I explored some podcasts through Podcastalley.com. While they had a lot of podcasts in a variety of categories, I didn't find the design interface to be very user friendly. In comparison iTunes has an excellent interface and a lots of options. I didn't feel like I had to go searching for much as many excellent options where presented right up front. I found public radio podcasts, Barack Obama's weekly address, a podcast from Al Jazeera and was able to search for podcasts among a variety of specialized categories. This is a much more pleasant experience and I can manage it all through my iTunes without having to subscribe to podcasts via Bloglines or another RSS reader.
One of the features of iTunes that I think is really great is iTunesU which offers lectures on a variety of topics from some of the best Universities in the country. I think that this is a fantastic idea. I think this really gets at the core of the power of 2.0 applications making expertise and learning available far beyond the walls of a classroom.
I personally don't use podcasts much. Mostly due to time constraints, one can only follow so much! However, I see many uses for them. Specifically, in libraries podcasts could be used to offer bibliographic instruction, do book reviews or book talks, and internally they can be used to relay information from conference presentations to staff unable to attend.
I do want to learn how to create and post podcasts. I'm going to save this to tackle in the near future.
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