Fun with categorization!
There are three types of podcast, from best to worst:
Type 1: Podcasting personality
My new favorite podcast is Speaking of Gay Shows, formally Going South (a South of Nowhere podcast). In a word, this podcast is completely unprofessional. And that makes it amazing! Codey and Sky ramble endlessly about whatever comes to mind, and although they may not have a very high ratio of brilliant insights on the human condition to time, who really does? They’re having fun, we’re having fun, they’re not limiting themselves to a specific amount of time or to a specific subject, they don’t care about ‘keeping things moving’, they giggle infectiously, and they’re just generally hilarious. This is what podcasting is.
Type 2: Podcasting topics
Since this is the last season of Battlestar Galactica, which I rather like, I’ve been listening to Galactica Quorum. Galactica Quorum is about as professional as a podcast can get without getting annoying. They have a specific subject. They edit the longer rambles, and they keep it focused on the topic enough that someone could enjoy listening to the show, even if they didn’t especially like the people involved (unlike Type 1!). And yet, they’re still personable enough, and the format simple enough, that it still feels friendly.
Type 3: Podcasting ego
After hearing about it on Galactica Quorum, I thought I’d listen to the TERMINATOR Podcast. Big mistake. First strike – the title is SHOUTING AT ME, and the website is ugly. The show descriptions are pretentious. And the show itself is like an ordinary radio show, complete with the loud-mouthed hosts who talk too fast, make fun of people, are bombastic and rude, and who are certain that they have the last word on everything. They tell us how to feel, instead of feeling it themselves and letting us listen. And, they’re not funny. At all. This is not what podcasting should be.