Idea Exchange

Mr Torr asks in the comments section of my previous post whether I had listened to his podcasts that he gave me yet. The answer is no, not yet.

In my guilt, I started one... saw that it was 70 minutes long, listened to 10 minutes and stopped it. Not because it was not interesting. The first one I started listening to is about the history of slavery and how ubiquitous it is.

But why is it that pod casts don't inspire me with the same sense of excitement that I get with all the other forms of `idea virus' going around?

Seth Godin believes that podcasts are a fantastic way of reaching a core, target, interested audience. Once you listen to a podcast from someone and really enjoy it, you are likely to listen to their next one and so on. I am sure I will get hooked once I start listening to the ones I have been given.

Why Godin argues that they are not as good a way as blogs to spread ideas is peoples natural desire to search rapidly through things looking for stuff that they are interested in. This is one of the advantages of the web where you needn't stay on a site for more than a few seconds to scan it and see if something captures your interest. You can't just scan a podcast.

From the side of the person wanting to spread the idea, a podcast is also a less attractive idea. Do you script it, then there is the whole `performance anxiety'. It seems with blogging, it is much easier to sit down and just let an idea come out in a few minutes.

That being said, that is why some people don't like blogging, because they feel people just splurge on the screen and don't necessarily give the composition much thought.

That being said... most of you will have probably seen through my thinly veiled attempt to weazle out of the guilt of not actually having listened to the podcasts yet.

And since I have ruled out the excuses of revealed preference and `I didn't have time'... I guess all I am left with is hanging my head and saying...

I'll get to it. Carry on pestering me please.