Digital Journal — Some called it TiVo for the radio. Others called it the future of broadcasting. Today, however, podcasting predictions are far more practical as this emerging trend reaches a state of worldwide acceptance.
When Forrester Research announced last April that 12.3 million U.S. households would use their MP3 players to listen to these audio broadcasts by 2010, the buzz reached its peak. Early innovators who created radio shows in their basement finally grasped that “told you so” moment. Podcasting fans, in love with downloading free audio files from the Web to their MP3 player, knew their affair would soon hit the mainstream.
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For more info on Podcasting, check out an exclusive interview with Digital Journal Editor, Christopher Hogg, on MuchMoreMusic’s “The Loop Weekend”. The show will air on December 03, 2005 at 1 PM (EST), and again on December 04, 2005 at 11 AM (EST). |
And so it has, considering the recent Portable Media Expo, the world’s first podcasting convention that took placed in Ontario, California. Fifty exhibitors from 38 states and 22 nations attended the event, which allowed podcasters to meet with potential advertisers and sponsors.
In fact, the revenue issue is also a new idea touching all corners of the podcast arena. This month, podcasting pioneer Adam Curry launched a podcast network with 30 to 50 shows that will split ad revenues. The concept won Curry a $9.8 million (all dollars US) investment, jealous glares from the podcasting peanut gallery and raised hackles from colleagues who view profit as heresy.
But finding a “pod of gold” grew not only from entrepreneurial attitudes but also from precedent. Several months ago, Volvo agreed to pay $60,000 for sponsorship and advertising on Autoblog. An indie podcasted called This Week in Tech asks for $2 donations from listeners and rakes in $10,000 a month. iTunes offers 15,000 podcasts, and users have signed up for more than 7 million subscriptions.
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Richard Cazeau hosts MuchMoreMusic’s “The Loop Weekend”. For more info on Podcasting, check out an exclusive interview with Digital Journal on MuchMoreMusic, airing December 03, at 1 PM (EST), and again on December 04, 2005 at 11 AM (EST). |
This radio on-demand has also spawned a sister technology: video-casting. Apple’s video-enabled iPods have ushered in the possibility of spreading video productions from the Web to handhelds. Podcasters ranging from pastors to pornographers welcome the chance to give viewers an easier method of downloading their content. There are also companies that make software that can turn DVDs into content viewable on an iPod.
Can it get quirkier? If news of Pentagon’s podcasting foray doesn’t creep you out, how about the launch of silentpodcast.com which broadcasts, you guessed it, silence. Episodes include Silent Las Vegas and the world’s first silent video podcast.
And tour guides are going the way of the MP3, if Virgin Atlantic’s recent announcement is any harbinger of things to come. The British airline recently offered free audio guides to New York City, including tracks listing the best restaurants, shopping haunts and off-road sites.
“Podcasting gives us a fantastic opportunity to communicate with our customers in a new and innovative way,” Breda Bubear, head of advertising at Virgin Atlantic, told CNN.
So if podcasting brings even more content to the wireless world, the only question that will nag the public remains, “Will it still be free?” For the sake of keeping a good thing going, let’s hope so.
