A classmate had a very interesting criticism of my podcast: namely that it was hard to follow along with. Now, part of this was a basic criticism of the form, namely that in today’s multi-media culture audio without video (or visual content) is a bit of an aberration.
It made me recall some of my research into the form of podcasts themselves, which is a way to stream audio content. It served to do to radio what blogs did for newspapers. It was one of the earlier new forms or participatory medias of the internet.
When I originally told my chum that I was considering switching to podcasts, he wasn’t very enthused about it because he felt that most people (including him) would prefer to read (or possibly watch) something on the internet.
One criticism that I did feel was apt, was that the content of the podcast was not well-suited to the audio format. It really made me realize that oe always needs to consider the medium before devising the message, since some content is better suited to some mediums.
Although, now that I’m thinking about it, I’m starting to feel that this is false. When new media arise, they immediately begin to determine which kinds of expression are well suited to them. Yet, how were people expressing these same thoughts before the medium in which they are communicated? Seems like a chicken/egg scenario. Perhaps my original feelings were right: any content can suit any medium. The only substantive difference is the audience.