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- _skin_, on 10/12/2007, -13/+50What? What the hell is the point of downloading it then. I listen to all of the ones I download. Am I one percent?
- klept, on 10/12/2007, -7/+27I wouldn't worry about what Forrester said, if I was you. I cant recall them ever being right. It used to be run by some unintelligent person named George Colony, I think. Maybe even still is.
From my impression, I think all that firm does is send out a lot of press releases for publicity to get some suckers to pay them for advice. - thegreypilgrim, on 10/12/2007, -3/+23Have to agree with klept here.
"A study", that is not public with no reference to any details about how/where it was conducted. Hmmm. How can anyone take this seriously or as anything close to factual? How big was the sample? How was the study undertaken? Who was targetted? Geographical extent? Without these and loads more answers it means nothing. - madjo, on 10/12/2007, -2/+16I listen to podcast books (www.podiobooks.com).. does that count too?
Also, NPR's "Wait wait don't tell me", Leo Laporte's "This Week in Tech", "The Daily GizWiz", "Inside the net" are regulars on my mp3-player.
So I'd probably also account for that 1 percent. - ForbesBingley, on 10/12/2007, -3/+17I think it boils down to how you 'consume' Podcasts.
Because they're topical, they require you to pay attention in much the same way as when you watching the telly. So, unlike music, you can't just have a Podcast play away while you work, or something.
So what do you do? Set aside an hour each day to listen to them? I don't commute or travel that much at all. And if I did, I'd much prefer to listen to music than listen to someone talk, no matter how edifying they might be... - inactive, on 10/12/2007, -2/+14Can't read when you're driving, man.
- Bishoco, on 10/12/2007, -2/+13I've really gotten into podcasts lately. I listen to talk radio a lot, and podcasts are like creating your own talk radio station.
Some of my favorites:
diggNation
Penn Jillette's (of Penn & Teller) radio show
The official Lost podcast
The Ricky Gervais show is great, but you have to pay for the new ones
And various NPR podcasts - Bogtha, on 10/12/2007, -0/+11> 95% of podcasts are made by people who don’t really have much, if anything to say.
95% of *everything* is crap. Podcasts are no different to anything else in this respect. - Dragular, on 10/12/2007, -4/+13Definately. My last job was data entry--sit on your arse, type numbers from bounced checks. Don't talk to anybody, don't answer a phone, just sit at your desk, headphones on, and type for 8-12 hours per day. Yeah, you can listen to music, but after a certain point, every song that you've EVER heard of starts to just annoy you.
So then you listen to podcasts until you realize that most of the ones out there suck! :) - geminitojanus, on 10/12/2007, -2/+11Ehh, just go to your local podcast network (This Week In Tech, Revision 3), and subscribe to the ones you like.
I listen to all of the podcasts and watch all of the video podcasts I subscribe to. - Manzabar, on 10/12/2007, -1/+10I too listen to the podcasts I download. And while I can read faster than the podcasts can speak; I cannot read the same material while I'm doing other things. Podcasts help me get through the workday by providing a VERY needed distraction from my co-workers.
- navster15, on 10/12/2007, -0/+9I believe that 'ojos' means eyes. I think you meant huevos.
- RickySan65, on 10/12/2007, -7/+16"And seriously...podcasts are basically audio blogs. So they are audio diaries. People talking about crap and for some reason they think people want to hear it. Yawnnnn."
BS.. there's lots of good podcasts around, the Ricky Gervais show for example, CBC's quirks and quarks.. etc. as for the name PodCast, people need buzzwords these days, as sad as it sounds it's how things are. Somehow people are more inclined to go for "download our PodCast" then "Download our portable radio show" - lukes, on 10/12/2007, -1/+10"95% of podcasts are made by people who don't really have much, if anything to say. Too time consuming to sift through them for any real content, though I'm sure the situation will improve when the fad passes."
Same thing could be said about the Internet. Luckily no one waited for the fad to pass.
I've found a number of podcasts that are exactly what I want to hear, syndicated in weekly shows. Each are about 1 hour long and I've learnt a lot from listening to them. I think being a techy-niche thing to a certain degree means if you're a programmer, developer or tech-enthusiast you'll find it easy to find a lot of shows.
How hard have you looked? Do a few digg searches on top 10 podcasts, top 50, whatever. You'll find good quality soon enough. - 5blocksfree, on 10/12/2007, -1/+10A lot of what you're getting with the podcast is the personalities. What I like about them is that they are real people, talking about real issues (at least the ones I listen to), and unlike other media, the internet allows the caster to be very closely connected to their listening audience. So, if you're the "let me skim the summary and move on" type, then podcasts probably won't do much for you. But if you like listening to people articulate their views, then perhaps it would be more to your liking.
- Bobafettjm, on 10/12/2007, -1/+10I only download one audio show, which is This Week in Tech. Otherwise I get all video podcasts, mainly revision 3 ones, plus ask a ninja. I enjoy them because it takes me back to the good times of Tech TV, I miss good tech shows, so I watch the podcats now that there is no good tv content.
- cleverboy, on 10/12/2007, -1/+9Even when people are reading the article, it doesn't sound like they're reading the WFA. According to Forrester's research sample that they didn't disclose (roll eyes), the current number of podcast "users" from those online is 1% or 700,000 households. Those interested, but not actively downloading comprise 25%. I've marked this Digg submisssion as "inaccurate", as the last time I'd heard of "700,000" as "nobody"... well, I just don't know. The article is also titled "Podcast study shows current and future trends". While I'd still like to see what their sample was composed of, the article notes that: "That's not to suggest that there is little value in producing original content. Forrester is projecting that the number of households using podcasts will grow from 700,000 to 12.3 million over the next four years in the US alone. Even if time-shifted content retains the greatest percentage of use, the massive growth rate alone should account for a huge increase in users seeking stuff they haven't yet heard of--"
Personally, I rarely have my podcasts go to my iPod. When I do, I'm impressed that Apple will keep my "place" in the podcast moving from iTunes to my iPod, and I keep listening where I left off. This is a useful report, but it's a shame when it gets submitted with a biased title that doesn't match the article content. Again, marked "inaccurate". - mrASSMAN, on 10/12/2007, -3/+11jpeg>css
i win. (..what are we playing?) - harmlessinc, on 10/12/2007, -5/+13The biggest problem in my opinion is this, I can read information a lot faster than the people in podcasts can verbally deliver it. Because of that I have very little reason to sit and listen/watch a podcast for 20 minutes when I can go to some other site and read the same information and be done with it. And better yet, while reading the information I can listen to music that I enjoy.
Time and effort, podcasts aren't up to either measurement for me. - mojito, on 10/12/2007, -2/+9I agree with you completely. That is why I listen to (and watch) podcasts for there entertainment value rather than there informational value. For example, Diggnation can be really funny.
- ravenmuffin, on 10/12/2007, -2/+8The great thing about podcasts is that with over 25,000 of them out there, every niche is taken care of.
There's no way radio, even if amateurs had low-cost access to it, could offer nearly the same diversity. - yongfook, on 10/12/2007, -1/+7it's not really that simple though, is it.
It's more like the syndication of pre-recorded mp3 files - I think that warrants a term unto itself as it's not something people were doing before, or even when RSS came into everyday use. Whether "podcast" should be that term is down to preferences, I don't really care what it's called, but I don't want to have to refer to it as "the syndication of pre-recorded mp3 files" every time.
It's still early days for podcasts though, the crap ones will come and go but I think there is a lot of potential for high-quality free content, especially in terms of marketing.
I wonder when we are going to see our first network-produced podcast mini-series? And I mean something bespoke, not something that has been spliced / watered-down from existing shows. - briansalo, on 10/12/2007, -4/+10What?
- StuartGibson, on 06/14/2009, -1/+6Yes, just like all those crappy websites have gone away. People are doing this for themselves, not because they want others to listen. Listeners/readers are just a bonus for a lot of podcasts/websites.
- rdas7, on 10/12/2007, -0/+5Wow, big media saying that the alternative to big media isn't successful... what a surprise.
- Boondoggle, on 10/12/2007, -0/+5iTunes lists the most popular ones. They tend to be pretty good. It is as easy to find good podcasts as it is to find good music.
- UGM2099, on 10/12/2007, -3/+8"it's a pre recorded message in mp3 format. nothing new or revolutionary about it. "
I'll give you one reason that it is in fact revolutionary: We are talking about it right now!
Never has there been such an interest in spoken audio on the internet. Just search for podcast on Digg, it's a big freaking deal whether you understand it or not.
It's not mp3, its not rss, it's not iPods, it's a collective act of humans transmitting signals to one another and pooled knowledge and energy pushing on the same thing. It's a revolutionary form of communication. - UGM2099, on 10/12/2007, -3/+8Just go here:
http://www.podcastalley.com/top_podcasts.php?num=50
Pretend you don't see mugglecast at #2 and check out these top rated ones.
by the way, if you don't like talk radio, audiobooks, or NPR you won't like podcasts either. They're not for you. Read a blog and look at porn. - Laughingman234, on 10/12/2007, -1/+5the reason that only 1% of U.S. households do it is because probably 10% of all households know what the hell it is. Not a suprising statistic but I would have guessed the online user intrest would have been higher...just another indicator of the non-geeks taking over the internet...dam you myspace
- mushoo, on 10/12/2007, -3/+7Thx for the heads up on Penn Jillette. Gotta add him to my long queue. Revolution Report, Marc Maron, Mike Malloy, Al Franken, Randi Rhodes, Majority Report, Ring of Fire, Skepticality, Real Time, and Twit.
- golddigga, on 10/12/2007, -2/+6yeah, this is crap, i listen to tons of podcasts, well i used to until my ipod got retarded but i still listen to as many as i can. and i subscribe and download 20 podcasts. and i know tons of people who listen to podcasts
and if they don't listen to podcasts why are they so popular, the twits always complain that they are using tons of bandwidth
that report is retarded - aplusplus, on 10/12/2007, -3/+7What are these "humans" you speak of?
- stonebear, on 10/12/2007, -9/+13They are like the blogs which spawn them; 95% of podcasts are made by people who don’t really have much, if anything to say. Too time consuming to sift through them for any real content, though I’m sure the situation will improve when the fad passes.
Right now it’s like panning for gold: Sure, you can find gold that way, but one finds so little that it’s not worth the effort. - ihatebillg, on 10/12/2007, -1/+4new math
Forrester says
nobody = 0
1% = 0 - boredzo, on 10/12/2007, -4/+7dukeofspades: I live in California. Sure you can.
- GhostFreeman, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3I just wish there were more music podcasts.
- DocDEB, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3What! Wait a min... let me take my ear buds out. What was that again?
- DocDEB, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3Welcome back from your trip to Mars.
- stalinvlad, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3Im in the UK Ricky Jervais bores me rigid
Plus Im the only one in my little group who does podcasts
If Bill Bailey did one I would buy a big Nano to save it on.... - Jacobi, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3I don't understand all the hate towards podcasts. "Fad" this and "most are lame" that, that can be said about anything. TV, blogs, websites, message boards, whatever. The whole point is to find ones that talk about subjects you're interested in and are done well. Whenever I dl and try a new podcast, and the person starts talking about his daughter, wife, and job...essentially becoming an audio personal blod, I delete that ***** with the quickness.
The shows I continue to listen to are all focused on something that interests me, and are either informative, entertaining, or both. - mark1372, on 10/12/2007, -0/+31% of online households is an enormous number. Any website operator would love to have 1% viewership. There are 205 million people in the U.S. that have access to the internet.
Not only that, but podcast listeners are unlikely to be dialup users, which are more that 50% of internet users. Then there are the people with portable devices that are also more likely to be podcast listeners. Even given those variables, there are still a massive amount of users, the number of which absolutely skyrocketed when iTunes added this support only about a year ago.
Misleading headline, inaccurate article. - naked_violence, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3What a surprise that people that comment on digg.com listen to podcasts.
- myskja, on 10/12/2007, -1/+4"Nobody"...? I don't like the personal spin you did in the headline. You basically derailed the content of the article. Just take a look at this quote (from the same article):
"Forrester is projecting that the number of households using podcasts will grow from 700,000 to 12.3 million over the next four years in the US alone. Even if time-shifted content retains the greatest percentage of use, the massive growth rate alone should account for a huge increase in users seeking stuff they haven't yet heard of, meaning that podcast you were planning to celebrate the musical contributions of Wayne Newton may yet find an audience."
Podcasting is a new fresh...thing (The way it's distributed, not the content per se), with a huge growing potential.
Reported as innacurate. - YellowBook, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3The NASA and New Scientist podcasts are absolutely superb and podcasts are great as an educational resource. I've had great success improving my foreign language skills (Spanish Arriba) and learning about investment (the Fool.)
- drsnacks, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3You guys don't work out? Podcasting has made me sexier than ever. It's so much easier to workout, especially with tedious aroebic excercise, when you're distracted by interesting podcasts. And it's cheaper and more satisfying have free talk radio shows tailor-made to your niche delivered to you automatically than to keep a music library updated often enough to not get bored with it.
- kylebrothert, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3I listen to about a dozen podcasts. I think they'll eventually be important.
But, honestly, I don't know a single relative or friend who's ever listened to one. - toekneebullard, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3Perhaps it's not so much how many people listen, but how MUCH they listen. Maybe only 1% listen to podcast, but they listen to a lot of podcasts...I myself subscribe to at least 10. Some short (the onion, ask a ninja) some long (lost cast, xxxchurch.com) I listen while I commute, and sometimes, when I have some tedious repetitive task at work, I'll listen then too.
- inactive, on 10/12/2007, -2/+5Penn Jillette is my hero.
I usually listen to the show live: www.penn.freefm.com - MikeWazowski, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3Erm, I think it is very important to point out that the one percent in question is in excess of 2,984,442 people in North America. And in my opinion 3 million people for just one country ain't half bad for a group of followers to a certain product or service.
- bluephoenix, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3My workday would be so much less interesting if not for TWIS, TWIT, diggnation, NPR, etc...however none of my non tech friends even know what a podcast is yet. I think it's a great way to learn and keep up to date on things while actually working.
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