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Podcasting is getting huge

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Re: Podcasting is getting huge

#101
post #36
post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If you have a long commute, car/bike/train/etc. they're basically perfect audio companions. I couldn't figure out what to do with them either until I decided to stop listening to the news on a daily basis during my commute (it made me too aggravated).

On a commute if I am not on the wheel (and usually I am not), I always prefer reading a book to listening to a podcast. Most podcast are full of time-fillers, which makes them very annoying.

I get motion sick doing that and struggled to find something to pass the time with for years. Podcasts seem to work well for me, but I used to try music and even old classic radio shows for a while.

Re: Podcasting is getting huge

#102

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…

Podcasting (which is effectively just "radio" with different technological underpinnings) isn't (in most cases) intended solely to convey information efficiently.

Podcasts are presented as entertainment and performance art, in addition to the ones which are also informational. To say something broad like "podcasts aren't for me" seems like you might be missing out on many opportunities to experience creative storytelling based on some negative experiences you have had with the medium.

Is it impossible to imagine audio-only content you might enjoy? Because for whatever interest you might have, there is certainly a podcast serving that niche, whether it be fiction, non-fiction, drama, music, investigative journalism...

Re: Podcasting is getting huge

#103
post #41

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I used to feel the same way until I realised listening to podcasts was more a passive activity. Reading is active - as in you have to take time away from other things to do it - listening to podcasts is more akin to listening to music. It's possible to do actively of course, I know there are people out there that listen to music without any interruptions. The primary market for podcasts however are likely to be peopl…

I have the same "problem" as the GP. If I just let a podcast play on the backgrond, I'll certainly learn nothing at all from it.

>I'll certainly learn nothing at all from it.

You can surely learn more by reading lyrics to a song than by listening to it - does that make music a lesser medium than writing?

Re: Podcasting is getting huge

#104

I understand that a huge percentage of podcast listeners are based in the US but the number of hours I've spent listening to completely irrelevant adverts is insane. Surely someone can make a service that takes a podcast feed and packages it with different adverts for different markets and then creates new feeds. I'd make it but the scaling sales end is not something I know how to do. I suppose it depends how Apple i…

I considered trying to start a service that hosted Ad-less podcasts. I figured I would get sued immediately.

I just skip the first 2-5 minutes of most podcasts and the last 1-3 minutes and pray they don't have ads in the middle.

Re: Podcasting is getting huge

#105
post #84

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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

As I understand it, ContentID is notoriously over-aggressive in matching and only "works" in the sense that YouTube's interest in having it isn't particularly harmed by that, since its mostly a tool to improve relations and avoid lawsuits from big media interests.

Without manual validation, it probably wouldn't be a good model for identifying and removing ads from podcasts, especially using a "repeated in multiple podcasts" model, which doesn't start with known ads.

Re: Podcasting is getting huge

#106
post #4

The problem with podcasting for me is I have no easy way to consume them that isn't already part of my entertainment workflow. Literally, if it isn't something I can subscribe to in Youtube, or add it to my queue in Netflix, eventually it just gets lost and falls out of my entertainment workflow.

a lot of shows get uploaded to youtube as well.

Dan carlin's podcasts hardcore history[1] and common sense [2] both get uploaded to youtube whenever a new episode comes out. Both excellent podcasts as well.

I'm sure it's not very common however.

Oh, i also might as well mention that you can have itunes download your podcasts and put them in your plex media server or kodi server.

[1]https://www.youtube.com/user/dancarlinpodcaster [2]https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC3As7170z7TsHZ7-ShaRe1A

Re: Podcasting is getting huge

#107
post #45

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Totally off-topic, but where do you live?

Arlington, Virginia. VA. code § 46.2-1078 is the relevant statute. https://vacode.org/46.2-1078/ I work in DC, so DC and / or Federal law would also be relevant. I believe the distracted driving statutes in DC would also apply to bikes, so headphones would fall under that I believe. DC, VA, and MD also have contributory negligence. You can read more about that here: http://greatergreaterwashington.org/post/24312/what…

One of my coworkers who bikes through the district will sometimes follow behind a guy who plays NPR on a regular radio - loud enough for my coworker to listen for a while on his commute, too.

Re: Podcasting is getting huge

#108
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.

Christ, what an asshole.

Re: Podcasting is getting huge

#109

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).

I'm so used to listening to spoken word at 2x speed these days that it's basically muscle memory for me to hit the options menu in youtube and select 2x. For a while, I was completely boycotting vimeo because they refused to implement a 2x function but then I found a chrome plugin that lets you set the speed of any HTML5 video.

It was a surreal experience hearing the Slate Gabfest live and having it sound completely different to what I was used to because IRL doesn't have a speed control function.

Re: Podcasting is getting huge

#110
post #18
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.

QOD. James Altutcher and Steven Dubner (freakonomics). They have one question each day they talk about. Both have GREAT perspectives. It's almost always a paradigm shifter.
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