I think I’m listening to history happening. I think that podcasting is the most incredible thing to happen to online content in quite some time. I’m a big fan of tech-related podcasts – mostly from the ex-TechTV crowd. However, this week I was shocked to hear the latest from Diggnation and This Week In Tech. Diggnation episode 38 has fallen to an all-time low. This was a live podcast from Reno Nevada. Unfortunately, Kevin and Alex had already hit the bar long before taping began, and the show quickly descended into chaos. TWIT’s episode 48 was an Apple 30th anniversary special. There was none of the usual TWIT crowd there. Instead, it was Leo and Woz having a love-in reminiscing about the ‘old days’. This carried on for an hour and a half. The audio quality was terrible, with some of the guests barely audible.

I’m beginning to suspect that these people have been doing the podcast thing for too long, and now the novelty has worn off. The once-surprising level of professionalism shown by these amateur broadcasters has descended into meaningless drivel. I’m seriously hoping that this week was just a blip, and these (and other) podcasters will pull up their socks. Otherwise, this medium is doomed.