The Internet continues to articulate human expression with with its ever evolving definition of services. The newest in the basket is podcasting. This novel way of content delivery and access, is a step towards redefining the concept of press. We now have interesting and non-conventional opinionated reviews on every possible topic, by self-acclaimed experts, distributed across the net. People or the potential subscribers, try to build up loyalty towards a particular podcast portal, (Apple iTunes podcasts, Yahoo! podcasts, CNN pods etc.) for a particular subject and access these 'information' bites. So gradually we are seeing an evolving phase where press is becoming not only for the people and of the people but also by the people.
I have now party to this world since past 3 weeks only and feel that its a crazy world out there. Some are really interesting and informative but some podcasts are pathetic to the core. You sometimes get a feeling, that this innovative and a potentially revolutionary exercise can loose its flavor if one allows junk to thrive on the podcasting arena.
The Misses..
I will start with my nightmarish experience as it is always good to end on a nice note. I will not rank the sad podcasts as all of them were equally disheartening.
The first, 'Night Clubbin in Berlin' from Street Fury. This is a video podcast that starts with a man wearing dark glasses and hopping around Berlin's night clubs, talking to people at midnight. He only knew what he could see as the people he met and the questions he asked made no sense. Instead of telling more about Berlin's night life, it seemed like Discovery channel's night vision videos where camera men keep following the beasts.
The second, Horse Riding and Handling through Field by Leslie Desmond. This audio pod was supposed to introduce the audio book, but had nothing that even remotely did so. Throughout, the only thing that one could associate with the topic was neighing of the horse. The author then attempts to talk something about the what horse can be first thought, but it was so muddled and out of context that it seemed that while the pod was being recorded, the horse was riding her rather than she riding the horse. The video then again ends with horse's neighing to remind us that the pod had something to do with the horse.
The third, 'Square Talk ..Three teens talk on Economics'. The impressive title drove me towards the pod. When I started listening, first i could hear only one person. Second, by no way he seemed a teen. Third the only economics that he talked was that he was to get back $10 tax refund from the IRS which he would use to gift a watch to her girlfriend who always turns up late.
These are some of forgettable experiences that I have had with the podcasts. It can sometimes turn out be a place, especially on a bad day, that is bent upon psyching you out.
The Hits...
Lets move to the greener side of the story.
The 'Amateur Traveler Podcast' is one that no travel freak would want to miss. The narrator gives one of the most exciting descriptions of the places that he visits. The impressive thing about the pod is that being just a audio pod, the narrator is actually able to pull up a panoramic visual of the place before the listener. The sounds in the background, interviews with people, his descriptive personal touch all sum to a very lively experience.
Second, 'Money Tree Podcast by Martin Bamford' is a relish as far as financial advise is concerned. He addresses various personal finance issues in a refreshing manner. Especially, for people like engineers who want to know little but enough about finance, this is an apt place. The concepts are presented in the most succinct yet sophisticated manner.
The third, 'GIS and Location Technology', I must say is an excellent pod. Its a technology pod, and talks about one of the most challenging technological ventures taken up by Farallon Geographics. It talks about the dynamics of global location technology. Right from RFID for article location to GPS for people location and associated aspects. It also talks about project's challenges, invites comments and integrates reasoning in description.
These were my opinions on a few of the many pods that I have been exposed to in the past 3 weeks. Podcasting opens up a whole new avenue of unbounded expression. It is for the subscribers to choose their level of exposure to the worst of the bests or the best of the worsts.
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