Podcast!

Prior to watching the podcast I was assigned I had never listened to one. In fact, I did not even know how to find a podcast on the web, much less know what to do once I found one! I never really understood what their purpose was or how one might be beneficial to any aspect of my life. After viewing the six podcast tonight, my view as somewhat changed on this topic. They are educational and interesting. In addition, they are a fabulous way of getting different perspectives on subjects and also communicating with people all over the world. People that other wise you might never be able to have a conversation with.
There were several aspects of the podcast that I enjoyed. The talks were very informative and easy to listen too. The spokes people seemed to be very knowledgeable on the subjects as well. Instead of being bored with a constant monetary tone, some of the podcast added music to the beginning of their show or kept it playing throughout. In some cases I liked this but in others it was distracting. If the music was not calming of too loud it was difficult to hear everything that was being mentioned. I do however think the concept of this is good. Some of the shows were only one episode of many,instead of just being a one time airing. I think this is great because it gives the option to learn more about their topics and also a person is able to email or call in with any questions they may have. If the show was only a one time deal, like a documentary of something, it may be educational, but the listener may also be left with unanswered questions. For some, like myself, they may not know where to go to find the answers after the show. Some of the podcast had more than one speaker, which was FANTASTIC because when you are not viewing a show, listening can tend to be boring and listening to the same monotone voice Can be even worse!
More than one of the podcast had a few commercials aired prior to their show starting. I a not sure if this was for their funding or if this was just a little added entertainment value. I found it really did not make a difference to me. The adds tended to be slightly scrambled and very loud so I actually could not even tell you what it was selling. So, from a listeners point of view, I feel that they are not beneficial to the show and probably not helping the advertisers either. One podcast I listened to had a very different sound to their broadcast.The speakers sounded similar to Darth Vader.It almost sounded as if the microphones may have been messed up, but after listening to more than one of their episodes, I believe this sound as intentional.I found this effect incredibly annoying and personally would NEVER use it. It was also very distracting.
After all the podcast I have heard tonight, I definitely think I will listen to more in the future. I still am not overly computer savoy but feel more comfortable with this application then I did prior to this assignment. I did not realize podcast were just a radio cast and thought initially I was going to be bored to tears when I found out I was not actually going to be viewing anything! I was pleasantly surprised at how much I did like it though. I am looking forwarding to viewing more podcast and learning to develop my own.