...The BoogeyBoard
Podcasting - The Next Big Thing
You may have heard the term "podcast," but I find that most people really don't have a clue as to what a podcast is, how it works, or why they should care. It wasn't until I spent some time with my son a few months ago that I realized that podcasting and the iPod would absolutely change the world. That's right, this WILL change the world.
Podcasting is revolutionary because it fundamentally changes the way we get audio and video programming, as well as it dramatically increases the variety of content that is readily available and easily accessible. While it may not kill cable or satellite TV for a few more years, it's as important as Nikola Tesla's invention of radio frequencies in 1891 which led to the modern AM/FM radio, or as the practical birth of television in the U.S. following World War II. Podcasting is going to change the way we communicate in much the same way as the Internet has fundamentally changed the way we share information via email and web sites.
The Death of Radio
As podcasts become better produced and more mainstream, radio as we now know it will quite likely become a thing of the past. Even with advances in satellite technology giving birth to XM and Sirius radio, podcasting will soon become the preferred way for people to get their daily audio content. The reason is simple; I call it the phenomenon of personalized content. You listen to the programming you want to listen to, when you want to listen to it, rather than programming the major networks decide you should listen to.
Today's radio programming is based on what the producers believe will attract the largest number of advertisers or advertising dollars. Consider the recent Don Imus affair. Why was he fired? Because the advertisers pulled the plug on him, not because the networks really care about racism or moral values. Imus has been insulting people for years. MSNBC and CBS pulled the plug on Imus because their advertisers left in droves following his remarks. It really is that simple. For more perspective on the Imus matter, check out this article by Neal Zoren. I think he hits the nail on the head regarding why Imus was fired.
Regardless of how you feel about Imus and his remarks, the point is that when large corporations decide on the radio and television content our choices will always be limited to programming that makes them the most money. Period. Podcasting is going to change this. Why? Because anyone can produce a podcast with very little investment in equipment and achieve international distribution overnight thanks to iTunes and the Internet. No longer does anyone need to count on large corporations to get their programming distributed. No longer do you need deep pockets to produce quality programming and achieve worldwide distribution.
So, what is podcasting and how does it work? For the best description I've found, check out this web site on podcasting and RSS feeds. RSS feeds are the fundamental technology underlying podcast distribution. Do yourself a favor and download iTunes, the free program from Apple that you use to subscribe to podcasts and sync them with your iPod.
After installing iTunes on your Mac or Windows PC, spend some time looking at all of the podcast programming available from the iTunes Store. This is all free content and you simply need to subscribe to these different "shows." Try things! Subscribe to a variety of content to see what you like. Once you've done that and the content is synced with your iPod you'll have megabytes of audio programming that you can listen to when and where you want. It's absolutely amazing, but you don't realize how cool this is until you get your iPod and start looking for programs you want to listen to. You need to experiment with many different programs to see what you like. When you subscribe to a podcast you don't like, it's very easy to delete it.
Many people who own iPods don't even realize that podcasts are available for their iPod. Many think the iPod is just for listening to music. Wrong. I use the iPod just as much for listening to podcasts as I do to music. I'm canceling my Sirius radio subscription now that I have my music collection in iTunes and on the iPod. I've loaded all my music CDs onto my computer and I've also purchased a few choice albums from the iTunes Store. Some are a real deal at $9.95.
I have my iPod connected to the radio in the truck by connecting the headphones jack on the iPod to the Aux jack on my radio. Alpine has a very cool head unit available from Best Buy for your vehicle that gives you the ultimate iPod control while driving. The times they are a changin'.
What about Television?
The same way that audio podcasts will fundamentally change how we listen to audio programs, video podcasts are quickly coming into their own as well. With the overall increase in Internet bandwidth, video podcasting is quickly increasing in popularity. The problem with video podcasts is that they can only be played on your PC or the tiny screen on your video iPod. Most people aren't interested in watching video this way. We much prefer getting our video from the TV in the family room. Enter Apple TV.
The first commercial solution to easily watch video podcasts on your TV was introduced this year by Apple. They call it Apple TV. While this is a first generation device, it's revolutionary in that it provides a very easy way to play video podcasts on your TV without any special computer knowledge. I bought one a few weeks ago and I'm blown away by the potential of this device. Others will undoubtedly follow from other manufacturers and the market will mature. The only problem right now is that the content is limited, but this will most defintely change in the next year or two. Hundreds, if not thousands, of individuals and companies will soon be producing hi-resolution video content for Apple TV that will again change our viewing habits in the coming years. Very cool stuff.
Tune in and Stay Tuned!
I hope to find time over the next couple of months to share much more information with you about the how-to's of podcasting, as well as some cool podcasts I've come across. It's a very exciting time to be alive as we witness the evolution of the Internet and all that it promises in terms of staying connected with one another. Do yourself a favor and take the time to learn more about this. Buy yourself an iPod if you don't already have one and load up some podcasts to see for yourself why this technology is fundamentally changing how we communicate and share information.
Podcasting is revolutionary because it fundamentally changes the way we get audio and video programming, as well as it dramatically increases the variety of content that is readily available and easily accessible. While it may not kill cable or satellite TV for a few more years, it's as important as Nikola Tesla's invention of radio frequencies in 1891 which led to the modern AM/FM radio, or as the practical birth of television in the U.S. following World War II. Podcasting is going to change the way we communicate in much the same way as the Internet has fundamentally changed the way we share information via email and web sites.
The Death of Radio
As podcasts become better produced and more mainstream, radio as we now know it will quite likely become a thing of the past. Even with advances in satellite technology giving birth to XM and Sirius radio, podcasting will soon become the preferred way for people to get their daily audio content. The reason is simple; I call it the phenomenon of personalized content. You listen to the programming you want to listen to, when you want to listen to it, rather than programming the major networks decide you should listen to.
Today's radio programming is based on what the producers believe will attract the largest number of advertisers or advertising dollars. Consider the recent Don Imus affair. Why was he fired? Because the advertisers pulled the plug on him, not because the networks really care about racism or moral values. Imus has been insulting people for years. MSNBC and CBS pulled the plug on Imus because their advertisers left in droves following his remarks. It really is that simple. For more perspective on the Imus matter, check out this article by Neal Zoren. I think he hits the nail on the head regarding why Imus was fired.
Regardless of how you feel about Imus and his remarks, the point is that when large corporations decide on the radio and television content our choices will always be limited to programming that makes them the most money. Period. Podcasting is going to change this. Why? Because anyone can produce a podcast with very little investment in equipment and achieve international distribution overnight thanks to iTunes and the Internet. No longer does anyone need to count on large corporations to get their programming distributed. No longer do you need deep pockets to produce quality programming and achieve worldwide distribution.
So, what is podcasting and how does it work? For the best description I've found, check out this web site on podcasting and RSS feeds. RSS feeds are the fundamental technology underlying podcast distribution. Do yourself a favor and download iTunes, the free program from Apple that you use to subscribe to podcasts and sync them with your iPod.
After installing iTunes on your Mac or Windows PC, spend some time looking at all of the podcast programming available from the iTunes Store. This is all free content and you simply need to subscribe to these different "shows." Try things! Subscribe to a variety of content to see what you like. Once you've done that and the content is synced with your iPod you'll have megabytes of audio programming that you can listen to when and where you want. It's absolutely amazing, but you don't realize how cool this is until you get your iPod and start looking for programs you want to listen to. You need to experiment with many different programs to see what you like. When you subscribe to a podcast you don't like, it's very easy to delete it.
Many people who own iPods don't even realize that podcasts are available for their iPod. Many think the iPod is just for listening to music. Wrong. I use the iPod just as much for listening to podcasts as I do to music. I'm canceling my Sirius radio subscription now that I have my music collection in iTunes and on the iPod. I've loaded all my music CDs onto my computer and I've also purchased a few choice albums from the iTunes Store. Some are a real deal at $9.95.
I have my iPod connected to the radio in the truck by connecting the headphones jack on the iPod to the Aux jack on my radio. Alpine has a very cool head unit available from Best Buy for your vehicle that gives you the ultimate iPod control while driving. The times they are a changin'.
What about Television?
The same way that audio podcasts will fundamentally change how we listen to audio programs, video podcasts are quickly coming into their own as well. With the overall increase in Internet bandwidth, video podcasting is quickly increasing in popularity. The problem with video podcasts is that they can only be played on your PC or the tiny screen on your video iPod. Most people aren't interested in watching video this way. We much prefer getting our video from the TV in the family room. Enter Apple TV.
The first commercial solution to easily watch video podcasts on your TV was introduced this year by Apple. They call it Apple TV. While this is a first generation device, it's revolutionary in that it provides a very easy way to play video podcasts on your TV without any special computer knowledge. I bought one a few weeks ago and I'm blown away by the potential of this device. Others will undoubtedly follow from other manufacturers and the market will mature. The only problem right now is that the content is limited, but this will most defintely change in the next year or two. Hundreds, if not thousands, of individuals and companies will soon be producing hi-resolution video content for Apple TV that will again change our viewing habits in the coming years. Very cool stuff.
Tune in and Stay Tuned!
I hope to find time over the next couple of months to share much more information with you about the how-to's of podcasting, as well as some cool podcasts I've come across. It's a very exciting time to be alive as we witness the evolution of the Internet and all that it promises in terms of staying connected with one another. Do yourself a favor and take the time to learn more about this. Buy yourself an iPod if you don't already have one and load up some podcasts to see for yourself why this technology is fundamentally changing how we communicate and share information.
Comment
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Comment by Scott Maentz on April 19, 2007 at 1:01pm -
This is the address for the Boogey Lights videos:
http://smaentz.hipcast.com/rss/install_videos.xml
In iTunes pull down the Advanced menu and select "Subscribe to podcast" Then enter the above address
These are all formatted 320x240 for the video iPod. They don't look very good on Apple TV as they need to be resampled at a higher resolution. This makes the files MUCH larger.
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Comment by Dennis on April 19, 2007 at 9:08am
- OK thanks!!
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Comment by Scott Maentz on April 18, 2007 at 8:49pm
- Just a note of clarification. You don't need to purchase an iPod or any other equipment to subscribe and listen to podcasts. You can play both audio and video podcasts right on your computer using Apple's free iTunes program. Download it and check it out.
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