"It's neither a boon nor a bust. It's just not useful for listening to podcasts," said Doc Searls, a respected blogger and co-author of the book Cluetrain Manifesto....Veteran podcaster and former MTV host Adam Curry said the iPod shuffle makes no sense at all -- and certainly not for podcasting.
I strongly disagree with these assessments.
Podcasting fundamentally revolves around listening to audio that will have a temporary lifespan on your listening device.
Once you've listened to a podcast, you will throw it away pretty quickly.
The iPod shuffle, combined with smart use of playlists in iTunes is perfect for managing this.
If the argument is that podcasts are long and hard-to-navigate, a problem compounded by the iPod shuffle, well, people need to think about making their podcasts shorter and more to the point.
A little audio editing can go a long way.
In fact, this is my biggest problem with podcasts in general: they're long and boring.
Just like using a Blackberry (or similar) makes you more economical and precise in your E-mail writing, perhaps a flash memory device like the iPod shuffle will make people more economical and precise in their podcasting.
And finally, the shuffle is affordable, something that rich snobs and digerati like Searls and Adam Curry seem to overlook: by lowering the barrier to entry, more people have the potential to discover the art of podcasting.
Maybe that's what these uber-nerds really don't want: more people crowding into their geek playpen.