Becoming one of the Pod People

I have listened to a variety of podcasts in the past year--everything from book reviews to jazz discussions to the MACPA podcasts. Along with YouTube and blogs, podcasts are a useful way to get information in a very immediate way--in both senses of immediate. I love the oppportunity to see or hear people in the flesh, in addition to reading blogs. I don't see any real downsides to podcast; the sound quality is generally good. I would like to be able to fast forward, especially in a lengthy podcast like the New York Times Book Review, where some topics are more interesting than others. (I am not sure there is that capability with all podcasts.) I will probably turn to blogs more than podcasts for information, because I absorb information better through reading and I like to skim longer texts. But I know I will use podcasts on occasion as well.