Podcasts don't work unless they're funny

Stan Beer
Thursday, 23 November 2006 11:00

Opinion and Analysis

The latest news that a survey conducted by the Pew Internet and American Life Project found that podcasts are rarely downloaded by Internet users (one percent download a podcast daily) does not come as a surprise.

Last March, iTWire interviewed Linux evangelist Jon Maddog Hall. We posted a story based on the interview and a link to the recorded podcast. The story was read thousands of times, while the podcast was lucky to be downloaded a few dozen times. Why was this so?

Basically people are time poor. If they can glean the same information from skimming an article in a couple of minutes as they can from a half hour recorded interview, they won't bother with the interview.

However, the key feature of listening to audio (and video) recordings of any nature if they are to be successful is entertainment value. Even the news has to be entertaining if you want people to listen. Find me a podcast posted by a very funny comedian and I'll probably download it regularly. An interview with a software evangelist - forget it.

If you look at what non-music material sells in the audio recording industry, then the same sort of material is bound to sell in podcast form, such as motivational sessions and comedy skits. An entertainment gossip newscast would probably gain traction. The bottom line is if a technology podcast is to get a regular audience of thousands, it has to do more than just inform - it has to entertain.