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Podcasting is getting huge

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Re: Podcasting is getting huge

#91

Post by gnrme »

Leynos wrote: post #56
bane wrote: post #23

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Out of curiosity, what podcasts do you listen to that have ads? I listen to a couple hours of podcasts every day for a couple years now and have never heard one (beyond the podcast itself asking for patreon support).

A lot of the tech podcasts I listen to - e.g., Arrested Devops, Talk Python to Me, Software Engineering Daily, Re/Code Decode - have fairly prominent adverts. Sometime read out by the presenter themselves, other times presented as a piece of pre-recorded audio. In the former cases, they'll sometimes do their best to make reference to the content of the podcast in the advertising message. I'm not too bothered with the…

I'm the other way around. I immediately lose trust in a host as soon as they start reading an ad - it shows that the production doesn't have a strict separation of content and sales.

Re: Podcasting is getting huge

#92

Post by ruraljuror »

saturdaysaint wrote: post #52
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…

If you're on an iPhone, Marco Arment's Overcast app has a brilliant Smart Speed function that effectively shortens silences in podcast conversations - combined with an adjustment to the base speed, I find that it approximates speed-reading quite effectively. To the broader point, there are a lot of instances where an engaged conversation produces fresher insights to my mind than a carefully constructed article. In th…

As an Android user (Pocket Casts now after years with Doggcatcher), I haven't used Overcast. But from listening to Marco's ATP podcast I understand Overcast can also help control the wide fluctuations in the volume of speech that is a problem in so many podcasts. I could really use that for my daily listening.

Re: Podcasting is getting huge

#93

Post by evancordell »

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…

I was slow to get into podcasts as well, but since I have a 1.5 hour commute I eventually became a big fan.

Something key for me was to find podcasts that don't "work better as articles" as you say. There are many tech related podcasts and I find most of them unlistenable.

Instead I found that more entertainment/comedy or seminar-like discussion works better in the podcast format. Maximumfun in particular has a lot of very high quality podcasts (with high production value, which tends to be a big factor in whether a podcast is listenable).

These are just my personal preferences, but one of these might "make sense" to you as a podcast if you give them a chance: The Adventure Zone, International Waters, Judge John Hodgman, My Brother My Brother and Me, The Partially Examined Life, Sawbones, Oh No Ross and Carrie, and of course Serial. For tech podcasts I only really like The Haskell Cast and occasionally a Changelog.

Re: Podcasting is getting huge

#94

Post by vincentkriek »

jsmeaton wrote: post #28
arethuza wrote: post #16

I used to have a serious podcast habit - one of which used to run adverts for Audible. Now I listen to audiobooks and hardly ever listen to podcasts and never listen to the podcast where I learned about Audible.

Rogan? So many ads for Audible.

10% of of any and all supplements at onnit.com. That's O-N-N-I-T dot com.

Re: Podcasting is getting huge

#95

Post by cholantesh »

vijayr wrote: post #18
danso wrote: post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The Serial podcast is huge, and in journalism, one of the few bright spots of success in indepth reporting...I would say that that alone has accounted for the majority of upswing in number of media reports proclaiming the new popularity of podcasts. So, despite the stats of increased downloads/awareness cited...which may not be impressive at all if we compare them against the overall uptick in phone adoption and mobi…

Serial podcast was great. Tim Feriss is good, Dan Carlin is awesome. Any other podcast you'd recommend? Excluding the self promotional internet business types.

> Dan Carlin

Exactly the name I think of when I hear the word 'podcasting', and I'm surprised to see no mention of him in the article. In fact, I'm a regular podcast listener and I recognized few of the names in this piece, which was confusing to say the least.

If you're a Carlin fan, you definitely need to listen to Mike Duncan's podcasts - History of Rome and Revolutions. I'm also a fan of Skeptoid and Skeptic's Guide to the Universe. For lighter stuff, I enjoy Bill Burr's Monday Morning Podcast and Nerdist.

Re: Podcasting is getting huge

#96

Post by ultramancool »

furyofantares wrote: post #86
ultramancool wrote: post #80

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

Regular mplayer doesn't have tempo scaling, nor did the shitty mp3 player I used to use for podcasts, it simply sped up the audio playback. It is pretty common now though I suppose.

Re: Podcasting is getting huge

#97

Post by soylentcola »

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…

For me it's been the same usage for several years: I only really listen to them on long drives. I don't take long drives very often but when I do, podcasts are by far my preferred thing to listen to.

During the week I have a short commute to work (maybe 15-20 minutes each way) and for 3/4 of the year, when it's not too cold, I ride a motorcycle so listening to anything isn't really an option.

When I'm at work, I've got too much going on and much of it requires me to listen to something else (editing video, etc.) so podcasts or music are again not an option.

But when I have to drive somewhere that takes over an hour? Radio shows like This American Life are the best way to pass the time. Many podcasts follow a similar format where there's a narrative to get lost in and you don't need to deal with radio signals getting weak or hoping it's time for the show you want to hear. About once a year I take a ~9 hour drive to an event out of state and the only thing that keeps me sane is a phone or mp3 player full of podcasts.

Like reading a novel or watching a serial TV show, I can get caught up in the story or discussion and before I know it, another hour has gone by and I'm closer to my destination. Music just becomes background but podcasts give me something to focus on beside the fact that I still have hundreds of miles yet to drive.

Re: Podcasting is getting huge

#98

Post by saturdaysaint »

ruraljuror wrote: post #92
saturdaysaint wrote: post #52

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If you're on an iPhone, Marco Arment's Overcast app has a brilliant Smart Speed function that effectively shortens silences in podcast conversations - combined with an adjustment to the base speed, I find that it approximates speed-reading quite effectively. To the broader point, there are a lot of instances where an engaged conversation produces fresher insights to my mind than a carefully constructed article. In th…

As an Android user (Pocket Casts now after years with Doggcatcher), I haven't used Overcast. But from listening to Marco's ATP podcast I understand Overcast can also help control the wide fluctuations in the volume of speech that is a problem in so many podcasts. I could really use that for my daily listening.

That's a great feature too. User controllable audio compression seems to be having a moment. One of my favorite features of the new Apple TV is that there's a universal setting to "reduce loud noises" - great for eliminating jarring booms in action movies and evening out the levels in an overly dynamic orchestra performance. I appreciate dynamics when I'm in a pristine listening setting, but in the real world, I want this feature in all of my gadgets.

Re: Podcasting is getting huge

#99

Post by vollmond »

evancordell wrote: post #93
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…

I was slow to get into podcasts as well, but since I have a 1.5 hour commute I eventually became a big fan. Something key for me was to find podcasts that don't "work better as articles" as you say. There are many tech related podcasts and I find most of them unlistenable. Instead I found that more entertainment/comedy or seminar-like discussion works better in the podcast format. Maximumfun in particular has a lot o…

This was the deal for me, too. The only time I can listen to a podcast is when I'm driving -- there's no real eye distraction (IE a phone). I listen to stories/conversations (Roderick on the Line, Reconcilable Differences, Back to Work -- basically anything with Merlin Mann or John Roderick involved makes for great conversations to listen to).

Re: Podcasting is getting huge

#100

Post by bane »

Leynos wrote: post #56
bane wrote: post #23

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Out of curiosity, what podcasts do you listen to that have ads? I listen to a couple hours of podcasts every day for a couple years now and have never heard one (beyond the podcast itself asking for patreon support).

A lot of the tech podcasts I listen to - e.g., Arrested Devops, Talk Python to Me, Software Engineering Daily, Re/Code Decode - have fairly prominent adverts. Sometime read out by the presenter themselves, other times presented as a piece of pre-recorded audio. In the former cases, they'll sometimes do their best to make reference to the content of the podcast in the advertising message. I'm not too bothered with the…

Interesting, I wonder how much of this is an artifact of podcasts oriented more towards a hobbyist audience vs. a professional audience?

Podcasts aren't expensive to produce at a basic level, it's mostly just the hosts sitting around and chatting on skype for an hour every week or two. I'm only aware of one podcast I listen to that frequently asks for contributions, and that's mostly because the hosts have found they work best when they're physically co-present and have to fly one of the hosts out every month to record a bunch of shows all at once.

> I'm not too bothered with these, as compared with the type of adverts you'd find on commercial television or radio

Yeah, I agree. When the parent discussed adverts before I was thinking of the more commercial radio type. I think it's an effort to try to monetize podcast audiences, but at least for me I'm able to find more content than I can listen to, run by hosts that aren't all that interested in turning their hobby into a money making venture.

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