Blogging vs. Podcasting

I'm much more a visual learner than an audial learner, so my preference is for blogging. Blogging is also much more in line with my communication style because I can take time to deliberate over each thought and can go back and edit easily and often. Another reason I prefer blogs to podcasts is that, with blogs, I can control the rate at which I consume information. I can read much faster than most people speak in podcasts; I can also more easily choose to scan parts or to skip some parts altogether with text. Finally, I just don't have much of an attention span for listening to podcasts; when I listen to something, I have to also be doing something else-- cleaning, driving, etc.--whereas with text I can easily focus on just reading.

Still, podcasting does have its "pros." Being able to speak or to listen often gives nuance to language that is hard to capture textually. Also, the very fact I mentioned above, that I like to do other things while listening, is great for learners on-the-go.

A little story about Shakes and Nikki...

Here's a little story about how our cats, Shakes and Nikki, came to live with my fiance and I and about how Shakes got her name...

Thing 21: Pod People

I checked out Mark Kermode and Simon Mayo's film reviews on BBC Radio's 5 Live Web site. Film reviews are something I rely heavily on in my work because I am the DVD selector for my library. I have to say, I wasn't too into it. That's been my reaction to just about every podcast I've ever listened to. The good news is it's not them, it's me. I definitely think podcasts have many uses that are applicable to the day-to-day operations of libraries, I just am the type of user that prefers written information. I don't like to watch television news broadcasts and I generally don't like talk radio and the exceptions to these rules almost always involve sports broadcasting.