It took me a little while (I've had my ipod mini for a few months now), but this past weekend I looked into podcasting and have subscribed to a handful of podcasts. I have to say that this technology has real promise, and I hope it sticks around and gets more popular. Ideally, podcasting could eventually kill the on-air doldrums that is commercial radio, if satellite radio doesn't kill it first. More on that later.
For those who didn't follow the Wikipedia link, podcasting refers to subscribing to a particular audio program, updated regularly. The software I use is itunes, since it came with my ipod, but there is other (and better) software out there that manages podcast subscriptions - itunes only recently added decent podcasting functionality with its latest software release, although I've heard that more features are on the way. So the software downloads the latest program in the form of an mp3 file, which one can then listen to on their computer or mp3 player. Programs range from music programs to political shows to international news to comedy - well, you get the picture, there's a lot out there. But the idea is that you can search out shows and topics that interest you, and essentially program/compile your own personal radio station.
How many podcasts that are out there now are good? That's an excellent question. Since I've only been at this for a few days, it's difficult to say - most of the worthwhile programs that I've heard so far are, not surprisingly, produced and distributed by existing 'big media' companies such as ABC, ESPN and MSNBC. I've also subscribed to several podcasts by Adam Curry, who is considered one of the pioneers (if not the pioneer) of podcasting and who does a lot to promote the technology. Some of you may remember him as the MTV VJ from the mid-80s to mid-90s; he later founded several internet start-ups during the dot-com boom and is now apparently all about podcasting. From his latest podcast: he met with Apple's itunes people over the weekend in the Bay area to discuss improvements that they could make to their software in the podcasting department. I've also found several smaller, independent podcasts that I enjoy so far: the 40+ minute movie review show Cinecast, the short Baltimore history segment Baltimore Stories from the local NPR station WYPR, and a media & culture show from local college/public station WTMD.
I've also already discovered some bizarre, poorly-produced, and just plain bad podcasts. I was hopeful that maybe NYC Beercasting would be about beer, but it's really just stupid conversations among a group of 3-4 friends that takes place in a bar. I don't know who would find that interesting, because I sure didn't. There must be real beer-analysis shows out there, and if there aren't, there should be. The Baltimore NPR station has a weekly wine discussion called Cellar Notes, and a beer equivalent is surely needed. Let's see, what else sucked...ah yes, the British-based political comedy sketch show Whack My Bush was neither funny nor clever, and I'm a guy who really appreciates humor at W's expense. There were a few more that were equally forgettable, unsurprisingly I can't remember the specifics.
So getting back to the technology, I can see it being adopted more as mp3 players make their way into more homes (as part of the regular entertainment system components of CD/DVD player, receiver, etc.) and cars. These types of players do exist, and some even include the necessary Wi-Fi functionality that enables one to listen to pc-based mp3 files from the living room. But from what I've read, these products are far from perfect, and not all that 'smart' yet. A car-based player should have built-in Wi-Fi and should be able to scan the pc hard drive for podcast updates and new songs while it's parked outside or in the garage. As far as portable players go, leading companies (read: Apple) need to incorporate wireless features into their players, that would enable users on the street/bus/subway/airplane/boat/highway to share their podcasts and music - the music that isn't under the RIAA umbrella, of course. Although the copyright holders of signed musicians should think about loosening the copyright laws to allow temporary sharing of content - a digital stamp that starts a timer, so that a shared song is available for listening for 4, 12, or 24 hours, and then available for purchase afterwards. If they can come up with secure technology that enables that type of sharing, it makes them money in the long run, right? Put it all together, and maybe more people can start to own, and share, their own personal radio stations.
By the way, if any of you are subscribing to any podcasts that they really enjoy, don't keep them to yourself...
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