September 30th is International Podcast Day; to do my bit I thought I’d share with you some of the podcasts that I listen to and how I got into podcasts themselves.
I first started listening to podcasts way back around 2002/2003 when I was a big listener of LUG Radio, this was a weekly podcast about Linux, if that doesn’t mean anything to you, I’ll leave it there as I don’t want you to go thinking I’m a massive geek or anything (because I am). Since then, I have been seeking out podcasts for various topics, mostly computing given my background in IT, but now and again entertainment related podcasts too and even podcasts for researching content for This is Rammy.
Wait though, how did International Podcast Day come about? Well, last year was the first National Podcast day which was started over in that there America, it was started because the founder realised that there were dates for various things online, such as Memorial Day, Flag Day, but nothing for Podcasts, and thus National Podcast Day was started. One of the first things pointed out was that podcasts are international and we have electricity and the internet over here too you, you, you Americans! So, it was revised to International Podcast day.
Now you have the back history of me and my foray into listening to podcasts, here are the podcasts I currently listen to and some I think need notable mention, have a listen and see what you think, the more people who listen to podcasts, the more popular they will become in the mainstream, and there are some really well produced podcasts out there.
The majority of these podcasts I subscribe to, but a couple I think need to be mentioned, as they have been influential in re-energising the podcast scene recently, if you’ve not heard of Serial but like true crime style stories, then you’ll love it. I have family members who have never really been into podcasts before, other than to listen to something a radio station puts out as “extra content”, who have listened to Serial, loved it and subsequently subscribed to other podcasts too.
The thing that I love most about podcasts, and the internet in general, is that anyone can put one out there, the barrier to entry is low, it takes time and effort, but if you want to create a podcast about your garden and how everything is growing you can.
The title pretty much sums up this twit.tv podcast. Produced every week, it goes into detail about Android, Google and various hardware. If you’re a little geeky and love Android, you’ll love this podcast (and probably already listen to it). It’s well produced and is one I listen to every week to get my Android fix:
https://twit.tv/shows/all-about-android
A break from normal podcasts, this is a music heavy production made by a professional in the art of movies, TV and music. With that, it has all the polish you’d expect. I first heard of this podcast as it is the creation of one of the volunteers who was filming at the recent New Media Europe event that I went to, Perry, and he’s put this together in a very classy production.
I first found this podcast when looking for any that are local interest podcasts to try to get an idea for format. This podcast has probably the best arranged format of any podcast about a local area that I’ve heard, it sounds great, and, if I ever get the opportunity to visit Lewes (for example there might be a family occasion near by) then I would almost certainly go and visit, I know lots about the town from listening to the podcast despite never actually having been there. It’s this connection you get with podcasts that is why I created This is Rammy, there are people out there who listen, who I’ve never met (but likely will in the future) that will know so much about me without me knowing anything about them.
How could I put this list together without including the phenomenon of recent years in podcasting, Serial. The reason this is known as a phenomenon is that Serial, despite only having 12 episodes, had, as of February this year, over 68 Million Downloads, that’s huge. I’m glad I don’t get that many downloads, my server would be offline in seconds. It’s because of this mass appeal that it had to get a notable mention in my list of podcasts.
So, that’s my rundown of a few other podcasts for you to listen to, have a go, you might find you like them, let me know how you get on with a comment too, and if you find any other podcasts or one’s you already listen to, feel free to add them to the comments below too.
Thanks
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