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May 05, 2005
An NBC Affiliate Is Podcasting
As I once wrote many, many years ago in this weblog's introductory post:
You can argue about the quality of podcasting content all day long. As with weblogs, there's plenty of junk. But the revolutionary thing about podcasting in these early stages isn't the content, but the way the content is delivered. Using software like iPodder, the content is delivered to your mp3 device automatically.
I've always thought, in other words, that podcasting is really more of a new method of delivery for audio content rather than a new type of content. Despite what I think, however, "podcasting" is popularly thought to be a type of amateur radio. But this can't be right: if existing, professional media outlets began delivering content as a podcast, it would still be a podcast, right?
As if to prove the point, the NBC affiliate in Chicago has begun repackaging its programming as three podcasts about news, health, and entertainment. (Link from Podcasting News.) I've listened to them, and they certainly don't sound like anything new. And yet, due to the method of delivery via RSS, they're "podcasts." Is this why Adam Curry is talking about "Podshows"--to signify a new creative innovation separate from its method of delivery?
Meanwhile, on Corante's Podcasting, there is an interesting comment thread developing on a post titled "The Anatomy of an Exceptional Podcast." The title of the post demonstrates that not everyone shares my uncertainty about the meaning of the term "podcast," although one commenter said:
I'm waiting to read a single point that differentiates podcasting from tradition ... I will not hold my breadth ... we simply have a new technological medium ... the needs of the consumer remain the same ...
That's sort of what I'm getting at.
UPDATE: The mainstream media is moving fast: Forbes is podcasting too. (Link from Scripting News.)
Posted by Evan Schaeffer at May 5, 2005 07:28 AM
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