"Demistifying the Podcast", 8/2/2007, Creative Commons Attribute
What purpose does this genre usually serve?
This genre usually is more of an interactive method of conveying information. The creator of the podcast segment speaks what they want and trys to create a way for the audience to feel like the person is speaking to them individually. Not all of them are like this but most of them are. They are geared towards the aural learners whereas video essays and Quick Refference Guides are for the visual readers.
Where, how, or in what context do readers usually find this genre?
Readers usually find this genre when they are trying to multitask or don't want to read lines of information but instead what to be verbally informed. Podcasts are an improvement of the radio but allows for the audience to personalize their choice of what to listen to.
Who is the typical audience of this genre?
The audience of this genre is usually young adults to middle-aged adults. Podcasts offer such a large variety of topics that almost anyone will find something that they are interested in. The only limitation is that the audience needs to have access to a device that allows them to listen to the segment, which sometimes affects the older population.
What are some of the key features or characteristics that are unique to this genre, distiguishing it from other genres?
One key feature is that it is listened to, unlike QRG's and Video Essays. This allows for the audience to listen to it whenever they can and where ever. Another unique feature of this media is that it allows the reader to feel like hey are communicating directly to the speaker, making the segment more personal than a QRG can.
Based on your answers to the questions above, come up with a definition in your own words ffor this genre.
A podcast segment is a medium by which an author can record his message and share it with people to listen to when and where they want. Podcast segments is also a method for an audience to learn about specific topics.
Reflection
Erin McCabe's Blog
After reading Erin's blog I realized that I did not mention anything about how podcasts allow for the speaker to go off on random tangents that are interesting to the listener. In QRG's, there are no random tangents and everything on the page is very factual and on topic.
Alexis Morrison's Blog
The QRG was made understandable after reading Alexis's blog. Before reading the blog post, I had a general grasp on the QRG, but lacked some clarification on certain parts of the medium. This post also allowed me to see more differences in podcasts and QRG's including the ability of QRG's to be skimmed over whereas podcasts are harder to pick out parts to listen to.
I like how you distinguished what kind of learners this genre works well for. That helps the reader understand why its medium is unique to other genres. Maybe in the answer to the last question I would include a phrase describing what kind of audience this medium is most effective towards.
ReplyDeleteI thought your explanation was very detailed and though through: I really like the parallel you made with Podcasts being similar to radio's. I feel like another key feature of a podcast that could have been included is how they serve as entertainment, similar to a TV show. Podcasts like Serial are listened to religiously and have a large following. All-in-all this was a great description, love the comic.
ReplyDeleteHi Ben,
ReplyDeleteI liked how you made it a point to mention that this genre is appealing to auditory learners! I know it may sound like an obvious point, however I think it is important to understand which genres resonate with specific audiences the most. I also enjoyed how you characterized a podcast as a somewhat "intimate" experience as the audience feels connected with the author. Perhaps you could have gone a bit further in depth with your description of the intended audience, but all in all it sounded great!