Alex Iskold’s recent Read/WriteWeb article, “Will Podcasting Survive?” has created a bit of a stir in the podcasting community, most notably among diehards like Jason Van Orden of Podcasting Underground. In a recent discussion, Van Orden explains that some people are ready to bury the medium because:

• Yahoo pulled their podcasting directory.
• Google Trends shows fewer searches with podcasting as the keyword.
• No one is making millions in the podcasting medium.
• Podcasts don’t offer rich keywords for search engines to find.
• Podcasts aren’t becoming integrated into the mainstream.
• It’s hard to publish podcasts, but easy to publish a blog.
• Podcasts require a fair amount of concentration, unlike music, which you can listen to while working.
• The time available to listen to podcasts is relatively short — while commuting — so the number of podcasts that can be consumed is small.
• Big media companies are recycling their content in audio form, squeezing out the little podcasters.

In response to Van Orden’s discussion, Tom Johnson of I’d Rather Be Writing suggests that, while the bells are not yet tolling for podcasting, there are certainly limitations that keep the medium from being more prominent. He asserts:

• Skype needs to provide better connections, which would reduce audio glitches and make it easier to produce a podcast.
• Cars need to come with built-in mp3 jacks. I don’t know too many people with wireless FM transmitters in their cars.
• Podcasts need to be created with more of a blend between entertainment and education. This is something I want to work on. Interviewing is an art — on the one hand, I want to give people questions in advance so they can prepare and not feel lost for words. On the other hand, spontaneity, tangents, and engaging conversation is what make up the life of any podcast that is entertaining.
• Podcasts need to be more findable. Search engines should be able to limit searches to podcasts only, filtering out web pages and blogs to help readers locate audio.

We would like to know of any limitations you have experienced with podcasting in an educational setting along with steps you have taken or plan to take to overcome these limitations.