I’m sorry, but I won’t watch your podcast/video blog/webcast. Why? I know, I love reading your blog and I love the things you do. Unfortunately your podcast on Youtube is just not the right medium for me. These are five reasons why:

1. I can’t skim your podcast. Sometimes I just want you to get to the point. I want to see what your key takeaways are and I don’t want to spend 5-10 minutes just to find out. If you can get to the point in 20 seconds you have a chance to keep me interested. If not, I’m gone.
2. I have a short attention span. It’s hard to change documents when I’m reading a blog. If I’m into an article, I’m reading every word. If I’m listening to a podcast or watching one, it’s very easy for me to navigate away in another browser or another program. Because your picture is taking up the entire screen, you might think that you have my full attention. You don’t. While I’m listening to you speak, I’m also browsing news articles, checking email and finding out what the score of the Yankee game is.
3. You talk slowly. I’m sorry, but you talk much slower than I read. And you’re just taking up far too much of my time. If I wanted to read 100 blog posts, I could get it done in less than an hour, depending on length and content. If I want to watch 100 webcasts, it’ll take me an entire work day. You’re just not that important.
4. You’re distracting me. Whether it’s your mannerisms or your facial expression, you’re distracting me from what might otherwise be interesting points. 90% of podcasts are just a tight shot on the host. There’s nothing else for me to focus on. So if you’re throwing your hands up in the air or talking in a monotone voice, you’re just diverting my attention.
5. You’re not enhancing my experience. If all you’re doing is saying what you’d otherwise write, how does that provide an improved experience for me, the viewer? If there’s no added value for me, why should I suffer the added time and inconvenience? If you’re doing a podcast because you’re too lazy to sit down, write and edit a post, I’m sorry, but that’s just not good enough.

So what makes your podcast an upgrade from a blog? I want you to podcast because there is no way that you could possibly present the information with written word. If you can truly grab my attention for 10 minutes, then be my guest. If every point that you make is salient, well-thought and you get me hooked within my first 20 seconds, you have every right to podcast. But these are rare qualities. Don’t podcast for the sake of doing it. Add value. Just like a PowerPoint presentation – if you’re just presenting a bulleted list that you could have sent me in an e-mail, you’re wasting my time.

Remember, this isn’t about what’s easier for you. It’s about providing the best experience for your users. If you’re going to podcast, another suggestion is to summarize, and give me the option of reading or watching. Here are a few great examples: Olivier Blanchard at The BrandBuilder, Jun Loayza at Viralogy and Andrew Warner at Mixergy. The picture above, tied with the title of the post may be misleading, but a great example of someone who adds production value, hooks you in early and always seems to make his podcast entertaining because of his facial expressions and mannerisms is KevJumba. He’s a great example of someone who does it right.

What are your thoughts on video blogs? Am I on point here, or totally off base?