Slick and Slack on Podcasting

I know a few Bloggers who are experimenting into the frey of Podcasting. With that in mind I offer this light hearted look at podcasting through the eyes of Michael Swaine at Dr. Dobb's Journal

Slick: Welcome to Yet Another Program — or YAP, as we like to call it, from Slick, that’s me, the charming one, and my grumpy partner, Slack–
Slack: that would be me
Slick: Well at least you admit it. Our topic for today is Apple’s sweet move to support podcasting in a major way in iTunes.
Slack: And I just want to say thanks, Apple. Thanks for once again empowering The Rest Of Us. Or as I prefer to put it, for arming nutcases.
Slick: Wow. Not pulling any punches, eh Slack?
Slack: Thank about it: There are probably a million L. Ron Hubbards out there –
Slick: Now that’s a sobering thought…
Slack: And each one has a 500-page Dianetics inside him
Slick: And what a great place to keep it
Slack: Slick, the only thing keeping those manifestos inside those egotists is the effort of typing. And now Apple has removed that barrier.
Slick: Well it’s not just Apple. Apple didn’t invent podcasting. Although I have to say, the iTMS implementation is now the game to beat.
Slack: Slick, I’m old enough to remember the early days of the Desktop Publishing Revolution.
Slick: For our younger readers, that would be the mid-1980s, right after the invention of paper.
Slack: Right, when term papers started looking like magazine ads and business letters started looking like ransom notes.
Slick: Let me cut to the chase, because I think I get where you ‘re going with this. You fear the unleashing of a million podcasters, all with the egos of Matt Drudge but lacking his typing skills.
Slack: Like I used to fear cooties…
Slick; Fear not, querulous one. I have a different take on the phenomenon. Podcasting is just radio. Get it? It’s Radio Done Right.
Slack: I don’t listen to radio.
Slick: What do you mean you don’t listen to radio?
Slack: I can’t help it. It’s a poor medium for transmitting information.
Slick: But what about music, entertainment, humor?
Slack: Oh, that’s good. Radio is good for those things. Just not news or opinion.
Slick: And didn’t you tell me you wake up to the BBC?
Slack: Yes, but…
Slick: There you go. Talk radio.
Slack: But only because I can’t understand what they’re saying at 5:00 am with those british accents. I just hear soothing noises, like geese in the fog. It’s pleasant to wake up to.
Slick: The idea of waking up at 5:00 am is making my head hurt.
Slack: Here is what I think sound is good for: music and entertainment and alarms. But text is a much better medium for news and opinions. It’s efficient, you can search it and index it and edit it…
Slick: You’re not listening in the right spirit. The people who listen to talk radio are basically using it as an alarm. Whole radio programs that are built on that premise, that everything the host thinks is the information equivalent of a burglar alarm. That’s why the jocks shout. It’s like Paul Revere: the British are coming. Only today, it’s the treasonous liberals are coming, or the fascist wingnuts.
Slack: Yes, and I hate that. I think America should turn down the volume.
Slick: Let me give you another analogy. Podcasting is like TiVo for audio. Radio when you want it. You use TiVo, right?
Slack: No, I don’t like TV enough to worry about what I missed. Besides, that’s why God created reruns.
Slick: Well if you’re so down on podcasting, then I guess you wouldn’t be interested in this. But you know, what’s slipped below the radar on this announcement is that Apple has become a content provider.
Slack: You’re heading somewhere with this, I just know it.
Slick: Well Apple’s 3000 podcast feeds have an interesting slant. Lots of NPR and ABC News, and nothing remotely like Rush Limbaugh.
Slack: ABC News? Are you serious? Cripes. With a liberal bias like that, they’re going to have the FCC at the door.
Slick: Hannity and O’Reilly on their case.
Slack: Black Helicopters over One Infinite Loop.
Slick: And on top of that, the Beatles will probably sue them again.
Slack: Oh Apple, what have you done?