Podcasts are unruly things. There are millions of them out there, and only a small percentage interest you. An even smaller percentage are actually worth listening to. You've got to search them out, add them to your aggregator, or download them to your computer or device. Not particularly difficult, but not particularly convenient, either.

We've taken some time to play with the Mediafly podcast/vodcast search and delivery service. We'd describe Mediafly as part search engine, part social network, part delivery service, with a healthy dose of Amazon-esque recommendation thrown in. It's still in beta, and where there's definitely some work left to be done, it's shaping up to be a service with promise.

Describing Mediafly is hard. Using it is considerably easier.Once you create an account (your profile can be kept private, if you wish), you select the subjects you're interested in. If you don't see your favorite subjects listed, don't worry. The search engine reveals many more categories than the initial subject selection.

Mediafly sets you up with channels, populated with a few suggested podcasts. For instance, selecting "technology news" gives you mostly CNET podcasts (they're not especially daring suggestions, but they're enough to illustrate how things are arranged). If you don't like a suggested podcast, remove it by hovering on the podcast's icon and clicking the X. If you want to hold off on receiving a podcast for awhile (podcast burnout?) click the pause button.

In February, Mediafly is taking the suggestion aspect of the service one step further. With the optional ActiveSelect feature, your channels with few or infrequently updated podcasts will have temporary feeds of the same genre inserted. Based on your like/dislike of the suggested podcasts, the next batch of suggested feeds will be more refined to your tastes.

The search function is the easiest way to find more esoteric podcasts (though there is a limited directory structure you can click through). A search can be sorted by just feeds, or just episodes. You can play the feed from the browser to determine if it's worth a subscription.

What if your favorite podcast is really obscure? If you're a fan of Yog-Sothoth, you don't need to worry, we just added the feed. For everyone else, submitting a new feed is easy (and encouraged). Follow the "Add a feed to Mediafly" link, copy and paste the RSS feed of the podcast, and you are immediately subscribed. The link is also available to the wider community.

Where Mediafly really shines is the management of podcasts. The "My Mediafly" page lists your queued up playlist by episode. Individual episodes can be removed from the playlist (if you just can't stomach hearing about the Intel/OLPC hissy fit from every single podcaster out there).

This is also where you choose how you receive your podcasts. You currently have the option of using the Mediafly SyncClient (which we'll take a closer look at), iPod/iTunes via RSS, Zune via RSS, Google Reader, Bloglines, or by copying your account's RSS feed into any podcatcher. An option that's still very alpha is to have your individualized podcasts streamed to a Chumby. There are also plans in the works to support other types of internet-capable hardware.


If you've got limited space on your device, you can set selection preferences as to how large a file can be, how many episodes of any one podcast should be in a playlist (great for podcasters that have good information but grating voices), and when to remove a podcast from the playlist.

The Mediafly SyncClient is a Windows application that automatically downloads and syncs your podcasts to a folder on your PC. Because we've got a healthy dose of paranoia here at Tinfoil Hat Squad Download Squad, we asked Mediafly CEO Carson Conant about how this actually works. Much like iTunes, the SyncClient is hardwired to do one thing, and one thing only, sync your podcasts to a designated folder. Individual feeds are pulled from the publisher's site, as it is in iTunes, so it's just as safe and secure. Carson also mentioned Mediafly SyncClient will soon support syncing directly with other USB media devices, so you iRiver and Creative folks aren't left in the cold.


Mediafly's one real short-coming is the look of the web site, and we hope this will change as it emerges from its beta status. We've viewed the site on several browsers, in several operating systems. No browser rendered the site well. It is usable, but simple things like pull-down menus extending outside the boxes meant to contain them make the site feel clunky and unfinished. We've also noticed occasional lag in loading playlists in the browser, and when using broad search terms ("gadget" is a very broad term).

Rough edges aside, we've been impressed with the service. We'd especially recommend Mediafly to those who are overwhelmed by the sheer number of podcasts out there, or who are looking to expand their podcast/vodcast horizons.