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Trucker Tom

Category: Society & Culture

Trucker Tom is a founding pioneer in audio podcasting. Each Trucker Tom episode starts with a well produced introduction that is followed by Tom Wile’s audio diary. Tom drives an 18-wheeler across the Midwest in addition to driving towards the incredible 800-episode mark. This man is the epitome of consistency. Recently Tom has incorporated video into his feed as well. He informs listeners about where he is, what he is delivering, where he has eaten, and when he sleeps. The podcasting industry is a rapidly evolving field, and though this show is symbolic of how early podcasts sounded, Trucker Tom is not an entertaining show when compared to many podcasts now offered. Except for family, close friends, and other truckers, it is hard to imagine anyone else finding this podcast entertaining. The volume levels are consistent, but this causes a problem for the listener when Tom coughs and yawns; these sounds are quite loud in the listener’s ear. Also, the length of each show does not work in Tom’s favor. The audio, however, is acceptable, especially for a podcast that is always on the move.

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3 Wine Guys

Category: Food

This podcast has a great topical focus that will attract a specialized niche market. The hosts of this podcast, Terry, Scott, and Steve, have very distinguished palates and review three to seven different wines per episode. We were looking forward to listening to this show to expand our knowledge of the art of wine. The 3 Wine Guys veer off topic through the show however. At times, this added an element of entertainment, but more often than not, the diversions occurred too often and took away credibility from the show. We did enjoy how the guys try to review wines that are readily available at most wine retailers. They also give very good descriptions of the flavors of wines with terms like oak, crisp, herbal, and floral. Harsh language is also used, which includes cursing weaved in with sexuality. Sound quality is below ideal but above adequate and is dominated by higher frequencies. This lends to the high hiss and fuzzy sound. Also, there were numerous “popping P’s” and “slippery S’s.” No doubt, this is the result of the hosts sipping the wine they are describing. The addition of transitions between each wine discussed would also be helpful to listeners. Overall, if you have extra time on your hands and are a wine connoisseur, check out this show.

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Digital Media Cast Experiment

Category: Technology

Digital Media Cast Experiment is a good resource for people who are interested in producing, hosting or just learning about “new media” (blogging, podcasting, webcasting, etc.). Host Michael Carrino does a good job of laying out topics that new media producers need to understand. He is very familiar with a large number of podcasts currently being produced, and he passes his knowledge of sound, live show production, and webcasts on to listeners. Mike varies his voice and is interesting to listen to. Digital Media Cast Experiment has a nice intro and outro in addition to being neatly presented in 15 minutes. As of this writing, we have not seen new content from Digital Media Cast Experiment in seven weeks. This is a critical flaw for a podcast that desires to maintain a listening audience. Additionally, there is language that is not suitable for children and the host frequently uses umms and pauses, which hint at a lack of being fully prepared. Digital Media Cast Experiment can rank more highly if the vital issues stated above are addressed. However, time waits for no one and neither does podcasting. With all this said, Michael is a knowledgeable and experienced veteran in the industry, and Digital Media Cast Experiment has the potential to be very instrumental in the evolution of podcasting.

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