Podcast Blog Part 2 (week 9)

The material covered in the second half of week 8 pertained to audio and podcasts.  A podcast a series of audio broadcasts that are downloaded off of the internet.  Podcasts can either be downloaded for listening to in the future or streamed for listening live.  Podcasts use Ogg vorbis or mp3 as the audio files so it isn't very difficult to find a device that can play the files.  The name derives from the idea that it is a broadcast originally designed for the ipod.  Podcasting is still relatively new, only catching real attention since 2004, but it is gaining steam quickly and has become a key word in the technology vernacular.


Podcasting can be important in my major and profession.  Marketing is very important for films and obviously commercials.  Podcasts are another way to reach the desired audience.  Many podcasts have thousands of listeners, this is very lucrative for advertisers.  Podcasts have yet to really define themselves in terms of how they want to make profit but advertising on them is certainly an option.  Podcasts are also ways to relay information out to the public about a project.  Pixar's "Cars" for example used podcasts to release a series of behind the scenes clips to start to promote the movie and shows like "Battlestar Galactica" provided podcasts with the creators talking about the show and their inspirations.

http://blog.experiencecurve.com/archives/uncommon-uses-podcasting

I found a very interesting site that details some uncommon uses of the podcasts.  People are using podcasts to broadcast serial plays and novels that people read in parts.  Unofficial museum tours are being podcasted so that people can download the  file and go to a museum and listen to a tour on their own IPOD or MP3 player.   Music lessons are also being podcasted in segments so that people don't get overwhelmed by a full course, as if in book format, and their progress is steady.  It seems that podcasts are still so new that the possibilities are seemingly endless at this point.  I'll be interested to see how the podcast evolves in the future.