Podcast Listening Habits

2 Miles Per Podcast

Even with podcasting being well over a year old, I am not subscribing to any particular feeds-- I've not really found a source from where I want that much content. I had not even loaded any onto my Shuffle for the last 2-3 months. When I do listen, I am doing it the old fashioned way, downloading a select MP3 and moving it my pod manually (after hauling a sled of coal 5 miles through snow to get to my computer).

CogDogBlog » Blog Archive » 2 Miles Per Podcast

This post on CogDogBlog discusses not having the desire for much content. I on the other hand am completely the opposite in terms of grabbing content. I listen regularly to ITConversations, the Daily Source Code, This Week in Tech (TWIT), The Chris Perrilo Show, Disney's Last Minute Book Report (I say it is for my kids, but I'm learning a lot.), PodTech Network, Learning University, OLDaily, and many more. I grab a feed 1 or 2 a day, listen to or browser the show then either keep it or clear the RSS feed. I also listen to some of the shows I produce for either my company or for my church.

Then I got to thinking about the time that I have available to listen to my iPod. I have a 50 minute commute everyday, that's an hour and 40 minutes a day (minimum) for listening. I attend a church that is 45 minutes in the opposite direction on Wednesdays and Sundays. So that is approx. 12 hours a week in the car. Then I am about halfway through a training schedule to compete in my first marathon. This gives me an additional 4-5 hours a week of listening time. This time will increase through the race, but decrease after the race. I plan to give those hours back to my family once I accomplish that goal.

So the things that impact the amount of time spent listening to podcasts could include your commuting time, overall drive time, (In my case it also depends on who is in the car with me. The kids won't listen to Stephen Downes discuss the complexities of loading Ruby on Rails.), exercise time, and travel schedule. I always listen to my iPod on the plane. The seasonal changes also impact my listening habits, I listen to podcasts when I mow the yard. I rarely listen to my iPod in the house as a leisure activity. (never) I am always engaged with my family during that time.

Final thoughts. I am guessing that my iPod listening habits breakdown around 80% podcasts and 20% music (legally purchased and placed on my iPod of course), I often listen to podcasts that I feel are extremely interesting or can assist my work more the once, sometimes as may as 5 times, and my run times are faster when I listen to music compared to run times while listening to (talk-formatted) podcasts.