On Podcasts

Steve from EndGame PR have been persuading me to use podcasts as information-gathering medium.

So, I gave it a try. The first one my paws have landed on was a Startup Bizcast, podcast providing advice for small business owners. Two episodes have been released so far, totalling around twenty minutes.

So, what are the pro’s and con’s of using podcasts from reader/listener side:

Pro’s:

• You can do several things at the same time. While it’s quite hard (if possible) to read two blogs at the same time, I had no problem listening to the ‘cast and writing this entry at the same time.
• Interviews finally regain their meaning. Somehow, I just can’t perceive print interviews as interviews. When two people talk in the podcast, it’s completely different matter.
• Wealth of information. Most people talk faster than the type, so podcasts usually contain much more information than usual blog posts.

Con’s:

• Long time involvement. I read pretty fast, and in twelve minutes I’ve spent on the Startup Bizcast’s second episode, I could quite easily read fifteen to twenty standard-size blog entries.
• Aural cretinism (”sound idiocy”). Some people (myself included) comprehend written word better than spoken one. Well, that’s the way I’m built, and I just can’t help it.
• Bandwidth cost. Not that it matters to me, but podcasts (and even more, streaming video) suck too many bandwidth per unit of information.

Well, with all pro’s and con’s weighted, there is still nothing like a good podcast like Startup Bizcast.