not just more about Apple's proprietary world view - enhance your podcasts, but only do it through our product?
Posted by Dom on October 19, 2006 at 04:17 PM GMT+00:00 #
As Web 2.0 savvy people get more audios to download, there is the danger of 'podcast listening addiction'.
This might result in prolonging the time that people spend indoors, and away from friends and family members.
Just beware.
Have a new habit of examining all areas(emotional, physical, mental, relational/social, spiritual, etc.) of life, on a weekly basis.
Posted by Andeaz on October 27, 2006 at 10:06 AM GMT+00:00 #