Podcasting

I can definitely see potential for this application. I've already used this sort of thing with a teacher whose work I enjoy. I'll have to check and see if it's possible to receive it in an RSS feed. I browsed through the Library of Congress website and was a bit disappointed. When I started to watch the podcast, it kept stopping to download more, restart and run for a few moments, and then stop again--quite frustrating. I'm sure it would be a whole 'nother ball game if you had it set up to download automatically.
Commoncraft suggested that you could use this for television programs. There are some programs that I would love to use this for, that come on later in the evening, after I'm snoozing away. I'll have to investigate the possibility of using podcasts instead of trying to download from the internet, which I've found frustrating.
I think this would be a great tool for libraries; recording programs (like Ben Franklin coming this month to discuss the magic of reading), or even book discussion groups. In the first instance, it would be available for someone who had missed the program, and in the second, it would make it easy for someone to learn what a discussion group was all about before coming to one, or make the discussion available for someone who had read the book but been unable to attend the group for whatever reason. It would even be great to use for explaining how to use the library to do things like geneology research, or simple "how to use the library" for teachers to use in their classes (since field trips are on the budget cutting floor).
Since I don't have a designated computer here at work, I'll wait to set up the Netvibes until I get home and don't feel rushed about it. I'll have to post about that later.
I want to thank the Web 2.0 people who have been doing such a fantastic job of finding the most easily used tools for us to get our feet wet with. You guys have been great.