3 ms·

But isn't this essentially what the radio/podcast form of news essentially is? Each station/organization curates information (in a similar way web-based report

But isn't this essentially what the radio/podcast form of news essentially is? Each station/organization curates information (in a similar way web-based reporters do) and then reports as much of it as their resources allow via someone reading/talking? I'm not trying to beat up on their idea but I dont understand their competitive angle or what would cause me to use it over the huge amount of content out there.

HorizonXP 14y ago
There are similarities, but there are differences too. Podcasts/radio will usually deliver the content more succinctly. Written articles tend to be more in-depth. Pros and cons to both. Moreover, there is simply more written content than there are podcasts or radio. This can help bridge the gap.
- jlees 14y ago
  I've never been a big fan of podcasts. Some have done a good job of mixing current topics with in-depth dives into specific areas and a dash of humour/personality (boagworld, for example), but most of the others I've tried out are either long rambles on very specialised topics or ego-stroking interviews. There's also production time delays/weekly (or longer) release cycles. Radio news... I haven't really looked into this since moving to the US, but in the UK, no radio news channel covered technology well and it's difficult, given a finite amount of time, to use that time to listen to exactly what you want. e.g. tuning into the World Service here, I get some very random content which is sometimes interesting, sometimes not. Perhaps NPR is different. I feel Umano addresses both of these - topic freshness/specialisation and good use of finite time - in different ways.
  - morsch 14y ago
    I listen to a lot of news radio programs as podcasts. I love that I don't have fit my schedule around the program, and I love that I'm not tied to a specific program but can listen to the most interesting stuff from various stations. Including a few that aren't even in my country, such as This American Life. I've also got a few things subscribed that are "genuine" podcasts. My observations mirror your own (a few good ones/almost all are terrible). But if it works, it works really well, I've had podcasts that went on about a topic for 3 hours without getting boring. But almost none of the stuff I get this way deals with technology per se. It's mostly politics, science, sociology, history -- anything but pure tech.

HorizonXP 14y ago

There are similarities, but there are differences too. Podcasts/radio will usually deliver the content more succinctly. Written articles tend to be more in-depth. Pros and cons to both. Moreover, there is simply more written content than there are podcasts or radio. This can help bridge the gap.

jlees 14y ago
I've never been a big fan of podcasts. Some have done a good job of mixing current topics with in-depth dives into specific areas and a dash of humour/personality (boagworld, for example), but most of the others I've tried out are either long rambles on very specialised topics or ego-stroking interviews. There's also production time delays/weekly (or longer) release cycles. Radio news... I haven't really looked into this since moving to the US, but in the UK, no radio news channel covered technology well and it's difficult, given a finite amount of time, to use that time to listen to exactly what you want. e.g. tuning into the World Service here, I get some very random content which is sometimes interesting, sometimes not. Perhaps NPR is different. I feel Umano addresses both of these - topic freshness/specialisation and good use of finite time - in different ways.
- morsch 14y ago
  I listen to a lot of news radio programs as podcasts. I love that I don't have fit my schedule around the program, and I love that I'm not tied to a specific program but can listen to the most interesting stuff from various stations. Including a few that aren't even in my country, such as This American Life. I've also got a few things subscribed that are "genuine" podcasts. My observations mirror your own (a few good ones/almost all are terrible). But if it works, it works really well, I've had podcasts that went on about a topic for 3 hours without getting boring. But almost none of the stuff I get this way deals with technology per se. It's mostly politics, science, sociology, history -- anything but pure tech.