Maybe a question you’ve been asked before. I know I have been. If podcasting is going to really take off, not just in the geekdom but mainstream, people need to have reasons. Why should I listen to podcasts?

In my last entry on podcasting, I talked about what I call the “push and pull” of podcasting, the idea that there’s more ease of use in the receiving and listening end of podcasting than there is in the production. The real problem is still in the “push,” as I wrote, but let’s not forget that we need to evangelize the “pull,” too.

The first problem with answering the question in the title is that trying to convince someone to listen to podcasts is like trying to convince them to watch television. It’s really just pointless, unless you give it context.

The problem with geeks (myself included) is that the first reasons we grab for are the technical or the coolness factor. Bzzzz. Wrong answer. The best way to explain why someone should listen to podcasts is to give them examples of podcasts that fit their interests. You should use 90% content and 10% concept when selling the idea of podcasts. The 10% will be the idea that you can listen at your leisure (on a run, at the gym, in the car) and the other automation capabilities of some podcatchers; in other words how easy it is. The 90% percent, of course, will be the actual podcasts. But take care to pick podcasts that fit the person.

For example, my wife is a non-technical person, who only uses the computer to visit websites and check email. She gazes at me in bewilderment as I spend hours and hours hovered behind the computer. She’s the perfect example for my attempt to answer the question.

She’s employed in the airline industry, enjoys traveling and is European. Let’s see what I can find in the podcasting directories for her. I’ll come up with a short list of quality podcasts that she will enjoy, and hopefully convince her that podcasts are useful and worth the little effort it takes to download and move to her iPod.

Travel Commons
Travel talk with a road warrior business man from the hotel bathroom. Interesting insight into the life of a traveler.

Travel with Rick Steves
One hour podcast of PBS travel guru Rick Steve’s call-in radio show.

Fly with me
An inside look into the airline industry from a pilot of a major US carrier.

Freitag Nacht News
Short comedy news podcast from RTL, a German television channel (in German).

This looks like a good start. Four podcasts is a nice starting point; it’s enough to listen to but not overwhelm. My next step is to subscribe to these in iTunes and set it up to automatically sync new, unplayed podcasts.

If all goes well, she’ll enjoy the podcasts and the medium will be useful to her. We’ll see!