Tikkabik

Okay, now that I've had a chance to play with both iPodderX and with iTunes 4.9, I think I can safely say that podcasting is a complete waste of my time.

I'm not saying it's a waste of your time. I'm not saying that it's a bad idea. All I can say is that for my own purposes, it's as useless as the figurative tits on a bull.

I don't commute anywhere, and I suspect that has a lot to do with it. I'd prefer to read content online when I can, and I'm a huge user of RSS feeds whenever they're available, so it's not like I don't understand or appreciate the underlying technology. Also, I'm within range of public radio, so when I am out and about and not listening to my iPod or enjoying the relative silence, I'm usually listening to NPR.

The point is, podcasted audio chatter just doesn't really do it for me.

Part of it is clearly a signal to noise ratio problem. There are a handful of decent podcasts out there, but most of the stuff is complete shit. People with no voices for radio sharing opinions I don't care to listen to. The stuff that isn't shit isn't particularly informative to me, either. But I admit that I'm in a different bracket than a lot of folks. Staying on top of the Mac news is my business, so Mac-related podcasts are a complete waste of my time. And I haven't found much else out there that appeals to me at all.

In a way, it reminds me of the early days of the Web, when everyone and their cousin wanted to make a Web page or site because it was a new medium that was suddenly democratized. No longer would the published word be the domain of the media elite! Now everyone could spread their opinion and observations far and wide!

What I don't think people quite get is that democratized isn't the same as good. There are a lot of bad Web sites out there. And no, I don't separate Tikkabik from that category. Likewise with podcasts. I'm sure that once the new medium shakes itself out, it'll be more interesting, informative and palatable. But for now, it's a relative smorgasbord of junk.