When I listen to podcasts on Soundcloud instead of iTunes, I feel about 100 times more connected to the podcaster.
In iTunes, the podcast is a piece of media that I listen to. Much like the radio or tv. It’s just consumed.
But with Soundcloud, there are comments directly below the podcast. The comments can be left inline to specific timestamps within the podcast. That allows me to comment to exact points of the episode. Man, that makes me feel so much more connected.
Isn’t that what we want? Don’t we all want to feel more connected?
iTunes is like a big huge wall. One that you cannot climb. You can hear their broadcast, but you can’t really talk to anyone. With Soundcloud, it’s more like a conversation. I can jump in and add to what is being said.
Here’s an example on Soundcloud where I left ten comments on a twenty-minute podcast, When Baseball Met Radio.
See all those little icons below the timeline? Those are specific comments left by me. The podcaster can reply back to your comments, too.
When I have a desire to listen to a podcast at work, I always first turn to Soundcloud, because I know I can interact with the podcast on a completely different level than iTunes.