I’ll admit that I was initially somewhat indifferent to podcasting. I’m not sure why… maybe I thought it was just a flash in the pan and would disappear as quickly as it appeared. Or because I’m not currently driving anywhere and I can’t listen to things and read/write at the same time. Well, I’m willing to admit that I was wrong. So very, very wrong. Podcasting is great! The more podcasts I listen to and the more I read about the possible practical applications, the more excited I get. Things like Cubcast.com, ITConversations, Open Stacks and Grape Radio, are quite professional, entertaining, and far more interesting than anything I’d hear on the radio. If This American Life and Car Talk started offering their shows in the mp3 format (for free), I’d never turn on the radio again. I could just design my own public radio schedule on my iPod with all of the cool radio stuff and podcasts that interest me (and without Wait, Wait Don’t Tell Me). 😉
Blogging has made scholarly communication possible outside of conferences and journals. Podcasting brought that to a new level. I will definitely compile my own great podcasting broadcast schedule for my flight down to my interview at the end of the month.
Not that you’re going to see (er… hear) me doing any podcasts. Well… I’d never say never, but I’m really not a big fan of my own voice, so I’d rather just stick to this medium (or perhaps screencasting if there is something I could demonstrate better with that medium). But I will definitely be an avid listener and advocate for this ultra-cool medium.
It was Cubscast.com that finally turned the podcast lightbulb on for me. And, just tonight, as I’m thinking about all the cool kids who are at CIL, I’m sort of wishing that some of the sessions were could be available so I could play along at home.
Agreed about the CIL podcasts, especially the Dead Technologies session, although the visuals are usually pretty important for that one. However, if you’re just looking to get your favorite NPR shows as MP3s, check out the very cool Replay Radio software at http://www.replay-radio.com/. It’s not free, but it’s worth every penny.
One thing that really annoys me about NPR and the shows that their member stations produce is that they try to “penalize” people who want to download the shows by forcing them to use the horrid realaudio. Only if you pay (ie, audible.com for cartalk) can you get the unencumbered MP3s. This is unfortunate since as taxpayers, we’ve already footed the bill for some of those shows and the infrastructure they rely upon.
It would be nice if some member stations (like WBEZ) would give people who pledge a certain amount access to a special download area on their site, where they can get the MP3s. It would give people real incentive to pledge, and make their loyal listeners happy. I wonder why they don’t….
Thanks for the kind words about Cubscast! Podcasting is really easy for the most part, and I hope more and more people will get into it. Meredith you make a great point about being able to not even turn on the radio–and I think it has to only be a matter of time until the big radio people start podcasting in some shape or form.
Anyway, could go on forever but I’ll stop there. Thanks again for referencing the Cubscast site and keep up the good work. GO CUBS!
– Lou [at] Cubscast.com