Podcasting Antipatterns

FUN, MEDIA, PODCASTING

I periodically go searching for new tech-related podcasts to make my commute-time more edifying, interesting, or amusing. I’ll admit right up front that I’m picky – the only one I find myself returning to consistently is LugRadio, which I know is not everyone’s cup of tea. But I’m not looking for “Bob’s Gadget News”. Anyway, content aside, there are some production and style problems that have turned me off to so many podcasts that I’ve come to view them as established antipatterns.

Here’s my current list. Please feel free to expand on it in the comments.

  • I Must Apologize for the Terrible Sound Quality of the Last Podcast
  • I Must Apologize for the Terrible Sound Quality of the Present Podcast
  • I Must Apologize for Not Making a Podcast in Several (Days|Weeks|Months)
  • Thank You for All Your Emails Telling Me What I’m Doing Wrong
  • I Need to Speak Very Quietly, My (Mom|Dad|Girlfriend|Ferret) is Sleeping
  • There Is a Very Exciting Thing Coming at the End of This Podcast But I Won’t Tell You What It Is
  • We Only Have One Microphone for the Three of Us
  • We Are Laughing About This Thing, Ha Ha, You Kind of Had to Be There
  • I Had Big Plans for This Episode But They Just Didn’t Work Out
  • Please Listen to My Next Podcast, It Will Be Better Than This One I Promise

dmoore commented on Mon Apr 2 10:36:00 2007:

Good post. I have never listened to a podcast. After reading your list of amusing apologies I’m not inclined to start.

Paul commented on Mon Apr 2 12:42:54 2007:

There are good ones, too! It’s just like any other kind of low-barrier-to-entry media – there are a lot of people figuring it out as they go. Nothing wrong with that. Mostly I just wish people would get down to what they actually have to say. Most of my list is about people getting distracted by uninteresting meta stuff.

xian commented on Mon Apr 2 19:19:13 2007:

Excellent. The “I Must Apologize for Not Making a Podcast in Several (Days|Weeks|Months)” carries over as a corollary from blogging, where likewise I don’t give a shit if you haven’t blogged in three months. If I care, I’ll find your new stuff.

dmoore commented on Tue Apr 3 10:52:52 2007:

on your advice I tried out LUG radio. not bad, but they could afford to edit down the show to about 60 mins.

any others worth trying?

Paul commented on Tue Apr 3 13:36:15 2007:

Yes, it does get a bit long sometimes…

I have a few others worth mentioning, so I’ve gone ahead and made a new post on the subject.

Share: