Some of the entries for my blog will be reviews of cybersecurity-related podcasts. I’m a huge fan of podcasts because I get bored easily when doing purely physical or motor-related tasks and while I should be taking advantage of that boredom to become creative it bugs me to daydream when I can’t write things down. Also, I feel like I’ve successfully multitasked if I can catch up on news or be exposed to new thoughts while doing something mechanical. That’s the secret to multitasking, by the way: you need to pair something mindless, which is usually something physical, with something that occupies your brain. If the something physical requires attention, such as free climbing El Capitan, that’s not the time to multitask (although I’m sure there are folks who have scaled El Capitan enough that it qualifies as rote in their book). It’s nearly impossible to multitask on two mental exercises, such as reading email when your family is trying to have a conversation with you – you’re doing fast process-switching at best. Humans only have one brain to process things. Anyhow, I listen to podcasts. Lots of them.
A wrinkle in my affinity for audio delivery of content: I’m deeply sensitive to voices. If the voice isn’t right I find it very difficult to listen to the podcast. And “right” is deeply subjective. An example of when a voice wasn’t right for me is when years ago there was a podcast service where audio-type journalists would read print journalism stories. I miss that service, but I gather it wasn’t sustainable as a free product and it went away. I’m a voracious reader, appreciate good print journalism, and can’t get enough of it. Having these stories read to me while I was getting ready in the morning or driving saved me a lot of time. Okay, saved me time so I could spend that extra time reading more. (I’m like those bar-pressing rats in the cocaine studies when it comes to reading. My Gallup Strengths Finder result of “Input” is highly accurate.) I had to avoid stories read by one person, though, because she was reading the news as though it were 50 Shades of Gray. (I gather she had a rich existence otherwise narrating the audiobook versions of steamy romance novels.) Now, sometimes C-SPAN-type news could use some lively delivery, but, wow, this was over the top. I’ve had to give away perfectly good audiobooks because the narrator was too dull and monotone. Also, I know that I can’t get an audiobook that isn’t narrated by the author if I’ve heard them speak otherwise because it’s too jarring and unfamiliar. So, I’m the first to admit that I’m a difficult podcast listener. Others’ mileage may truly vary.