Yahoo! introduces Podcasting Directory

The big news in podcasting this week is that Yahoo! has released a podcasting directory and search engine - http://podcasts.yahoo.com/

The upside of this is that - like the introduction of podcasting into iTunes before it - this move will bring podcasting more into the mainstream.

There are however, a few downsides in my opinion.

Like other directories you can listen to the podcasts you find before deciding to subscribe, although their pop-up player is pretty basic compared to other offerings.

If you just want to download a single show without subscribing, you have to log in to a Yahoo! account, which I think is a bit rich.

Things really get a bit strange when it comes to subscribing, because they use a proprietary subscription format that forces you to use their own software - the Yahoo! Music Engine or (bizarrely) Apple iTunes. I say "bizarrely" because I would have thought they are the competition.

I can't help but think they are trying to create some sort of vendor lock in or loyalty with these moves. I'm much more comfortable with services that leave it up to the user to decide what software they are going to use.

At least they still provide the RSS feed so it's possible to copy-and-paste the feed into the podcatching software of your choice.

One feature I do like is the ability for users to enter "tags" (very Web 2.0) to help describe the podcasts - which means podcasts can be categorised and rated by users.