Branimir's Blog Archive

Getting Hooked on Podcasting

Some months ago Lars mentioned Podcasting to me. The idea seemed appealing but as I never listened internet radio much it didn't seem like something I'd use. Later, Carsten drew my attention IT Conversations - a site where one can download recorded interviews and conference talks. My first reaction was that I would probably never use it as I prefer reading to listening.

And then I got myself an iPod. I'm not sure why I bought it. I am a gadget geek, that's for sure. But I never liked Walkmans and things like that. I always hated getting entangled in wires while trying to punch my U-Bahn ticket or not hearing what's going on around me. I guess being a gadget geek and a design freak at the same time was enough to shell out over 419,90 € for the 40 GB version (it must be a 40 GB one, I don't want to have to make choices on what I take with me and what not).

At first, I almost felt guilty for spending that much money for a toy I'm not even sure I'd use. I already mentioned I don't like wires while commuting and the problem of listening to digital music at my home has already been solved.

And then I actually tried listening those recordings from IT Conversations on my iPod. A whole new world opened up in front of my, er... ears! The thesis #3 from Cluetrain Manifesto comes to mind: "Conversations among human beings sound human. They are conducted in a human voice.

Here are some of my favorite recordings:

• Steve Wozniak at Gnomedex 4.0 (part two) tells a fascinating story starting when he was a boy building crystal-set radios and playing pranks all the way to the making of Apple I and Apple II. You have to hear this. It is brilliant!
• Clayton Christensen - if you haven't read Christensen's book the Innovator's Dilemma you will probably order it after you hear this talk.

A totally cool feature of the IT Conversations site is personalized RSS feed: while surfing the site you can add items to your listening queue. Those items then get downloaded overnight by podcasting software such as iPodderX.

Posted by Branimir Dolicki at 01:43

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