mental-escher
Apr 7th, 2005, 05:51 PM
Alleycats! OK, so I'm pretty newbee when it comes to podcasting, having been assimilated my the corporate Borg almost 10 years ago (our company ordained "rid thyne Macs- cranial implants of MS PC's for everyone!) Yep, I used to be Mac-addict, oh so long ago... sniff. But Gates&Co have had they way with me.
So... with that disclaimer in mind, I'd like to say that its been quite interesting to see how this "podcast-o-sphere" is evolving before my very eyes over just the last month. Upon discovering podcasting (from a recent Wired mag article) I, after a day or two of mental gas, realized that this was the beginning (or middle if you count blogs) of another internet boom. That in of itself is good and bad of course, as the first boom basically turned a anarchist medium (the old w3, where we would trade guitar music TABS and lyrics, etc.) into a morbidly over-commercialized moster (pop-ups, malware, and of course our favorite mystery meat whose name I shall not utter. Don't get me wrong, commercialization brought with it good things like Yahoo, IM, Google, as well as Amazon, Netfliz, etc. But my point was... ummm- oh yeh! My discovery of podcasting and it's amazing evolution.
So, as I am want to do, when I “discovered� podcasting and saw its potential, I immediately created my own “presence� (which was pretty easy since I am not by any means a newbee to the internet- whether it be front end or back end- programming, scripting, etc.). So, maybe in hindsight that was not so good, because I didn’t really think through what I wanted to do other than say (literally! Because that IS podcasting) “here I am!� and here is my content (original music, albeit lofi, with minimal but satirical commentary). So, I’ve made a few episodes- followed loggins and stats, and of course listened to lots of what others are doing, and have come to some conclusions.
Before first- Dave Winer, and Adam Curry, thank you guys for enabling this all to happen! From the little I know, it seems that you guys were key in bringing together the parts to create such a very cool thing that is currently called “Podcasting�.
First- This is a very closed, yet diverse community. I say closed because by definition you have to have either the luxury of being able to listen to podcasts at your computer (ie, you can afford a computer and a broad band connection), or, you have that PLUS an iPod. This brings up a question for me though- what percent of people who listen to podcasts do not own an iPod?? (And yes- I looked and could not find a ready answer on Google- good lord!).
Second- Although there seems to be no �standard� podcast show format, the most popular ones currently are either voyeuristic personal blogs (like D&D) or somewhat news related (like slashdot) and with a good dose of personality and plenty of room for asides and kidding around (like VGN). This leads me in two potentially opposing directions- the inborn desire to be “popular�, and the more personally fulfilling desire to just be ones self and at the same time “contribute� to the enjoyment of like minded people. I’m still figuring it all out. And I’m speaking from a purely non-profit point of view- the commercialization of podcasting is a whole nother rant (with the caveat that commercialization of the w3 had some very positive impacts on society, at least that fraction that can afford to and has the inclination to be “connected�).
Lastly (for now)- I think I finally see that podcasting is most engaging when there is a combination of blogging (or essay-ing), audio content (music, effects, ambience, sound-scaping, etc.) and above all- freedom to do whatever floats ones boat, and in the process make some new contacts with likeminded folks. I can really understand why Howard Stern decided to go beyond the reach of the FCC by hooking up with satillite radio. How long will podcasting be "safe" from the FCC??
Well, sorry to rant on so long... Eeeek – my first real blog :p
cb
So... with that disclaimer in mind, I'd like to say that its been quite interesting to see how this "podcast-o-sphere" is evolving before my very eyes over just the last month. Upon discovering podcasting (from a recent Wired mag article) I, after a day or two of mental gas, realized that this was the beginning (or middle if you count blogs) of another internet boom. That in of itself is good and bad of course, as the first boom basically turned a anarchist medium (the old w3, where we would trade guitar music TABS and lyrics, etc.) into a morbidly over-commercialized moster (pop-ups, malware, and of course our favorite mystery meat whose name I shall not utter. Don't get me wrong, commercialization brought with it good things like Yahoo, IM, Google, as well as Amazon, Netfliz, etc. But my point was... ummm- oh yeh! My discovery of podcasting and it's amazing evolution.
So, as I am want to do, when I “discovered� podcasting and saw its potential, I immediately created my own “presence� (which was pretty easy since I am not by any means a newbee to the internet- whether it be front end or back end- programming, scripting, etc.). So, maybe in hindsight that was not so good, because I didn’t really think through what I wanted to do other than say (literally! Because that IS podcasting) “here I am!� and here is my content (original music, albeit lofi, with minimal but satirical commentary). So, I’ve made a few episodes- followed loggins and stats, and of course listened to lots of what others are doing, and have come to some conclusions.
Before first- Dave Winer, and Adam Curry, thank you guys for enabling this all to happen! From the little I know, it seems that you guys were key in bringing together the parts to create such a very cool thing that is currently called “Podcasting�.
First- This is a very closed, yet diverse community. I say closed because by definition you have to have either the luxury of being able to listen to podcasts at your computer (ie, you can afford a computer and a broad band connection), or, you have that PLUS an iPod. This brings up a question for me though- what percent of people who listen to podcasts do not own an iPod?? (And yes- I looked and could not find a ready answer on Google- good lord!).
Second- Although there seems to be no �standard� podcast show format, the most popular ones currently are either voyeuristic personal blogs (like D&D) or somewhat news related (like slashdot) and with a good dose of personality and plenty of room for asides and kidding around (like VGN). This leads me in two potentially opposing directions- the inborn desire to be “popular�, and the more personally fulfilling desire to just be ones self and at the same time “contribute� to the enjoyment of like minded people. I’m still figuring it all out. And I’m speaking from a purely non-profit point of view- the commercialization of podcasting is a whole nother rant (with the caveat that commercialization of the w3 had some very positive impacts on society, at least that fraction that can afford to and has the inclination to be “connected�).
Lastly (for now)- I think I finally see that podcasting is most engaging when there is a combination of blogging (or essay-ing), audio content (music, effects, ambience, sound-scaping, etc.) and above all- freedom to do whatever floats ones boat, and in the process make some new contacts with likeminded folks. I can really understand why Howard Stern decided to go beyond the reach of the FCC by hooking up with satillite radio. How long will podcasting be "safe" from the FCC??
Well, sorry to rant on so long... Eeeek – my first real blog :p
cb