What is Podcasting? More Importantly, What Will it Be?
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Knothat
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- Joined: September 21st, 2021, 3:52 am
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With the increased interest and usage of podcasts, I am left scratching my head a bit what the term itself actually means. Admittedly, I have been a little skeptical about the potential of this medium, but it is hard to refute some of the successes we’ve seen, like Ricky Gervais’s show generating 2.9 million downloads since early December.
Perhaps part of my issue has been what I consider to be a podcast. As I was first hearing the term, I came to think of a podcast as a user-generated audio program downloaded to my iPod (read: amateur talk-radio for the iPod). But now my perspective has expanded towards the Oxford English dictionary’s 2005 Word of the Year definition, “a digital recording of a radio broadcast or similar programme, made available on the Internet for downloading to a personal audio player.”
As usual, Wikipedia has a very thoughtful definition of podcasting, “the distribution of audio or video files, such as radio programs or music videos, over the internet using either RSS or Atom syndication for listening on mobile devices and personal computers.” It’s interesting to note three differences here. First, the notion that podcasts can be include a filetype other than audio. The second that a key component is the syndication of the content. And finally, the fact that podcasts can be received on any device or best vpn app, PCs or mobile or otherwise. The Wikipedia article further goes on to support these points, “Subscription feed of automatically delivered new content is what distinguishes a podcast from a simple download or real-time streaming (see below)… In general, these files contain audio or video, but also could be images, text, PDF, or any file type.” It’s also interesting to note that some alternative nomenclatures have been assigned for file types other than audio (vodcast, vidcasts, videocasts) or devices other than personal audio players (mobilecast, palmcast).
On the other hand, it makes sense for there to be a general consensus around the term podcast, so everyone is speaking the same language. And I believe it’s just as important for the digerati to have the same common notion of it as my grandmother does, as this clarification and consensus will help further promote this new medium, whatever you call it.
The Wild West of Video
One of the articles in my VentureWire e-mail newsletter this morning mentioned that the video space is “so hot” right now. Not to be out-done, another quote in a different article in the same newsletter referred to it as “white hot.”
David Katz, who oversees sports and entertainment for the Yahoo Media Group, at a NATPE 2006 panel said yesterday (via paidContent.org),
The vision which David lays out is one which I believe is becoming consensus for those in the space (at least those “new” media types). The issue at hand is rather how we get there. While all promising markets have their incumbent players and constituents, this one is especially fertile ground for (often rival sets of) established companies along the value chain – from cable companies, to broadcast networks, to the content producers, to device manufacturers, to mobile carriers, etc., etc.; the list goes on for quite a while. This environment makes it especially perilous, but also ripe, for start-ups as well. This month’s acquisition of Truveo by AOL is just one signal of more to come. A quick search reveals that more than a handful of people have called 2006 the “Year of Video” (see here, here, here, and here to name a few). I don’t disagree. My question is – how will this movie play out?
Perhaps part of my issue has been what I consider to be a podcast. As I was first hearing the term, I came to think of a podcast as a user-generated audio program downloaded to my iPod (read: amateur talk-radio for the iPod). But now my perspective has expanded towards the Oxford English dictionary’s 2005 Word of the Year definition, “a digital recording of a radio broadcast or similar programme, made available on the Internet for downloading to a personal audio player.”
As usual, Wikipedia has a very thoughtful definition of podcasting, “the distribution of audio or video files, such as radio programs or music videos, over the internet using either RSS or Atom syndication for listening on mobile devices and personal computers.” It’s interesting to note three differences here. First, the notion that podcasts can be include a filetype other than audio. The second that a key component is the syndication of the content. And finally, the fact that podcasts can be received on any device or best vpn app, PCs or mobile or otherwise. The Wikipedia article further goes on to support these points, “Subscription feed of automatically delivered new content is what distinguishes a podcast from a simple download or real-time streaming (see below)… In general, these files contain audio or video, but also could be images, text, PDF, or any file type.” It’s also interesting to note that some alternative nomenclatures have been assigned for file types other than audio (vodcast, vidcasts, videocasts) or devices other than personal audio players (mobilecast, palmcast).
On the other hand, it makes sense for there to be a general consensus around the term podcast, so everyone is speaking the same language. And I believe it’s just as important for the digerati to have the same common notion of it as my grandmother does, as this clarification and consensus will help further promote this new medium, whatever you call it.
The Wild West of Video
One of the articles in my VentureWire e-mail newsletter this morning mentioned that the video space is “so hot” right now. Not to be out-done, another quote in a different article in the same newsletter referred to it as “white hot.”
David Katz, who oversees sports and entertainment for the Yahoo Media Group, at a NATPE 2006 panel said yesterday (via paidContent.org),
The vision which David lays out is one which I believe is becoming consensus for those in the space (at least those “new” media types). The issue at hand is rather how we get there. While all promising markets have their incumbent players and constituents, this one is especially fertile ground for (often rival sets of) established companies along the value chain – from cable companies, to broadcast networks, to the content producers, to device manufacturers, to mobile carriers, etc., etc.; the list goes on for quite a while. This environment makes it especially perilous, but also ripe, for start-ups as well. This month’s acquisition of Truveo by AOL is just one signal of more to come. A quick search reveals that more than a handful of people have called 2006 the “Year of Video” (see here, here, here, and here to name a few). I don’t disagree. My question is – how will this movie play out?
