Until today I was a podcast virgin.

In the past I’ve watched network television shows on my laptop and linked to the latest YouTube video emailed to me by a friend, but I had never visited TWiT, Rocketboom or Ask a Ninja — some of the vlog and podcast sites recommended by my Social Media instructor. I’d never downloaded podcasts from NPR or the Sunday news programs so popular in Washington, D.C. In fact, even though I’m an avid iTunes music downloader, I had never even clicked on iTunes podcast library.

It was time to expand my universe. I’ll admit I cheated a bit. Since I didn’t even know where to begin, I read some of my classmates’ blogs to see what they had watched and listened to. First I went to TWiT and tried to listen to Roz’s adventures across the Pacific. After a few seconds, I thought: “Who cares?” I tried to listen longer, but frankly, I was bored. Sorry Roz. Have a safe journey.

Next I investigated Ask a Ninja. Maybe if I were a prepubescent boy I’d think this was funny…..or interesting. From there I clicked on Diggnation, “The Crazy Episode Taped in New York City.” Maybe Kevin and Alex aspire to replace Conan O’Brien one day. Their escapades did keep my attention for about 10 minutes but I didn’t sign up as a subscriber and I’m not likely to seek a steady diet of their brand of entertainment.

My next destination after leaving Kevin and Alex’s Brooklyn set was Tiki Bar TV. The stylings and humor were more sophisticated. I was starting to understand the Guilty Pleasure syndrome. But after awhile, my mind began to wander and I was off looking for the next distraction. I checked out Hot for Words, and while I did learn the origins of some slang, more importantly I learned that a busty blond in her brassiere is sure to attract an audience.

Maybe it’s the small screen, maybe I already consume too much other news, media and information, or maybe I just subscribe to other guilty pleasures. I don’t expect to become a podcast addict anytime soon. I’m too busy catching up on the last season of Weeds so I’ll know what is going on when the new season on Showtime begins this week.