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Podcasting is getting huge

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Re: Podcasting is getting huge

#81

Post by Disruptive_Dave »

dagw wrote: post #62
ekianjo wrote: post #47

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's not short-sighted once you consider the large mass of podcasts is composed of people recording themselves speaking without any prior script. Of course it's going to be low density and low quality, just like a chat with friends. There are exceptions like Serial, but that's what they are: exceptions.

There are exceptions like Serial, but that's what they are: exceptions. Sure, taken as a whole, most podcasts are terrible, and quality podcasts are rare exceptions. But then again quality books are also, on the whole, a rare exception when you include every self published manuscript floating around somewhere on the internet. The absolute number of decent podcasts out there have increased massively over the past year…

Personally, I'd say most blog posts are very low quality as well, taken as a whole. Most music is low quality. In 2015, it's not a stretch to say most content is low quality. We're all now responsible for our own curation and filters, which includes where we source from and where we spend time (like HN versus 4chan).

Re: Podcasting is getting huge

#82

Post by corobo »

criddell wrote: post #66
arcatek wrote: post #27

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In what mesure does a podcast compliment a proper article? As far as I see, the only thing that could be missing would be the interactivity (being able to ask question about the parts of the article that we haven't understood and that we would like to clarify), but podcasts don't solve this.

> In what mesure does a podcast compliment a proper article? People have been known to enjoy both the Game of Thrones books and the television series. You could transcribe a Louis C.K. hour long show and read it in 15 minutes, but you would lose a lot.

This is totally off-topic and quite irrelevant to anything in this thread but I just realised from your comment that written language is lossy compression for thoughts, sight and sound

Re: Podcasting is getting huge

#83

Post by mrlyc »

I don't have much time to read but I do have a lot of time to listen, usually while I'm doing housework or travelling, so I'm subscribed to a lot of podcasts and YouTube channels. When a YouTube channel has something new that looks interesting, I download the video, convert it to an MP3 and add it to my collection. When I come across a book I want to know more about, I look up the author's name on YouTube to see if there's an interview with them. That usually presents the main ideas of the book without having to read it. I download the video, convert it then subscribe to that channel if it has other videos I'm interested in too.

Re: Podcasting is getting huge

#84

Post by corobo »

scottjad wrote: post #79
corobo wrote: post #69

Earlier quoted context omitted.

We currently don't have the technology to automatically transcribe podcasts into text (good for the SEO on your podcast site) - But even if we did, how would it know that something is an advert as opposed to part of the show? Most of the podcasts I listen to have ads and in many cases the ads aren't just at the start or end, they're either a live read during the podcast or a cutaway somewhere towards the middle. Mayb…

Cut any segment of 10 seconds or more that is found in more than one podcast episode. (I think this is feasible considering Shazam) It would remove pre-recorded/repeated ads in the middle (assuming that's what cutaway means), but wouldn't be able to remove live reads. It would also remove intros/exits.

That actually does sound feasible. I'm not sure how feasible when it comes to mobile devices but definitely possible if things like YouTube's ContentID can work

Re: Podcasting is getting huge

#85

Post by Zach_the_Lizard »

massysett wrote: post #70
Zach_the_Lizard wrote: post #33

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>If you have a long commute, car/bike/train/etc. they're basically perfect audio companions. On bikes, at least where I live, using headphones is illegal. I'd love to listen to music or podcasts on my bike but I just can't do it with only one ear covered. It's probably not advisable anyways. Interestingly, it is legal to ride a bike or even drive a car while deaf. It would be illegal for a deaf person to cover both e…

I admire your desire to adhere to the law, but in the DC area I never see traffic enforcement applied to cyclists and I rarely see it applied to cars, so I doubt an officer is going to nail you for having some earbuds.

> I admire your desire to adhere to the law, but in the DC area I never see traffic enforcement applied to cyclists and I rarely see it applied to cars, so I doubt an officer is going to nail you for having some earbuds.

In DC cops occasionally like to sit in the 15th Street Cycletrack and write tickets for running red lights. I'm sure if they found any violation of the law, they would also throw in another ticket.

For those not aware, 15th St. abuts the White House and, because of the many roads that are permanently blocked off, it is not possible for there to be car / bike conflicts for a stretch of this street from New York Avenue to the Ellipse where the bike lanes end (though bike / pedestrian conflicts can happen), except with emergency vehicles and the like. The markings on the road make it unclear whether or not bikes must stop at red lights or just when pedestrians are present.

Because of this, the vast majority of cyclists on this stretch of road ignore red lights and treat them as yields since it is perfectly safe to do so. You will almost never see any bike stopped unless there are pedestrians crossing the street or the bike is turning.

As for why you rarely see traffic enforcement, at least in DC there is no traffic enforcement division. Virginia has traffic enforcement (don't go over 80 MPH in Virginia on any road; it is automatically reckless driving, which is a misdemeanor. This applies even if the speed limit were 79 MPH).

Even without traffic enforcement of any kind, contributory negligence makes wearing headphones risky from a liability standpoint. Any minor law violation or safety hazard by a bicyclist can be used as a defense by a driver in court and end up with no damages awarded.

The saner comparative negligence standard does not apply in DC, MD, or VA.

Re: Podcasting is getting huge

#86

Post by furyofantares »

ultramancool wrote: post #80
furyofantares wrote: post #78

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Have you tried listening at 2x speed? Takes a little bit of getting used to, but I've found it to be well worth it. This also makes it so I can watch lectures on youtube/coursera/etc (whereas I was never capable of paying any attention to lectures when I was in school, and found them almost unbearable to attend).

If you do this, make sure you're using something which can do tempo scaling. mpv can do it, PocketCasts can do it and it makes 1.5-2x speed workable.

Have you found things that don't? I didn't think to mention it because it hasn't been an issue for me in years, it seems to be implemented everywhere, including the default app on iOS, at least if I understand what you're referring to correctly.

Re: Podcasting is getting huge

#87

Post by evan_ »

corobo wrote: post #76
evan_ wrote: post #60

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Audible sponsors- or has sponsored- a LOT of podcasts. They're second only to Squarespace in that regard.

When it comes to Audible literally anyone can be 'sponsored' by them - I don't know if the big guys get an upfront or set amount but I was able to register as an Audible podcast affiliate before we even had a single episode out

I know that with Squarespace at least podcasts with a larger listenership have a completely different deal than the regular affiliate marketing channel- though I don't know any details. I kind of assumed it was the same across the board for podcasts on larger networks though I don't really know for sure.

Re: Podcasting is getting huge

#88

Post by gnrme »

seivan wrote: post #77
ptha wrote: post #73

I'm surprised the article makes no mention of Adam Carola's podcast. Possibly due to some of the controversial remarks made by Carola on the show https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Adam_Carolla_Show_%28podca... . I'm not a fan, but if you're mentioning Serial and WTF, Carola's podcast is right up there as far as numbers go, and was involved early on in monetising his podcast with adverts etc.

In case you missed, this article is on Vox. Carolla is worse than ISIS in their eyes.

Indeed. Always look at the URL before reading an article to understand the environment in which it was written. There's lots of websites out there with agendas - some more blatant than others.

Re: Podcasting is getting huge

#89

Post by DanBC »

Disruptive_Dave wrote: post #81
dagw wrote: post #62

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There are exceptions like Serial, but that's what they are: exceptions. Sure, taken as a whole, most podcasts are terrible, and quality podcasts are rare exceptions. But then again quality books are also, on the whole, a rare exception when you include every self published manuscript floating around somewhere on the internet. The absolute number of decent podcasts out there have increased massively over the past year…

Personally, I'd say most blog posts are very low quality as well, taken as a whole. Most music is low quality. In 2015, it's not a stretch to say most content is low quality. We're all now responsible for our own curation and filters, which includes where we source from and where we spend time (like HN versus 4chan).

Sturgeon's Law? (90% of anything is crap)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sturgeon%27s_law

Re: Podcasting is getting huge

#90

Post by infogulch »

furyofantares wrote: post #78
jacquesm wrote: post #17

I've tried consuming podcasts on a number of occasions. I've utterly failed at finding a way to appreciate them, even on subjects that interest me. Reading faster than people speak is a factor (much faster) and being able to skim and dive in where I'm interested, ability to bookmark, to cut-and-paste bits for my notes files and so on. Besides reading is a lot easier for me to stay concentrated on the content rather t…

Have you tried listening at 2x speed? Takes a little bit of getting used to, but I've found it to be well worth it. This also makes it so I can watch lectures on youtube/coursera/etc (whereas I was never capable of paying any attention to lectures when I was in school, and found them almost unbearable to attend).

Increased speed really helps with the concentration factor, and brings podcasts much closer to reading speed. I had trouble understanding at first, but using a podcast player with variable speed allowed me to work my way up near 2x through 1.3x, 1.5x, etc.
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