Having been cruising around podcasts and podcast related sites for well over a month and a half now, I’ve noticed a trend that I can’t say I’m all to happy with. So for a few moments I’d like you to go take a peek at some podcast sites to see if you can notice the trend I am talking about. Go ahead, don’t be afraid.(insert Jeopardy! music here)

Back so soon? So what did you notice? Anything imparticular? It’s so subtle of a trend that I doubt you would have even noticed if i wasn’t about to bring it to your attention.

Why in the hell is everyone in podcasting so damn nice to one another?

Now before you go and get your panties in a bunch, I’m not necessarily saying that is a bad thing altogether, but at the same time everyone being so nicey nice to everyone else isn’t really representative of the real world. If that were the case everyone would love America and America would love everyone else and we’d all share a Coke and a smile.

I think for podcasting to really take off, it needs to take on some of the identity of blogging. What has bought blogging to the forefront of the media in the past year is controversy (think Rathergate). Maybe some infighting would be nice too, hearing a couple of podcasters duke it out in pre-recorded MP3 format would warm the cockles of my heart.. This is what made Howard Stern big early on in his career. Sure he had good content, but people would tune in to hear what he was going to say about another DJ or someone else he felt like attacking.

Let’s get this clear, I’m not wishing for every podcaster to start picking on each other. But don’t be afraid to speak your mind. Get some damn balls. Everyone in podcasting or every podcast site is not that damn great. One place this nicey nice attitude stands out is over at Podcast Alley where people can leave comments on a podcast. I have seen only two shows, out of 531 total podcast listed, with negative feedback. One being the The Dawn and Drew Show, and the other being our show, Bibb+Yaz Take Over the World!. Hey looks like we are in good company. Seriously though, are you going to tell me that out of 531 shows only two get negative feedback?

I’ll take all the negative comments that come my way, but if you are too chicken shit to leave an email address or a webpage (maybe even a podcast page) then you can’t be taken seriously. Anonymity is for sissies.

So what have we learned today? Well, maybe podcasting needs a swift kick in the ass by having some sort of controversy or podcasting wars if you will. Second, don’t be afraid to say bad things about someone’s podcast, but fess up to the comments by not being Mr. or Mrs. anonymous. That cheapens your credibility. Third, I’m open for a good podcasting war, so if you want a fight, bring it on. I’m sure all I’ll get is a handshake and maybe an offer to go out for ice cream though. . .
Email us at bibbyaz@podfly.com

This entry was posted on Monday, December 13th, 2004 at 4:13 pm by Gary Bibb and is filed under Guest Articles. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.