Joel Spolsky said that most people only listen to podcasts while they're distracted.
"People who listen to podcasts, it's not like they've carved out an hour from their life so that they can sit in their armchair and listen to it. You know, they're working out, they're taking a walk, they're driving to work or driving back from work, they're in the gym, any kind of situation where you can listen to something in the background but not really give it your whole attention. You can't be watching it. That's pretty much the entire market that podcasts are ever going to have, the same as the radio market."
Now admittedly, I haven't listened to very many podcasts, but if that's true, it would explain why podcasts aren't very popular. Joel is basically saying that podcasts are generally so boring that you can't stand to listen to them.
When I envision a podcast (and I have envisioned creating a podcast), I don't see it as just a boring recording of a conversation -- I see it as a show. I imagine families gathering around their old time radio cabinets and being entertained for however long the show runs. I see it as something that the listeners should pay attention to, in other words. I guess I'm just weird.
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