Another view of podcasting.

This article from Yahoo! Technology News points out some of the shortcomings of podcasting as a delivery medium for information. You can't "skim" or speed-read a podcast. You can't add marginalia. You can't link out of one. If the only thing in the podcast is information, people are going to be bored to tears, they are going to hate being chained to that iPod, they are going to want to take notes (which they can't do if they listen while they drive, jog, wait in the bank line) and then they are back to a piece of paper again. What was the point?

Here's what I get from this: Don't make podcasting a solution in search of a problem. To me, the value of the human voice is in the emotion, the conviction, and the nuance it can convey.  Use podcasts to give the big picture, not the details. Use podcasts to tickle the imagination of the listener, to get awareness, to generate interest. Use podcasts to persuade or to convince, to call to action. Use podcasts to entertain. But don't use podcasts to make your lectures portable, to provide dense technical information, or to give directions.

Podcasting for Business: Next Big Thing? (NewsFactor). NewsFactor - IBM's (NYSE: IBM) announcement that it has embraced podcasting for delivering information to investors has sparked discussion in the industry over whether the technology is the next big communication medium or simply a gone-tomorrow trend. [Yahoo! News: Technology News]

2:43:50 PM    

More reasons to have a weblog.

comScore Study Dissects Blogosphere, Finds Ad Audience. That blog visitors "are disproportionately likely to be affluent, young and broadband-enabled" - and therefore a demographically appealing target for advertisers - is one of the major findings of a... [MarketingVOX - The Voice of Online Marketing]

10:40:08 AM