Podcasting is a pain in the ass.
Then, once you've gotten a handle on the process, finding the content is no picnic. Enter ODEO, a podcasting community and software package that makes finding the very best podcasts as easy as you please.

ODEO is the brainchild of Blogger creator Evan Williams and has been in invitation-only beta for several months. As of today, however, you're all welcome to "Discover, Create, and Subscribe to original audio content for your iPod or MP3 player."

An elegant site design, smooth interaction between the site and the desktop synching software, and beautiful Ajax-enabled functionality make odeo.com a pleasure to peruse. Open tagging and a plethora of search/sort options make finding new content easy and enjoyable. This site is a case study in effective social media archiving.

Active content providers already include Engadget, Suicidegirls, MAKE Magazine, IT Conversations, Daily Source Code, and Dawn and Drew. All hits, kids.

I've been using it for a few weeks now and I must say I'd probably still be distantly behind the podcasting curve if my interest hadn't been piqued by ODEO. Give it a shot. Maybe this podcasting thing is cool afterall.