Thing 7: Podcasts

My first experience with listening to podcasts was several years ago when couple of my friends started recording their chats and shared them on social media. So, being a good friend I listened to several of them. The thing was, they did not really have much to say, so my first impression of listening to podcasts was – “It’s soooo boring!”. I think, if you decide to do a podcast, you really have to have something interesting to say. Now and then I catch-up with some News Talk chats at home after work, because they seem to always discuss interesting topics. Professionally, I had no experience in listening or creating a podcast myself. So, I was pleased to discover some really good librarian podcasts (thanks, of course to Rudai 23).
I listened to some of the podcasts in Circulating Ideas. I think every episode is a success because they feature really interesting people, good light chat and clear recording.
I also would like to recommend some of my recently discovered podcast sites. So, or further exploring and more of personal interest, this TED Blog post recommends 45 great podcasts to choose from, ranging from storytelling to better business to laughs. I personally got hooked on Radiolab podcasts as they are discussing very interesting topics.
Overall, I think podcasts, like anything else, have their own audience. Libraries definitely can use podcasts for storytelling or interviews. As an educational tool, in my opinion, podcasts should be well-thought through. For example, it was very useful to listen to a podcast with Data Protection Commissioner during Records Management module in Master’s course. But again, if you decide to use podcasts, I think it is important to make sure that your audience will keep their attention during all of the recording. Otherwise, being selective and using just some excerpts might be a good idea as well.
These are my thoughts on podcasts. While I have very little experience in podcasts, I found it very useful to get to know how set one up if needed. But so far, I am a very happy listener.