Podcast Sharing Problems

Is it just me or is it almost impossible to find good podcasts in one centralized place? Sure, there are podcast sharing websites but let me just say that not all of them are necessarily the best. Let's start with PodBean.

Podbean

This website came across as more of a business platform the first time I saw it. The image slider (which I will refer to as the "spotlight") isn't promoting the podcasts themselves but the service and their business model. As a listener this is kind of bothersome; it doesn't really make for much of a friendly and welcoming webpage. And if I were to go into the psychology of colours it can be pointed out as quite bland.

Next, let's talk about those four words in the top right corner of the page: Try Podbean for Free. This is, as you'll see, a common trend with podcast sharing websites where in if you want to have certain features you'd need to purchase a premium account. For Podbean, there are (as seen on the image to the right) many types plans. Ranging from $3 a month for a 100GB monthly allowance, to $149 a month for unlimited and much more. Ridiculously, you have to pay $59 to get the android native app. Any plan less than that only gives you access to the web app—that being they can't be used offline. They don't even have an native iOS app.

PodOmatic

Next let's talk about PodOmatic. Honestly, this website just erks me. At first, the user interface looks nice. They have this look that attracts podcasters to their service. But wait, where are the podcasts? Why can't I preview any of the already existing ones? Well, it turns out that you have to actually sign up for an account. Strange, right? So, after I clicked sign up and filled out the registration form I was greeted with this.

Amazing, isn't it? I mean, look at that great UI. The layout is absolutely amazing and unlike anything that I've seen before. (In case you can't tell, I'm being sarcastic.) I'm not as much upset about the content of the page, but the way it's put together makes me wonder what exactly the focus is. What the heck should I be looking at? There's a little featured episodes widget. Keyword: little. Featured podcasts shouldn't be so small and in fact should take up a larger amount of the screen, that way people will actually look at them. Instead, the icons of the featured podcasts are the same size as those under "Most Popular Episodes Today" and "Recently Updated".

So, I'm sure you've all noticed by now. But in the navigation bar there is this gold little button you can press that says "Go Pro". They made that way too distracting and easy to find. And upon clicking on that gold to give the service your green you're shown this. A set of prices far more expensive than Podbean. With $8 a month giving the same amount of bandwidth as Podbean and escalating their prices up to $21 for less the amount of bandwidth as Podbean (Podbean gives unlimited where as they give 500GB). So let me just say this now, you can quote me on this: PodOmatic is terrible and selfish. Okay, maybe not terrible, but it's certainly not looking out much for the listeners or podcasters. Sure, they have an iPhone and android app available for free, but based the reviews certainly aren't the best. One person gave it one star due to the fact that it's pretty well broken. The app will sign you in, then when you try to listen to something it will sign you out again.

Phew...

I probably went on a little rant there, but it's seriously upsetting. I'd go into SoundCloud but I'd rather focus on websites that keep podcasts at their top priority (not to mention it's not all that bad). I just think that the podcasting world could be so much better but with websites that barely care about the industry, well, it's probably going to go nowhere fast.