Finding Good Soundbites in Bad Podcasts

Correction: The original version of this entry quoted Jason Calacanis for something that was said by Michael Arrington. I apologize to both for the error. The original was more interesting than this version. I apologize to the readers.

I was listening to the latest episode of the Gillmor Gang this morning, one of the best-known and longest running tech podcasts. I endured 20 minutes of directionless chit-chat, complete with a five-minute "how good was this show?" self-evaluation, to hear one provocative 35-second comment from Michael Arrington that's worth passing around.

I committed suicide this week when I wrote about AOL. Those three AOL posts cost me dearly. I'll explain it all in a few weeks. It cost me more than ... not money, it cost me in something else that translates into money eventually. I made a conscious decision and I paid the price, hoping that I'd get away with it but I didn't.

Finding this nugget in the noise reminds me of what podcasting offers that blogging lacks: Content that sucks in two dimensions. A bad podcast suffers both in quality and in the amount of time required to find this out. I could've back-buttoned 60 bad blog entries in the time I listened to one Gillmor Gang.

Podcasting · 2006/08/16 · 7 COMMENTS · Link

Comments

are you sure that is what I said? that looks like quote but i think you are paraphrasing me... what point in the show and which show are you saying I said that on? I'm trying to find that quote in the show and i can't

#1 · Jason · 2006/08/16

dude!!! that is Mike Arrington speaking!!!

#2 · Jason · 2006/08/16

i pulled this post and will write a correction when i get back home -- sorry

#3 · rogers · 2006/08/16

That quote is even more enigmatic given that Michael Arrington said it.

#4 · Justin Watt · 2006/08/16

i'm very intrigued. what on earth would arrington stand to lose?

#5 · _r · 2006/08/16

I agree with you 100% about the breadth and depth of podcast crap.

I crave an MP3 player that has a 30 second skip.

Podcasts promise wide open creativity, yet I always feel like I'm listing to a highschool radio project.

Why do so many podcasts apologise for their poor audio quality "Because they are just learning and will do it better in the future" then prattle on for 5 minutes on how great this podcast is and then repeatedly beg "Don't forget to vote for me at the Pod Cast Awards!"

People-- just because you can talk non-stop for 20 minutes doesn't mean you should podcast.

#6 · Barry · 2006/08/18

Sadly, this Gillmor Gang is nowhere near the WORST podcast out there...but it's certainly not very good. I do a segment every once in awhile on my show called "Your Podcast Sucks - The Thinning Of The Herd". I think I might have to use Gillmor Gang the next time we do the segment. I'll probably even have to quote Mr. Cadenhead, who makes a very good point when he says:

"A bad podcast suffers both in quality and in the amount of time required to find this out."

And by the way, I'm an egotistical, no-budget radio god who has room to talk, and a quality show to back it up.

#7 · Brad Westmar · 2007/01/04