Robert, and the other Podcast guys, this is what you’re missing.
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You’re missing something here. You really are. It’s not about whether “we’ve had this conversation before” because if you’ve only convinced yourself you’ve only just started. It’s not about whether some guy walking in the Scottish Highlands can listen to a podcast, surely he could, but why should he? It’s not about whether commuters can download your latest podcast and listen to it in the train/car/bus on the way to work tomorrow morning. It’s about whether they will.
Convince me of the quality of podcasts. Too many of the ones I’ve listened to are excercises in narcisism than they are useful or entertaining. The ones that I have found useful are just so esoteric they’ll really never have a wide following. In my opinion, this is where podcasting shines the brightest, in making it possible to do shows that would never be commercially successful. I can still get the same information in text version, though, so it will take some convincing to bother listening to the podcast.
So, the question remains, just because we can, will we? Certainly, there’s a small army of well equipt geeks who’ve commented here and at Robert’s blog, and posted to their own blogs. They will listen to podcasts. Is the audience big enough to get the attention of advertisers? I don’t know. Is it a fad? It sure looks like one to me.
To get back to the point, what you’re missing, it’s not enough to tell people that we can do it. We can do a lot of things. Why should we do it? And, I don’t mean why should someone produce a podcast, I can think of a thousand reasons. But, the real question is why should I (or anyone else) listen? You need to convince people how it’s going to benefit them. Why should the guy stuck on I93 heading into Boston to his office fumble around with his iPod to listen to a podcast instead of just turning on his favorite radio station? Why should the young lady riding the Green Line to her class at Boston University put one of your podcasts on her iPod instead of listening to her favorite music during the ride?
Are you banking on “if we build it they’ll come” ??
Peter Davis is a web developer, investor, author, entrepreneur, and most importantly a father. 
“Why should the guy stuck on I93 heading into Boston to his office fumble around with his iPod to listen to a podcast instead of just turning on his favorite radio station?”
I think it may be the same reason a large number of people TiVo their favorite TV shows, when they could catch the same shows on their favorite TV channels?
At the moment, I feel, all that podcasting does is provide an additional content consumption channel for early adopters. I believe podcasting may break into the mainstream if we stumble upon a viable way to monetize it.
Thanks for raising some interesting points.
-Mario
A couple points, Peter.
First, it’s not a question of whether people will listen to podcasts. The medium is less than two years old and has in excess of 10 million listeners. As new tools make it easier to subscribe, more people will listen.
Podcast Alley has more than 20,000 podcasts in its index. So, you haven’t enjoyed the ones you’ve listened to. I suspect somewhere in those 20,000 there are a few you would enjoy. Part of the appeal is niche content that you can’t get through mainstream radio. My podcast deals with public relations and corporate communications, a topic you’ll never find a radio station embracing as a recurring show. But we (my co-host and I) have enough listeners to make it worth our while to continue doing the show (we’ll record our 150th on Thursday).
There are podcasts on wine, child-rearing, coffee, paramedics, knitting, barbecue and disc golf, to name a very, very few. If one of these topics interests you, you may find the podcast appealing, particularly if the hosts are enthusiastic, the content is worthwhile, and the production values don’t suck. Other podcasts introduce you to new “podsafe” music you’ll never hear anywhere else — and there are a lot of non-RIAA artists out there making tremendous music.
Here’s another example. If you ever listen to NPR’s “All Things Considered,” you know that they play a few seconds of music between segments. For years, people have perked up and said, “That’s a great piece of music! What is that!” NPR had so many requests, they’ve started a daily podcast in which they play each of those tunes in their entirety. It’s incredibly popular! NPR, in fact, has had such success with its podcasts that it is now in phase 3 of its podcast strategy with more than 350 podcasts available. (What do they get that you don’t?)
As for the young lady riding the Green Line? Music is fine for a while, but the more time we spend with those buds in our ears, the hungrier we get for alternative content. Podcasts (the ones we like, not all of them) supply it.
You shouldn’t listen to headphones while driving.
Headphones while driving? Who said anything about headphones while driving? I use a cassette adapter. Plug the adapter into the cassette deck, plug the 1/8″ connector into the iPod, and the podcasts play through my car speakers.
New car models are coming equipped with a jack for the iPod.
“Who the hell would want to hear an actor talk?” -Harry M. Warner 1927, Warner Brothers Pictures
That was a joke, Mr. Holtz.
[...] Rather than re-state my response which you’ve already heard, I thought it may be a good idea to highlight another blogger’s take on it. Shel Holtz, principal of Holtz Communication + Technology, has responded succinctly to Peter’s questions, echoing some of my thoughts on the topic. Below is a snippet and here’s the entire comment. First, it’s not a question of whether people will listen to podcasts. The medium is less than two years old and has in excess of 10 million listeners. As new tools make it easier to subscribe, more people will listen. [...]