7 Dirty Little Video Podcast Secrets That They Hope You Don’t Figure Out

Posted by Paul Colligan on Friday, February 10, 2006

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The hype over video Podcasting is huge right now. Some of it is understandable while some of it needs to be put into perspective. Hopefully we’ll do a little of that here.

First of all, hat’s off to Amanda and gang. It couldn’t have happened to better people. You continue to do everything right. I’m pretty proud of my prediction but am thrilled that the market thought even more of you than I do.

There is a time and place for video Podcasting. I predict one day (soon), most of my video consumption will be delivered via Podcast and I can’t wait until that day comes.

But, video and audio are two different things, two different beasts. It’s not that one is better than the other – it is that one is very different than the other.

As the world of Podcasting gets bigger and bigger, let’s make sure we understand how these two mediums are very different from each other.

1. Nobody is ever going to watch a video Podcast as they drive to work.

    This market, and it is a huge market, can only be grabbed by audio Podcasting.

2. Nobody is ever going to go jogging with a video Podcast.

    There are a lot of other places where audio Podcasting is your only consumption option.

3. Video production is much harder than audio production.

    For us “little guys” with faces for radio, this is an important issue. If I can produce 5 hours of audio in the time it takes me to produce 5 decent minutes of video, where will/should I spend my time?

4. You can’t, or at least shouldn’t, be doing anything else while watching a video Podcast.

    Video demands your whole attention – audio can happen in the background. 100% mindshare is always a great goal but … sometimes you need to take what you can get.

5. Portable video will never be as comfortable as portable audio.

    As cool as my iPod Video is, I still prefer audio in the earbuds and video on my t.v. I’m not the only one.


6. HDTV (and what it will do to audience expectations) will only make video production harder while audio Podcast production is only going to get easier.

    I like what comes easy – and those looking to break into the industry might ponder the same approach.

7. It will always be easier to throw money at video by the big guys.

    My strategy has always been to fly below the radar. The competition will go for the flashy because it is, well, flashy (and looks great on the evening news). I think the big guys are going to pay a lot less attention to audio than video.

Thoughts/comments?

Tags: video podcasting, vblog, vblogging, rocketboom

  • http://www.ffstv.com FarFromSubtle

    “Nobody is ever going to watch a video Podcast as they drive to work.”

    Millions upon millions of people use public transportation, carpooling, planes, taxis. The people I count on the subway in Toronto each day with their face burried in a PSP or iPod video I feel is indivitive of a very large market.

    “Portable video will never be as comfortable as portable audio.”

    I understand the portability angle you’re taking here, but the fact of the matter is, iTunes reported that the vast majority of the video media found in their directory is watched on the users computer, not a personal player. In a way you are right, video belongs on your TV, being fed by a set-top box rigged to catch video podcasts.

  • http://www.blogsumer.com Marc

    Number 3, producing a video podcast of great quality is perhaps the most hidden secret. Yes, we have a beautiful extra feature now creating podcasts which is the camera, but what should we show the world? Our head while talking the way we talk when creating an audio podcast? This kind of video postcasts are being created most of the time today. And that’s not the market is waiting for. Creating podcasts can’t be done without being a bit creative, but creating video podcasts is asking much more of our creative abilities.

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  • http://www.colligan.com colligan

    FarFromSubtle – you are totally right. There are plenty who will watch video Podcasts when bussing, etc. to work. I know a guy who watches all of his evening television on the way to work the next day.

    I’m only talking about those who drive to work – that demographic.

    Paul

  • http://www.HogsGetFat.com Joshua Karlin

    Paul, I think you absolutely correct. I love being able to download shows I missed onto my iPod, but its main use is audio to fill the down time with learning time.

  • http://www.ffstv.com Far From Subtle

    I just saw this little snippet over at PodGuide.tv.

    http://www.podguide.tv/archives/2006/03/the_rise_of_vid.html

    He makes an interesting observation.

  • chosenjuan

    I watch video podcasts while driving to work all the time. My nexus One phone sits on the dashboard attached to the dashboard like a gps device would be. A well produced video podcast doesn't need to be seen because the audio will drive the program. But its always great to be able to turn your attention to the video from time to time and see whats going on.

    Programs like NSFW, This Week in Tech and so on are perfect because while they are video podcast, they are created as if they were audio shows.

    I will also on occasion listed to Cranky Geeks (another video podcast) on my phone. Its not like your gonna run while watching video but if they required you can always stop and look at whatever the heck they are talking about.

    So here we are in 2010, your article was written in 2006, and as you can see never say never.

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  • paulcolligan

    Thanks for the update.