EdTechTalk#43 - Podcast Academy, BRO, Second Life, & upcoming Webcastathon

I was very interested in your commentary during this show on the statistics that claim that 90% of all podcast listeners are men. I think you rightly point out that it's a shame that podcasters aren't targeting such a rich market. One thing I've noticed myself, as a woman, is that podcasts tend to be very "male-oriented" in that they sometimes act like they're in the lockerroom or something. That's a pretty big turnoff for women. In fact, I stopped listening to Diggnation because they called their show a "sausage fest" and then proceeded to make fun of moms. Lovely.

That said, I do think many women are more mainstream than men--less willing to take risks maybe. And since podcasting hasn't quite gone mainstream yet, it makes sense that there aren't many women listening yet. Many of the shows I listen to make assumptions that we all know what Second Life and iptv and blueray are. I do, but it's my job to know. I think if you're going to reach the mainstream, including women, you have to give explanations in a way that doesn't dumb it down too much, but includes people who may not have their heads in the tech world 24/7 the way many podcasters do. Higher education, too, is notoriously behind the curve. If you want faculty, especially, to get on board with this stuff, you have do the same for them and explain why they need to know this stuff.

Anyway, sorry for being so long-winded. Love the show. If you're interested, here's an OPML file of some women who are podcasting:

http://www.opmlmanager.com/outliner/agahran