Man, it was just a couple of weeks ago that I first heard about Podcasting. Carl Franklin Started even started a company around it. If you want to know more, you can read 20 posts a day from Scoble, including his take on the backlash. Maybe it's because I don't have an IPod or other device. I don't really commute either. So I can't really say whether this thing will take off. But, it's interesting that Scott Hanselman appears to have stuck his neck out and started a backlash.
“Sorry folks, PodCasting = Verbal Incontinence. I'm just not feeling it. You can't speak as fast as I read. I don't like it when you read your PowerPoints to me, and I REALLY don't like it when you ramble on.”
I can see listening to a couple of podcasts. And often times listening is better than reading. I'd rather listen to than read much of the long MSDN content that I read. Especially if the content is about general concepts and I'm not trying to solve a specific problem. I do agree with Scott that blogs are better read than listened to for the most part.
The roots of this topic have actually been around for a long time in the field of Educational Psychology. Do people learn better by reading, watching, doing, listening? It turns out that the answer is “it depends.” There, I had to pay for a master's degree to find that out and I gave it to you for free. It's said that there are different learning styles: Auditory learners learn best by listening, Kinesthetic learners learn by touching, blah blah blah. Actually, I have my own theories about learning:
Everyone learns best by doing. Teaching someone one on one or in a classroom is best. Distance learning sucks, but some distance learning sucks less than others. Way to much money is wasted on distance learning. Much of it is because of crappy software. It's a vicious, parasitic cycle.
I think the same principles (if you can call them that) can be said for Podcasting. Some people will love it, if their brains are set up right for learning, and understanding that way. Others, will probably hate it because their brains are not wired for that kind of learning.
-Brendan