Podcasting has all the ingredients to become a major technology trend. Podcasting has started with little fanfare but has the potential to become a giant wave due to a number of factors going for it. The word Podcast might have been roughly derived from iPod and broadcast (it sure sounds like that to me so dont hit me if I am wrong! ). The process works pretty much like radio except that the broadcast is done via mobile devices and the power of content delivery via the internet. This new form of broadcasting of information opens up tremendous opportunities for dispersion of information, entertainment and news. Podcasting is a fairly new technology and people are building up refined applications to use this medium effectively. Advantages of Podcasting are making the proposition attractive enough for major companies to consider it a serious communication mode. RSS 2.0 is the chosen form for podcasts and newer versions of this feed system are expected soon. Inherent advantages of podcasts are: No need to invest in a new piece of hardware: Podcasts are easily available to all users of iPod and similar mobile .The sheer size of the iPod cult if I can call it that, is increasing at a scorching pace. All a user needs to do is choose the subscriptions which he or she would like to subscribe to and download the programmes. New lease of live to radio programmes: Radio programmes have been revived by the new generation of podcasters. A number of old radio programmes which have had a mass following in their hey days are now being evaluated to be cast via podcasts. A huge chunk of high quality content becomes available thanks to this revival. Can advertisers be far away? Advertisers have the ability to identify new advertising opportunities at the slightest whiff and Podcasting forums are already working hard to get the advertising industry hand in glove with the Podcasting community. Influx of advertising dollars will lend more credibility to Podcasting and this medium will be taken more seriously as well. On demand broadcast: Podcasters and listeners rule this medium by offering a high level on-demand listening. You can use this service at the time when you want to, pretty much like video on demand but has greater success due to the low demand of bandwidth. This is probably one of the biggest advantage of Podcasting and might be the core reason for it to success phenomenally. Your own Podcast studio and very little investment: So who are podcasters? A podcaster can be anyone who has access to the internet, a decent computer and some software knowledge. Podcasting requires very little investment by way of hardware and software. This advantage of Podcasting can thus be done by almost anyone who has an interest in it and has some content to share with the rest of the world, Creativity is highly rewarded in the podcasters world: Content is king and high quality creative content is instantaneously rewarded by the Podcasting community which can be measured by the number of subscribers. Thus it is quite easy to gain overnight success if the content of the broadcast is unique and exciting. Podcasting thus has number of benefits both the for the community within and without. A unique mass media which does not cost a lot to distribute and develop content for. Like all new technologies, the technology will have some teething issues but the force promoting it should be good enough to get the technology roaring with success in the very near future. |
