Hacker News Reader

Comment by 0xbear | Hacker News Reader

Do people still listen to podcasts? I lasted 3 months, and then moved to Audible.

I don't listen to them nearly as much as I used to, mostly because podcasts are so ad-laden these days. Listening to a two-minute ad for Ziprecruiter for every 7 minutes of content gets old fast.

Oddly the wife and I bit57 and moan about the same experience with google fiber tv. I swear we are watching 80% ads for 20% content. It's to the point we can't watch anything live anymore. We just record it and wait at least 30 minutes before playing it off the dvr so we can FF through all the freaking commercials. It's insane how were paying $70/mo to watch mostly ads. Advertising has gotten so out of control, on the web, podcasts, tv, etc.

There are still a bunch of great podcasts with little or no ads. Mike Duncan's "History of Rome" and "Revolutions" (single ad at the start), Omega Tau (no ads), Econtalk (no ads), and Hardcore History (which has two ads, IIRC, but the episodes last literally hours).

I think the difference is mostly between shows made by companies, or by individuals and non-profits. Gotta pay those investors.

> I think the difference is mostly between shows made by companies, or by individuals and non-profits. Gotta pay those investors.

Basically, the same situation as with videos and websites.

What?

Both Joe Rogan (individual) and NPR (nonprofit) are ad-laden as...

Fair enough about NPR, I sometimes forget they are non-profit.

As for Joe Rogan, I can't say I've heard his show. I was relating merely my personal experience.

In Overcast you can set the skip to a duration that roughly matches the advert duration (I’ve set 45 seconds, generally hitting it twice) and set the rewind to 15. 3 adverts per 60-90 mins seems a reasonable trade off to me, and if the shows you listen to pick their adverts right, they are actually worth listening to.

I don’t mind ads. I just cannot hear about why Squarespace or Casper are awesome ever again.

What about Harry's? I, personally, cannot get enough of hearing about German blades.

Do they come in Blue Apron?

Isn't it awesome how ads suck the life out of every single medium they touch?

By 'brand name?' No. I still listen to people talk in pre-recorded episodic content, just not on an iPod, iPad, or iPhone. Sometimes they are videos, sometimes they are just voice. Usually, it is on a Linux device.

Podcast is by no means an Apple trademark or invention.

Yes, I know. My reference was to them saying they'd moved to Audible and were no longer using podcasts. Audible provides episodic prerecorded media, basically a podcast by a different name.

I probably could have been more clear. In my case, I do the same - except I don't use a client and nothing is automated or from any one particular service.

Yeah, I could have been much more clear.

I meant I’m now listening to audiobooks instead.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com