Apple proudly announced it sold its 100 millionth iPod last week, making the device the fastest-selling music player in history.
That whooshing sound you hear is the rush to provide content for the digital media players, already a market-crushing force. It’s been easier to get that content lately with the mainstream advent of everyone’s favorite new tech term: podcasts.
Even if you’re not familiar with podcasts, read on, because they’re not going away. Forrester Research, a Cambridge, Mass.-based market research firm, predicted that by 2010, 12 million households will regularly listen to podcasts – even if only about 12 percent of Internet users now report downloading them.
“It’s basically a way of syndicating media content,” said Paul Saurini of Barefoot Radio, a Denver-based podcast mixing politics, music and humor. “You get updates when you’re subscribed on your computer, so if someone wants it with regularity, it’ll automatically download.”
Podcasts allow users to easily catch up on their favorite radio shows, celebrity gossip sites, world headlines and sports on their own time. Think of it as TiVo for your iPod.
“Podcasts work so well for me because as a touring musician I spend a lot of time in the car,” said indie-folk artist Neil Cleary. “Seeings as there’s very little good radio at all anymore, with podcasts I can enjoy my own little utopian radio station.”
Every iPod owner and personal tech-lover has a unique relationship with podcasts. They beg for metaphors as the digital world wraps its mind around their growing prominence, but podcasts’ flexibility would seem to defy easy definition.
Not so. Podcasts are essentially on-demand content. Along with YouTube and Myspace, they’re also helping democratize access to digital media.
“It’s an inexpensive way for regular people to showcase their talent with production,” Saurini said. “It gives people control of creating their own media. You can make anything you want, basically.”
Subscribing is easy. RSS feeds, or Really Simple Syndication, allow the audio/video content to regularly appear on your computer or portable media player.
Have it your way
Since charging into the vocabulary a couple years ago, podcasts have tackled the spectrum of topics. iTunes, Apple’s proprietary iPod-organizing software, added a podcast directory in June 2005 – significant, considering all of them are free. Getting your podcast added to their directory will make your traffic skyrocket.
A stroll through the most-downloaded list on Monday revealed the subjects’ diversity – Chicago Public Radio’s “This American Life,” CNN’s “Anderson Cooper 360 Daily,” Comedy Central’s standup snippets, ESPN’s “Baseball Today.”
With the number of podcasts exploding, it’s easy to find one that fits your personalized tastes. Need to catch up on a recent history lecture? Stanford offers its online. Music geek? Cutting-edge radio stations like L.A.’s KCRW, Seattle’s KEXP and Cincinnati’s WOXY will turn you onto the latest tunes. Long drive ahead of you? NPR programs and the Smithsonian Folkways series are better than books on tape, and they are free.
“I download Grammar Girl and the newer ‘Car Talk’ podcasts, mostly to listen to on car trips and train rides,” St. Louis resident Kimberly Singer said via e-mail. “They’re short (three to five minutes) and really interesting.”
The Wall Street Journal and popular cable shows including “Mad Money” also offer the latest financial dirt.
Still growing
Even bona fide tech geeks and radio junkies fail to take advantage of podcasts. True, not everyone has – or even wants – an iPod. And podcasts have the ability to inflict the same sense of shame as anything else you subscribe to but don’t get around to.
Still, their utility far exceeds their drawbacks, and as more jump into the ring the choices will only multiply. The swell is coming from both ends, with start-up podcasters like Saurini using $40,000 loans to turn spaces into production studios, and corporations attempting to monetize their own podcasts.
Spending on podcasting advertising will quintuple by 2011, shooting from $80 million to $400 million in the next five years, according to a study by eMarketer. With an estimated 90,000 podcasts available, the fight for ad money could become fierce.
Saurini is looking to expand his podcasts by finding solid business partners. He said his shows, which started more than a year ago, are already drawing about 4,000 downloads. He believes the overall strength of podcasting comes from diverse content with the potential to appeal to almost anyone.
“There’s always something for somebody as long as they’re the type of person who wants to get information that way,” Saurini said.
Staff writer John Wenzel can be reached at 303-954-1642 or jwenzel@denverpost.com.
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Subscribing
Getting on board with podcasts is as simple as pressing “play.” This step-by-step is specific to iTunes but similar to most processes:
1. Open iTunes and click on “iTunes Store” on the left side of the screen.
2. Click on the “Podcasts” directory in the store window.
3. Browse featured podcasts by category or with a search engine.
4. Select the podcasts you want by clicking the “subscribe” button.
5. Enjoy. Each time you plug your iPod into your hard drive to sync content or recharge the battery, the latest podcasts will download automatically.
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Podcasts
Most of these podcats are also available through iTunes’ directory, Podcast.net or PodcastAlley.com.
WOXY.com
The Internet’s best radio station offers previews of the latest music with its “Lounge Acts” session and up-to-date news with “Modern Rock Minute.” .
Chicago Public Radio’s “This American Life”
Ira Glass’s award-winning program for Chicago Public Radio captures American culture through a thoughtful, frequently brilliant prism. .
The Onion Radio News
This wickedly funny Web phenomenon gives you all the best fake news in bite-sized chunks.
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Ask a Ninja
“You got questions, ninja got answers” is this video podcast’s tagline, which involves a heavily gesticulating ninja responding to viewer mail. .
The Ricky Gervais Show
The star of BBC’s “The Office” revealed what madmen he and his cohorts were on this side-splitting, recently completed series. .
-John Wenzel
