Thursday, October 20, 2016

Podcasting Pet Peeve

I listen to a good number of podcasts. In fact, if I'm not listening to old radio programs, I'm listening to a podcast. Heck, one podcast even plays old radio programs for me.

That being said, I tend to work my way through a show's backlog before I listen to the most current episodes. I find that this gives me a nice background for the show and allows me to get whatever references the hosts are currently making. There is a problem with that way of doing things, however.

You see, if a show is dealing with present day stuff, be it comics, movies, or TV shows, and trying to predict what's to come, it makes it hard to listen to after the fact. Trying to predict the plot of Batman v Superman, for example, is all well and good, except if the listener doesn't hear that episode until after said movie is already out. Now, that's alright for a show to do as a small segment, but if entire episodes are devoted to that, it makes it practically un-listenable later on.

I've actually stopped listening to shows because all they did was review the then-current comic and try and predict what the next issue would hold. Well, that episode only has a shelf life as long as the next issue isn't out. For someone like me who is listening after, sometimes years after, the topic was current it just sounds silly. I'm not saying people can't do that for their shows. These are their shows, after all. I'm just saying that it's something I have a hard time listening to.

That's why the shows I do tend to look at the past. Things I loved growing up, or have rediscovered, but very little on future events. I hope that makes my shows, at least somewhat, evergreen. So that a new listener can start at episode 1 and work their way up to current without what gets on my nerves with shows.

How about you, dear reader? Is there anything about podcasts, or other shows, that just rubs you the wrong way?

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4 comments:

  1. Well, speaking as somebody who doesn't have a podcast (yet) but listens to several, I can agree pretty well. For the most part, it can get kind of annoying to hear people talk about the "upcoming" stuff on old episodes. I like hearing that things are coming and what has been revealed. It helps set a time period for the episodes that I admire. The speculation about what might happen, especially when it ends up being way way off, is a little irritable, but I assume that's as much my fault as the podcasters. I have the privilege of looking at things in hindsight while they are living in a pre-release world. So long as the majority of the episode isn't devoted to the "let's guess the upcoming stuff" game I'm ok with it all. If, however, the episode is devoted to that, I tend to skip. Just my take, though. Certainly doesn't mean I'm a shining example of what to do.

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    1. Yeah, that's the problem I had, when the entire show was "let's review this comic and then spend an hour trying to guess next month's story." When you're listening to it 5 years later, it's just annoying.

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  2. Hi Gene! I can relate to what you mean. In my case, if it seems like too much wasted speculation on an old run of a podcast, I just skip that episode. However, for someone with such a high level of OCD that they've named syndromes after you (ha!), that might be difficult.

    Also, sometimes it's just fun to hear how wrong they were, or perhaps their ideas were more interesting than the final product.

    For my own pet peeves, there are a few things that irk me on podcasts: long pauses in speaking (thankfully "trim silence" helps with that); an excessive amount of "ums" (everybody does it, but sometimes it's too much); and repeating and repeating and repeating and repeating and repeating the exact same point.

    Bottom line, I get what you are saying. And if it was one of the FIRE & WATER PODCAST shows, then I sincerely apologize. ... and it was probably Rob's fault.

    Shag

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    1. No, it wasn't a F&W show, Shag. Most of those are really well done.

      The podcast in question, and I will not name it because this is my problem, not theirs, did this EVERY episode, so skipping ahead didn't really do anything to help. It was when I skipped about 5 episodes in a row that I decided it wasn't worth my time to listen.

      I do agree that too many "ums" and "ahs" put me off, but if they're making a good point I try and look over it. Also, if the person doing it doesn't edit, they might not even realize that they're doing it. That's why I try to remain silent when thinking rather than fill the air. Then "Truncate Silence" saves me. ;)

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