We announced last week that we’d done it.  Now we’re letting you do it.  The new Kwote.Me podcasting tool is in beta and ready for your use.  Here’s how it works:

1. Go to http://kwote.me/beta/
2. Choose the podcast you’d like to Kwote.  Currently we only have two during the initial testing process (Airplane Geeks and The Guys Podcast), but we’ll be adding more as we go.
3. Pick it. Pick the episode you’d like to Kwote.
4. Kwote it. Pick your starting time and end time of your Kwote then Kwote it.
5. Preview it. Give it a listen to make sure you got the Kwote where you wanted it.  If it didn’t turn out just right, re-Kwote it.  If you’re happy with the results, throw in a short description of the Kwote and confirm it.
6. Share it. Now you’ll have a nice shortened url to share with all your friends, soon to be friends, enemies, soon to be enemies, and family (which can qualify as either friends or enemies.  We’re not picky).  We’ll be adding more sharing functionality as time, workload, and motivation permits, but until then, may we suggest Twitter as a start?
7. Rinse and Repeat. Now’s where you go back to step 1 and start over on your second Kwote.

Why should I Kwote a podcast?

• Are you a Podcaster?

If you’re a podcaster yourself, what better way to promote it to new listeners than to show them the juicy parts?  We’re tracking your downloads and have plans to start an advertising program that will make you some $$$ for your Kwotes.  Oops, did I let the cat out of the bag?  Did someone say there’s a new way to monetize your podcast?  Stay tuned…

• Are you a podcast fan?

If you’re a fan of one of our podcasts we list on Kwote.me, what better way to show your support than to share your favorite parts with those who don’t want to download whole thing.  We all have some of those friends, so why not get them hooked by sharing the juicy parts?  Consider it a “best-of.”

• Are you a fan of a podcast not listed?

Then tell them to get listed!  All it takes is for the podcast owner to email us at podcasts@kwote.me and we’ll get your favorite podcast listed and ready for Kwotation.  Then you, too, can join the millions (well dozens, anyway) of people who are already sharing their favorite Kwotes with Kwote.me.

Ready to give it a shot?

http://kwote.me/beta/

Yeah.  You heard me right.  Podcasting sucks.  I’m not talking about the act of podcasting, or the podcasts themselves, I’m talking about the industry.

If you’re reading this post, you obviously think podcasting clearly doesn’t suck, and I agree with you.  But this isn’t in the context of the podcasters.  This is from the perspective of the general public, or more specifically, the non-listeners who vastly outnumber listeners.

We all know podcasting finds it’s advantage in community building and loyal followers.  We can all say we podcast to podcast and not to make a profit or to gain as many listeners as we can, but we’re all lieing.  Seriously.  We can all claim the high horse, but we’re all podcasters here, and we all know that listeners are the core of our industry.  If you still don’t agree with me, spend your next couple of podcasts talking into the corner of your room not recording a thing.  Podcasting is about listeners.

Ok, now that we’re past that…

Podcasting sucks.

Have you looked at the “Podcast” keyword on Google Trends lately?  Stagnant.  The internet public doesn’t care about podcasts as a source for information any more.  What happened to the huge promise that was the future of podasting?  Why have we failed to continue the promise?  Most importantly, what are we doing to fix this?  Want to learn more?

Then come to Podcamp Ohio!

<shamelessplug>I’m happy to announce that I’ll be presenting a session at Podcamp Ohio in Columbus this year on this very subject.  If you’re in the Ohio area June 20th, make sure you stop by.  It’s free, and all the cool people are doing it!  And the best part, you’ll get to hear me talk about how podcasting sucks.</samelessplug>

Podcasting Sucks!