The Trouble with Podcasts and Videos
Something different for you; an audio file for you to listen to. You can listen right now below, or you can ‘follow’ my audio blogs over at AudioBoo. A ‘Boo’ is three minutes long or less, and seem an easy way to audio-blog by iPhone or phone call. I say it’s the Twitter of podcasting.
Or you can read my thoughts on podcasting within your company below – not an exact transcript, but identical content to the short audio blog.
The popularity of podcasting and video blogging, ala YouTube, must have some impact on the way we communicate within our companies. I know when I publish messages from our CEO on our intranet they are popular and valued, generating a wealth of feedback. There are many people within the company who don’t have access to the intranet though, so our CEO, and other execs, record the message on a phone line, so people can ring up and listen. Basically, it’s podcasting over the phone. Several people listen each week. Not a huge audience, but if they don’t have access to the intranet article, we have a duty to provide alternative communications.
But personally, I’m not sure the popularity of podcasting and video blogging on the world wide web should influence professional business critical communications too much.
My main concern, outside of the technological hurdles for the listener or viewer, is the signal to noise ratio.
Even in a high-quality podcast, packed with news, relevant information and clear instructions, it’s still incredibly time consuming to take in, and almost impossible to refer back to.
A 1000 word company news bulletin can be understood in under a minute, or scan read for the juicy bits in a matter of seconds. It’s always there to quickly refer back to as well.
A podcast of vodcast on the other hand, takes minutes to get to the crux of the matter, and is damn near impossible to refer back to a month later.
So why am I mini-podcasting (with AudioBoo) now for kilobox communiqué? Because this isn’t inside the company I work for, and I accept that podcasting reaches a different audience than the usual written method of communicating.
Prove me right and help me understand how new media can improve Internal Communications.
[Wedge]
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Welcome back! As you know, kilobox communiqué discusses the theory and practice of 'Internal Communications', including writing, channels (e.g. intranets), best practices, technologies and the needs of the audience. You can surf my site on the web or on your mobile device – same address: kilobox.net
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TweetTags: audioboo, blogging, podcasts, videos, vlogs
