With podcast audiences growing at about 20% per year, the number of podcasts available online is likely to soar. Although a rise in the growth rate of podcasts would be great for producers and advertisers, listeners would be faced with the same dilemma they have now: is there something in Podcastland for me and how do I find it?

Two major problems are preventing podcasts from entering the mainstream. The first and probably most serious is a misunderstanding of what podcasts are. Podcasts are seen as a niche media format, and for that reason many people dismiss it as too technical. Between 2006 and 2007, there was a huge increase in the number of people who have heard of the term ‘podcast’, but a substantially smaller increase in the number of people that began listening. This indicates that people have been introduced to podcasts, but for some reason(s) are not subscribing. I believe that this is primarily due to misconceptions about podcasts and who they’re suited for; we need to dismiss the notion that podcasts are too complicated, techie, or specialized. And no, Dad, you don’t need an iPod.

The other problem is finding interesting podcasts. In chemistry, there is a concept called activation energy that is defined as the amount of energy that must be overcome for a chemical reaction to occur. If the energy cannot be provided, the reaction won’t take place. I’m sure you’ve figured out my metaphor by now. Yes, finding podcasts is a time-consuming, difficult task, especially for the uninitiated. First, you have to browse a directory, find a bunch of podcasts that seem interesting, download them, sample them, prune and maintain them. The activation energy is too high.

Lots of people are giving it the ol’ college try. There are oodles of directories out there, but most simply aggregate the RSS feed’s contents and provide a play function. Newer services add some more advanced features such as organizing podcasts by production date or allowing people to create a playlist of their favorites. Unfortunately these directories do little to solve the more complex problem of reducing the effort required to get involved. They focus too heavily on organizing content in predetermined categories in a DMOZ or Yahoo! Directory fashion, which is helpful if people already know what they’re looking for, but for users that are just getting their feet wet, this kind of organization falls short. Newcomers must still spend a great deal of time finding interesting content, a chore that will become more and more tedious as the amount of content increases.

One of DailySplice’s main efforts is to ease the burden of finding good shtuff. DailySplice organizes its directory using a metric called Podrank, an algorithm that determines the popularity and dependability of a podcast. For any category, the directory will show the most popular and consistently updated podcasts. In addition, the directory derives some helpful information about a podcaster’s publication habits, including when new episodes are expected and the expected running time of an episode.

As the number of podcasts and listeners increases over the next few years, we will need more intelligent ways of providing would-be listeners with relevant content. The objective is to reduce the amount of clicks and time investment required to find a slate of good material and listen to it on a regular basis.

Many non-techie’s are confused when I tell them what a podcast is, or that podcasts offer them anything of interest. People believe that podcasts are too obscure or complicated to use. A few years ago, I shared that skepticism as well. Getting into the music podcasts helped me shed that limiting belief.

The term podcast is unfortunate in some ways because it takes some explanation to tell someone what a podcast is and how it works, although most of the concepts have been used for decades in radio and TV. Podcasts have a reputation for being “techie”, which obfuscates the good, (non-techie) content they offer. Syndicated programs have been produced for many years. Our grandparents may have listened to Fibber McGee and Molly, one of the classic and most recognizable radio syndications of all time. The only substantial difference with podcasts is the way they’re distributed.

So there’s confusion. I’m sure there’s something for everyone available these days. Podcasting is growing at an unprecedented rate. All it takes is a hearty search! For example, my family recently went on a trip to Mexico. Before she left, my cousin wanted to learn some beginner Spanish. Sounds like a job for SpanishPod! For me, it was music that helped me cross the hurdle; I was looking for new ways to listen to obscure independent music. There was the radio of course, but I don’t carry one around with me. Further, the radio has little I want to listen to. Celine Dion? No thanks.

There is the opinion that podcasts are better suited for news, shows, and frequently updated content. Services like news and weather are updated regularly, and previous episodes lose relevance quickly. Who cares about last month’s CBC World At Six, after all. Music, by contrast, doesn’t become obsolete when a new episode is released.

I believe music will be an important catalyst for getting more and more people to adopt podcasts. The drawback is that most of it will be unfamiliar to listeners. People who expect to hear mainstream music from a podcast are going to be disappointed (for now at least). Regardless, there is enough great indie music available to draw in anyone who manages to listen for a few minutes.

I am always looking for ways to familiarize people with podcasts and methods to ease adoption.

By the way, if you are interested in old-timey radio, including Fibber McGee and Molly, check out http://boxcars711.podomatic.com