Audio Blogging Manifesto

Maciej Ceglowski at Idle Words has recorded an Audioblogging Manifesto.

Ceglowski is not a big fan of audioblogging. To make his point, I think he makes it as painful as possible to listen to his entry. He spells out web addresses (h-t-t-p-colon-backslash-backslash…). He starts background music halfway through that sound like the theme to “Hunt for Red October” and increased the volume as he marches toward the conclusion.

I don’t disagree with many of the declarations Geglowski professes in his audio post. People do read faster. The web is about motion (page to page, top to bottom) and with audio posts, the reader has to stop and listen. It is not as efficient.

I still think there is a place for audioblogging. I think readers will listen to an occasional post. You can convey additional information using emphasis, intonation, and cadence. Put links you refer to beneath the link to the audiopost to provide relevance. It adds more personality to your blog.

I think it is going to take some more experimenting in form and function. How can I easily record post and upload them? What if it was easy for readers to download audio posts onto their iPod and listen to them later? RSS readers detecting audio posts, downloading the new ones, and putting them into a playlist on iTunes?

P.S. If you are still against the whole audio thing, you can read Geglowski’s manifesto here.