My Reflections On... Podcasting

When my last iPod broke down sometime at the beginning of this year, I was at a virtual iTunes stand-still. I kind of lost touch with the rest of the online world. I even stopped using BitTorrent for a while. At that time I was busy finishing up school. But since getting my new MacBook + iPod combo, I've been resuscitating my online world. Being in China has helped, since my appetite for information isn't quite met by the media channels available here.

Once I set up my iPod Video (now known as the iPod Classic), I immediately began exploring the Podcasting universe, to see how I could best leverage this function. My life hasn't been the same eversince. Not only have I found news podcasts to keep me up todate with what is happening around the world, but there are so many special-interest podcast that I am now renewing past interests that I have not had time to keep up with in my busy life. Now I can. From economics to history (and a lot of history) to Pop news and culture, I'm staying on top of all my topics of interest. I've also been discovering new interests too. I get to keep on top of the gaming world (even though I never game its important to know the current happenings in that industry), I get to keep abreast of the advertising and media industry (which is important for my future career), and I've been hooked on a podcast called WineLibrary TV, which is educating me in loads about wines. I must admit it may be the best podcast I've ever seen. ARE YOU A VANIAC??? CHECK OUT THE VAYNER-NATION. haha... no seriously. check out that podcast if you're interested in learning about wines.

And then there is the technology and business news. Oh so glorious, oh so interesting and applicable. The great thing is that I load on multiple different podcasts about tech and business news, so its like casting a wider net. What one podcast misses out on, the other will catch. So I'll watch WebNation and then watch DiggNation, and then watch GreenTV or Business 2.0 Disruptors. So it's like channel-surfing but always landing on another good channel on another good program you want to see. And you'll never miss any part of it. And no commercials. For those of you who are more up-to-date, its like TiVo or any PVR, but portable! Isn't that way better?

So now with podcasts augmenting my regular email, magazine and newsreader intake, I would have to say I am more up-to-date now with current events and trends than I have ever been before. And its amazing how much info you can upload into your brain while you're walking or in the subway or in a taxi. No time is wasted. Its so good. Its like getting your "learn" on all the time. And keeping track with world affairs, politics, the US presidential race, the war in Iraq, tensions in Pakistan, hurricane season down south, Gordon Brown and how he is taking over from Tony Blair, etc... isn't that better drama then Heroes or Lost? Its real, and applicable. (although I still like to indulge in my high-production drama too. Grey's Anatomy is awesome).

To put the icing on the Podcasting cake, my new MacBook's screen resolution is SO GOOD its unbelievable. I rather watch movies on my laptop than on the TV just because its so much easier on the eyes. For those that have HDTV and won't go back to traditional TVs, you know what I mean. My MacBook comes with a remote contol (Apple thinks of everything), so I can sit back on my couch at night and surf through my podcasts without even getting up to move onto the next one. That's the way technology should serve our lifestyles.

I still expect more to come in the future, like mobile streaming tv and a convergence in high-production TV broadcast content with user-generated internet content. But podcasting, now about 4 years old, is a good start. And until the next technology's adoption rate increases and prices come down (like iPhone in China), I'll happily keep on downloading podcasts.

If you'd like to see a list of my current podcasts, see the list on the right-hand column below this blog. You can just search them on Google and find the ones you want, or, find them on iTunes.