Am I the only one feeling that way? DVD’s have become the new magazines, just a couple of bucks and not even worth reselling (and more fun to just pass on). There are a number of great podcasts that I have resigned myself to the fact that I will never get to them. Vidcasts are even worse, Tiki Bar and the Rumor Girls make the cut, and even they pile up now and then.
I’ve got the XBox 360 up and running and the integration with Live has been stretching my brain – how cool is it to be watching a DVD and get a pop-up that a friend on the other side of the country is looking for a game?
Add producing my own media to the mix (I saw the New M Show template today!) and that’s it – I’m doing this morning’s post at 11pm. But – I’m having more fun than ever. The bad news is that the bar is rising and the mediocre content is falling off my list. Perhaps the rising tide will raise all boats. Please comment if you’ve dropped casts or other media that you used to find compelling but no longer have time for.
5 replies on “Drowning In Media”
It’s an ever evolving list. What’s changed is the methodology now of consumption. I subscribe to my media in both iTunes and Google Reader, and I look first in Google reader at the show notes. If the show doesn’t have any topics that are burning, I’ll know to backbench it.
I also have different smart lists in iTunes – high priority, etc. There are some shows or people that always make the cut, and I hit them first. Steve Garfield said it best at PodCamp – I subscribe to people. So in my Smart Playlist I have the authors of shows whom I deem important enough that they get first listen, and if there’s time in the day to listen or watch more, then the second bench gets air.
Indeed, sometimes things pile up, but the top priority stuff never does.
More:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/financialaidpodcast/336977103/
Cool! Smart playlists will make a great topic for the next screencast!
It’s always changing. I have stopped subscribing to free magazines (though they keep sending them to me) and I get the RSS feeds in Google Reader. Then I stopped subscribing to email newsletters (including the M show – sorry) and get the RSS feeds. It’s become my method of choice – for now at least.
Whenever I see or hear of a new site or blog or cast, I’ll subscribe to the feed. If I don’t see anything of interest, I will unsubscribe.
However, this is really no different than the offline world. With more choice, we will find sources – or people – that we choose over others. To quote Marge, we’re soaking in it!
To me, it’s a matter of time. Time is the most precious commodity that we have, and to me, it’s important to choose how we spend that time. At a certain point, I was forced to draw a line. With podcasts, I’ve hit saturation — meaning that if I add a podcast to my subscription list, one has to come off of it. Podcast Darwinism of sorts — only the fittest of podcasts will survive on my list.
As for the text-based media, I’m trying to employ all of the “time-saving” technologies, such as RSS feeds, social bookmarks, etc…
And last but not least, do not underestimate the amount of time that needs to be spent as John Wall puts it, “Off the grid.” It’s always a good thing to go outside and play with the real 3D people!
Ron
For some reason, physical media stresses me out, but digital not so much. If I have a bunch of books, CDs or DVDs that I never use, they feel like they’re taking up space, but the links, podcasts, and MP3s just live in the ether somewhere.
Practically, though, I’m with Ron; my Firefox toolbar is just about full, and if a new feed goes up, an old one comes down. I honestly hope you’re right and that the bar is rising. The explosion of bad content over the past year or two is the worst part of Web 2.0.