Podcast: Good or Evil?

Longtime readers of this blog will know that I have never been very enthusiastic about the idea of podcasting. I find that it is too similar to radio, books on tape, or talk television to be of real value to me. While I enjoy listening to people speak about certain issues, when I'm looking for hard information I would much rather read a page of text and rapidly pull out what I need. Since I'm generally trying to work quickly when I'm online, I don't have time to listen to podcasts. However, Donna Papacosta (just say her last name....say it out loud over and over and know why I love it) does a great deal of work with podcasts and her recent post (and related podcast) started to win me over. In it, she discusses how a number of large companies have used podcasts for internal purposes. I must admit that I had not thought of this angle before, and think that it is probably a good idea.

While much of her podcast is more of an introduction for beginners, it is still worth a listen. If you are a podcast veteran, think of it as a refresher course.

I'm still not totally convinced that podcasts are the new wave or anything, but I'm at least more likely to listen to them now.