The Newer "New Age?"

The idea of podcasting is still somewhat foreign to me, but fairly interesting. Obviously, I understand the purpose behind it and what it takes to create one, but the fact the authors of our books continue to say it's a SM tool that's currently on the rise confuses me. While it might be on the rise overall, this is clearly something that my generation, the future of social media they say, has limited to no interest in in the first place. I can see why. While I believe podcasts allow us to multi-task, which is good considering we're in an age where the ability to juggle multiple things at once is essential, I still feel like most of us would prefer to find our information via the Internet and read a few quick articles as opposed to sitting listening to our iPods, or even watching the news. I, for one, am definitely someone who would much rather plug in my iPod in my car to listen to my music as opposed to the latest podcast I might be subscribed to.

Which is also interesting because New Rules for PR and Marketing talks about Christopher S. Penn, who creates a financial aid podcast on a weekly basis for students. To my surprise, masses of students are listening to tips on how to tackle student loans and make college an affordable experience. I suppose then, this might be something all, if not most, of us would be interested in. As someone who has a month and a half left of school forever, I know I am. But the point is, I still don't know that I would have the attention span for a weekly podcast. Hearing someone talk for a given amount of time about a topic that I'm not particularly passionate about (not just financial aid) just doesn't seem ideal. I do however, think it's a clever trick on Penn's part to make his podcasts about 20 minutes long, because he says that the average American commute is 24 minutes long while the average attention span is only 18. I think I pointed that out in class as well, but what can I say? I have a thing for random facts of knowledge.

But anyway, while podcasting might be popular with the general population, I think something needs to be done to motivate more of the younger public to become engaged in the idea as well. If going by just the quick poll taken in class last week, then it could be a clear indicator of just how many people subscribe to at least one podcast, or even listen to one on occasion. I also think when or if the trend begins to decline as SM shifts and this younger generation becomes more prominent, the task will no longer be simply about practitioners creating podcasts, but also what should and can they do to influence a new audience into tuning in?