The Anarcho Geek Info Center

Podcasts are a remarkable invention that allows you to directly receive audio broadcasts from anywhere in the world! Think of keeping a ham radio in your pocket with the easy to use aspects of Tivo. Wherever you are, you’re never too far away for your personal mp3 player or computer to pick up your favorite podcast. This new form of broadcast combines the portability and popularity of Apple’s famous iPod or any other mp3 play with the traditions of a traditional radio broadcast. Instead of attaching a radio scanner to pick up tired stations that play more commercials than songs, sign up for a podcast subscription. Similar to satellite radio, podcasts feature little to no commercials and programming that varies from music to talk to simulcasts, but also have a unique feature that satellite radio cannot compete. Just like a Tivo, you can pause, fast forward, or rewind the podcast to best fit around your schedule. If you want to catch your favorite show, simply pause the podcast until you decide to listen.

If you currently own an Apple iPod, or any other type of personal mp3 player, or a personal computer with podcasting capabilities, you can quickly and easily find and subscribe to podcasts. Before you can listen to a podcast, you must first have the correct RSS reading software. This software will enable the device to decode the files so they can be played correctly. Programs such as iPodderX are a popular choice for Apple users, as it is compatible with the interface. For PC users, iPodder.net is a great way to receive podcasts on your iPod or mp3 player. By simply connecting the device and subscribing to RSS feeds, this software will automatically download and adapt the podcast so you can listen at your leisure.

If you decide to create your own podcast, do not fear…the process is not nearly as difficult as it sounds. Use your computer, either a PC or a Mac, headphones, microphone, and some source of sound, whether it is a favorite cd, your personal band, or a great conversation, to create an audio file. Two useful programs many individuals choose to use are SoundFlower and SoundBed, both of which are free. Also, Line In is a great program that allows sound coming in from a microphone to be played. These programs allow you to quickly and easily convert your sound files into a podcast that can be played by you or anyone else who chooses to subscribe.

Copyright 2005 by D. L. Randolph. All rights reserved.

Looking for information about podcasting? Go to http://www.apodcasting.com. About Podcasting is a Podcast Information Directory and Resource Site which provides a consolidated listing of the best Podcasting sites in one easy to navigate location.

Podcasting Is A New Form Of Fun Stuff
To Do On The Computer.
The Ipod Was Made For Music Downloads,
But The Reality Is That It Has Created
A Launch Of Mini Shows,
That Are Uncut And Cheap To Produce.

Every Event You Can Imagine Is A
Potential Contender As A Reality Radio

Broadcast Show From Rio To Cape Cod,
And From Boston To Broadway.

CB Radio,i.e. Ham Radio, Was Developed
As Radio For The People, But
Now Another Page In The Consumer Notebook
Of Modern History Has Turned.

Any Music Concert Can Become An Mp3,
Whether It’s By Players Like Eminem
& 50cent Or Country Music And
Guitar Songs Dedicated To Andy Griffeth.

Mp3 Audio Can Include A Report From
A Reality TV Show To A Las Vegas Show,
To A Looney Tune Review,
And It Can Range From Humor To Commentaries
On The Weather, Oprah Winfrey & American Idol,
The Titanic, The Da Vinci Code,
Or Even A Live Sex Show In Harmony Hall.

They’re All Now Available As A Downloadable
Music Composition, A Video Or Even A Slide Show
On Your Computer,
And I Wouldn’t Be Surprised If
Some Of These Shows Show Up On Sirius Radio,
XM Radio Or Other Satellite Radio Shows,

Conventional Radio Or Even On TV.

The Ipod Is A Creative Way To Download
Digital Music Automatically Via Computer
Around The Clock, By Virtue Of Podcasting.

This Is Not About Downloading Online Music
Onto Your Computer Via Music File Sharing.
This Is About The Bone Thug Across The Street
Writing A Music Lyric On His Computer
Calling It A Skin Tune
By Frankie J & Lil Jon Luny Mas,
And With No Harmony Or Melody,
Having A Ball, Because Some Stranger
In Central Louisville Looking For
Cheap Music Downloads Records It
To His Mp3 Player While Waiting
For A Pizza Delivery.

The Apple Ipod Is Not A Technology
Whose Life Is Limited To A
Trade Show Display.

It’s In The Hands Of The People.
Podcasting Is Way Bigger Than
Two Way Radio Or Any Online Computer Game,
And It’s Not Limited To The
Ipod Mp3 Player Or Even The Rio Sport
Mp3 Player.

Newer Models Are Creating Competition
And Getting Cheaper, Just Like All
Computer Technology Always Does.
Just Look At The DVD Player.

Ipod Is Getting The Credit,
But Adam Curry, Former Music Video DJ

And MTV Host In The 1980’s,
Is The Central Player In RSS
(Real Simple Syndication).

A Music Download To A Mini Portable
Mp3 Player Is Not New, The Ipod Buzz Is.
Podcasting Is Going To Be Big.

I Feel Lucky To Have Gotten In On It
At An Early Stage,
With My Daily Podcast Sunny Thought Of The Day.
It Supplements My Free Affirmations By E-Mail.

So Now You Have 2 Free Ways To Get
Positive Thinking From Me.

I Was Interviewed Last Month
In The Honolulu Star Bulletin,
Who Told Me I Was The Only Daily Podcaster

In The State Of Hawaii.

Since Then I’ve Found Out I’m One
Of Only A Handful Who Podcast Daily
In The Entire World.

And My Radio Interviews - I Was Interviewed

By Positive Purpose Radio Host Kevin Mcdonald,
On KLAY AM Radio In The Seattle Area,
5 Times - 1 Hour Each - Those Shows
Were All Podcast Internationally, Too.

Welcome To The Future!
It’s Evolving One Day At A Time.
Why Not Hit The Computer Airwaves Yourself?
And Start Podcasting Today!

Sunny Hills is The Affirmations Genius (TM). His Weekly Positive Thoughts are at http://www.sunnythoughts.com

With the growing popularity of podcasting, publishers and marketers around the world are asking themselves how to monetize this content channel.

Today we’ll be taking a look at how marketers can monetize podcasting through enhanced marketing activities.

While publishers might find it relatively easy to integrate podcasting in to their business models without really “creating a revolution”, the opportunities for marketers really go beyond traditional marketing tactics.

To understand the opportunity we need to understand what podcasting brings to the marketing table: the power of voice, delivered directly to our prospects, customers, employees and partners.

While text might still be the most “usable” format and the easiest to consume, voice itself has the unique feature of being able to express emotion and bring personality in to marketing communications.

For marketers, monetizing podcasting won’t come through ad sales or content sales, but through opportunities to enhance their marketing communications with the power of emotion, delivered directly to their receipients.

Here are just some possibilities for you to consider:

a] PR: Audio press releases, messages from company executives, expert interviews and other industry related material, all delivered directly to the media.

b] Direct marketing: Sales letters and other ad creative, delivered in audio and directly to your prospects.

c] Customer Relationship Management and User Support: Personal messages and greetings from company executives, persoanlized messages to key clients by key account managers, educational content and industry interviews, seminar or conference recordings, product support information and tutorials, …

e] Promotion: Achieving additional company/brand/product exposure by providing podcasts and promoting them via podcast directories and search engines.

f] E-commerce: Audio product announcements and presentations, delivered to prospects that opt-in to receive latest product information. In the case of audio products, podcasts can also carry short excerpts or previews of new editions, thus enticing prospects to order.

g] Branding and Prospect Conversion: Educational content and industry interviews that help shorten the sales cycle or generate/improve company credibility and enhance its brand.

h] Advertising in third-party podcasts

And so on …

In these examples monetization does not come through directly generated revenues, but indirectly through improved sales.

Copyright 2005 Rok Hrastnik

Find out all you need to know about RSS and how to use it to get your content delivered, win back your customers, make more sales and increase search engine rankings. Unleash the Marketing & Publishing Power of RSS, acclaimed as the best and most comprehensive guide on marketing with RSS by top RSS industry leaders, experts, developers and top marketers. http://rss.marketingstudies.net/

So what’s a Podcast and how can I use it on my website?

If you are considering promoting your website on the internet, you might want to look at this great new method to add value to your site.

Podcasting describes the use of audio and video on the internet, using RSS or syndication. A podcast is an audio file made available on the Internet for anyone to download or subscribe to. Anyone can create a podcast, all you need are a computer (if you’re reading this, you’ve probably got one already!), a microphone and a voice editing program. You don’t need any experience to succeed in podcasting.

As well as reading about your product, your customers will also be able to hear about it too. Podcasting is a really powerful marketing tool. However, before you place a podcast on your site, you may wish to consider whether this is the most appropriate way to market this particular product.

Millions of householders use MP3 player technology - they could be listening to your audio message. You’ll improve relationships with your customers and improve your sales. You can put your podcast on iTunes where over 40 million listeners are looking for downloads.

For example, if you have a website on debt consolidation, you could use debt consolidation podcasting, to increase the visitors to your site and improve sales of your product.

You can use this latest technology to generate income and develop some great relationships with your customers.

Podcasting technology has taken off as individuals have found out how easy it is to share audio content using podcasts.

You can find out more on using RSS feeds, blogs and podcasts, visit Home Based Computer Business.

This article was submitted by Jennifer Carter, author of Alterpreneurs blog.

In the world of interactive marketing, one never has to look too far for the next big thing. One promising channel that’s become buzzworthy in the past few months is podcasting - the Internet distribution of audio or video content, usually using an RSS feed.

As usual, though, standing behind the early adopters gushing praise for a new technology, someone will have to figure out how to turn podcasting from a promising technology into a trusted marketing tool.

There seems extraordinary growth potential for podcasts in the next few years, but that’s just untapped potential until podcasting novelty is replaced by podcasting utility.

Even if there’s no money exchanged, the content at a minimum has to be worth the trouble to download. If I have to actively search and download, I will listen to few of them. If I can automate the downloading of a few that I’m interested in, as with an RSS feed, I’ll be more likely to check them out.

Podcasting may or may not develop into a marketing channel with broad applications, but there certainly are opportunities to deliver targeted content. I have a stack of articles on my desk that I’ll get to sometime - behavioral marketing, presenting effective web seminars, how to reinstall Windows XP - if someone came along and made these into mp3s for me so I can listen to them in the car, I would be most grateful. Perhaps even to the point where I would listen to a short ad. You might even put up with a commercial if it’s wrapped in sports highlights (More March Madness coming up, but first a word from Gillette’s new XtremeTrac 5-blade, now with Unibrow Control).

One interesting facet is that as more and more marketing moves to interactive channels, podcasting is sort of a one-way, more passive medium. Maybe its’ just a matter of time until players have some kind of feedback button you can push to indicate yes, download the next e-book chapter, that podcast was valuable to me, or send me more information.

Then next time I plug my player back into my laptop, my preferences are sent back to the podcasters. Or maybe there’s no rush for that…

Overall I think it’s very positive that this form of new media marketing is accessible to nearly anyone who wants to create a podcast. Certainly, consumer-controlled media is an exciting trend and there’s a lot of home-grown content out there that’s much richer and more original than what’s generally available from commercial radio.

There is a possible downside if personalization is carried too far. One day soon, as you’re motoring down the highway, you may hear a podcast from your spouse reminding you to pick up orange juice and warning you not to speed.

Charles Warnock is Marketing Director at PartsBase, Inc. He writes often on marketing, e-business, finance, and real estate. His weblog is http://marketing-interactive.blogspot.com.

As churches try new methods to deliver their message, one Toronto-area minister
believes video podcasting has a future in the ministry.

Rev. Tim Elliott, honourary assistant at The Church of the Redeemer, and former
rector of Christ Church Deer Park recently released a video podcast of his
presentation Jazz for life: A pathway to balance.

The presentation is a mix of jazz piano, scripture and speech, and proposes that
improvisation, rhythm, listening and freedom are keys to living a balanced life.
Rather than being limited to a select group who attended the event, anyone can view
the presentation by downloading a copy of the podcast.

A podcast is an audio or video file published on the Internet and available for
download. Users can subscribe to the podcast and will automatically be informed of
new episodes as they are posted, said Sean Paddison, president of Northstreams
Inc., the company that filmed, produced, and hosts Rev. Elliott’s podcast.

Video podcasting provides an opportunity for churches to reach out to people who
may not normally be interested in attending a service, Rev. Elliott said.

“If the message is available, if you don’t have to go to church but you could
download the message and watch a podcast, then you might actually be interested
in going to attend one [service] and becoming a part of the Christian community,”
he said.

Because podcasts are published on the Internet, they are available to the entire
world, making anyone a potential viewer or listener.

“Podcasting is a great way to broadcast your message via the Internet. It allows you
to take any recording of your service or sermon and publish it online as a podcast,”
Paddison said.

“Once they have been uploaded to the Internet, podcasts are usually archived. So
not only can someone see the most recent service, they can download a service
from a week, month or even a year ago, if they wanted to.”

“Podcasting is the cutting-edge of Internet technology. Lots of people are doing it,
and even more are watching and listening to them. They are a great opportunity for
people to create quality productions without huge expense,” he said.

Churches often distribute cassettes, and in the past have broadcasted services on
the radio. Rev. Elliott believes podcasts have the potential to be the next step in the
evolution of distributing recordings of sermons and services.

A podcast could also appeal to those who are away on weekends or traveling and
want to stay connected to a church, or anyone looking for a message, he said.

“People that can’t come to church - that’s the elderly, the shut-ins and the sick -
the church traditionally has always been concerned about those folks,” he said.

Podcasting has potential because the clergy is innovative and often embraces new
methods and technologies to deliver their message.

“Most of the clergy that I know are highly creative people, and are usually looking
for opportunities for their own congregations to move forward and do interesting
things in ministry,” he said.

He points out that the clergy were some of the earliest users of the Internet because
it provided access to a large variety of music, so publishing services as podcasts is
quite viable.

Although Rev. Elliott sees the potential for podcasting, he still thinks the best way to
worship is as a group.

“I don’t think there’s any substitute for being together in person, but it isn’t always
possible these days. And so if people want to stay connected, there are
technological ways you can stay connected without having to be there.”

Tim Elliott’s podcast Jazz for Life: A pathway for Balance is available at
http://www.timelliott.ca/fc.html Visit his website at http://www.timelliott.ca

Northstreams Inc., specializes in the production and hosting of audio and video
podcasts and electronic press kits (EPKs) for clients in the Greater Toronto Area. For
more information visit the website: http://www.northstreams.com

Adam Peck is a freelance journalist in Toronto, Canada.

You’ve published your podcast and you smugly admire it in the many podcatchers you’ve submitted it to.

Despite all your hard work, you’re probably missing out on a ton of interview requests from journalists, authors and other podcasters simply because your podcast listing is confusing and hard to understand.

The way you list your podcast depends in large part on what fields the podcatcher provides. However, you can control this information in the way you edit your ID3 tag when you create a new podcast each week.

Stop missing out on interviews that could bring a ton of new subscribers to your podcast. Instead, follow these tips to ensure that it’s easy for journalists, authors and other podcasters to find your podcasts so you never miss an interview opportunity again.

1. Lead your podcast title with the episode number. Some podcasters will remove older episodes from their server to make way for new ones. If you’re one of those podcasters who do this, most podcatchers will no longer list the removed podcasts in their directories. That means that to the interviewer, instead of seeing a long list of your podcasts, they may only see 5 or 10. The interviewer may make the assumption that you’re new to podcasting and will move on to another podcaster. By including the episode number in your podcast title, you alert the interviewer that you’re an old hag at this podcasting thing.

2. Artist name should be yours, not your company’s. It’s very difficult to understand who WantAPodcastNow.com is. Instead, use your first and last name in the artist field when editing the ID3 tag. When entering your details in a podcatcher, include your first name and last name in the creator/host/producer field. That way, people can find you quickly using the search tool in a podcatcher’s search engine.

3. Make the album name your email address. Nothing is more frustration for an interviewer than having to click through dozens of pages just to find an email address. Make it easy for the interviewer to contact you by using the album field in the ID3 tag for your email address. The interviewer will be grateful for this convenience, plus you lessen your chance of losing that ounce of free publicity.

4. Keep your description short and sweet, please. In some podcatchers, only the first 10-words are visible to a podcast listener. Therefore, make these first 10-words count. You should liken it to your 30-second elevator pitch and use language that will entice the person to subscribe to your podcast. Put your copywriting skills to work.

5. Ensure that your podcast is listed in the right category. Just because one category gets more traffic than another, it doesn’t mean you list your podcast there. Your goal is make it easy for subscribers - but more importantly interviewers - to find you based on your expertise you portray in your podcast and they can only do so if it is in the right place. Choose the right genre in your ID3 tag, and then choose the right categories when you list your podcast in podcatchers.

6. Add a photo. Interviewers will judge your podcast by its virtual cover, so include a professionally designed, thumbnail-sized photo with your podcast listing. The interviewer will get the impression that you’ll be an ideal candidate based on that image alone.

© 2006 Leesa R. Barnes. All Rights Reserved Worldwide.

Leesa Barnes, Chief Divapreneur, helps consultants, virtual assistants, professional organizers and coaches pull clients to them using a podcast. Leesa’s advice is based on her experience producing and hosting a podcast where she saw a spike in subscribers to her ezine list and signed up a few new coaching clients, all without scheduling any complimentary sessions. Her audio program called Podcoach Your Way to Success: Secrets for Coaches on How to Use a Podcast to Market Your Business & Gain More Clients contains worksheets and exercises to help any coach set up their own podcast in as little as 4-hours.

Go to http://www.podcoachyourwaytosuccess.com and sign up for her free ecourse that will teach you how to use a podcast to grow your coaching business and pull clients to you.

Copyright 2006 Sharon Housley

As podcasts increase in popularity, listeners have more choices. So while you might be ahead of the competition, you should still be thinking about ways that you can make your podcast unique and stand out from similarly themed podcasts.

1. Plan Accordingly.

When making the decision and commitment to podcast, it is important to think beyond the moment. Before starting, think about the time the podcast production will take. How will podcasting fit into a current schedule? How frequently will you podcast? How will hosting of podcasting files be handled? If the podcast is excessively popular, how will fees be generated to pay for hosting? What is the common theme that threads all podcasts in a series together? Think not only of a broad theme, but also various episodic themes that fit into a broader theme. What will make you distinct or different from others podcasting about similar content? By approaching podcasting with a little forethought, you will set yourself up for success.

2. Original Content.

Just like any media company, in order to attract and maintain an audience, you will need to provide original content, or at the very least, present the content in an original way. Think about a long term strategy that will help your show distinguish itself from others.

3. Get to The Point.

Jibber Jabber is fun, but not to the point of excluding quality content. Listeners in today’s society don’t have time for incessant rambling. If you have a point to make, make it in a reasonable amount of time. Minimize the fluff and focus on quality content.

4. Do Your Homework.

Not only is faulty information a liability, but incorrect information will hurt a broadcasters long term reputation–just like a journalist’s credibility is paramount to their success. It is important that the information that you provide is accurate. While being a shock jock might have short-term appeal to listeners, most will remain loyal to a source that has properly vetted all of their information.

5. Consistency.

The best content is consistent content. Podcasts should contain compelling content with episodic titles, that are united in common broad theme. The format of the podcast should be consistent, persistent and stable. Each show should be about the same length and contain a common format.

6. Timeless Content.

Content that is timeless has a long shelf life. Broadcasters will benefit more from content that is timeless and can be effectively archived. “How to” content that solves problems will often have long term appeal and listening life. When choosing topics, consider the long term effects of a specific piece and determine whether it will fit with the broad theme of the show.

7. Articulate Words.

The quality of the audio content does matter. Think of the last time you heard a good song, on a poorly tuned radio station; regardless of how much you like the song, most of us would move the dial along. Listeners will not want to strain to hear a podcast; pay particular attention to articulation. Another important item worth noting is that Podcasts have global reach and often global appeal. Minimizing an accent will often extend the podcast’s listening audience.

8. Optimize Podcasts.

Podcast titles should be optimized to incorporate data that relates to the contents of the podcast. Think about the themes when selecting a podcast channel title and description. Use critical and related keywords and phrases that relate to a common theme. The text in the feed is important for both feed optimization and for attracting listeners. Many of the podcast directories index the contents of podcasts using the information contained in the channel and item’s, titles and descriptions. Use these text fields to effectively capture the interest of listeners.

9. Listener Expectations.

Invariably listeners will come to expect certain things from broadcasters. In order to maintain a listening audience, it is important that broadcasts are consistent and satisfy the expectations of listeners. While it is okay to experiment, straying to far from what a listener expects will often disappoint.

10. Archive.

Many new listeners will want to review previous broadcasts. Consider ways to make older shows available through archives. Archives allow broadcasters another channel to benefit from the content. Maintaining archives of older podcasts might bring in new listeners and satisfy listeners who just can’t get enough. Podcasts require effort, but by following basic guidelines and thinking things through, podcasts can be instrumental in increasing web traffic and communications within a community.

About the Author:
Sharon Housley manages marketing for FeedForAll www.feedforall.com software for creating, editing, publishing RSS feeds and podcasts. In addition Sharon manages marketing for NotePage www.notepage.net a wireless text messaging software company.

Propertycasting is the commercial application of podcasting for the real estate industry. Propertycasting involves the distribution and publishing of audio and video feeds, that offer real estate information delivered over the Internet, for on demand listening.

This is a new step in the evolution of on-demand real-esate information delivery, making it accessible, informative, useful and appealing. This mix presents the real estate industry with a very unique opportunity to reach its target audiences through this new medium. Those individuals, who are already seeking real estate information actively, will use RSS subscription technology built into each podcast feed, to receive information immediately as it is updated by the real estate firm. With one click of a button, a user can subscribe to a feed that may be interesting, and any related information that is ever updated to that feed will be automatically processed to their personal aggregator. An aggregator is able to subscribe to a feed, check for new content at user-determined intervals, and retrieve the content.

To take this process one step further, podcasting publishes each feed with the capability to be transferred to any portable audio or video device. So with the growth of the ipod and all the other portable media devices, you have the ability to grab propertycasts and place them on your portable player for listening or viewing. Most users attach their portable players to their computers daily or weekly, and once the player is attached they automatically receive the new propertycast updates.

Here is a sample of a propertycast:
http://whatiwantpodcasting.com/pods/video/PropertyCast_Large_Windows.wmv

The flexibility of this medium is what will drive the growth of propertycasting tremendously over the next few years. Currently the most useful application for real estate organizations worldwide, is complimenting already existing real estate web pages with audio and video feeds. These propertycasts detail important notices and information that may be prudent, along with a quick marketing pitch from a broker. These can be used for seasonal marketing activities, special events, or monthly updates.

For years and years, associates and brokers have been sending out property listing updates. These propertycasts can be inserted into your existing listing pages. Most firms have numerous web pages which deliver real estate information in text and pic format. By providing an audio or video link on that page it gives the user a different and much more effective format for receiving the information. This is also a great way to teach your existing users how to start utilizing propertycasting services.

The popularity of portable on demand information will grow even greater as wireless internet services continue to flourish across the country. These portable devices will no longer have to be connected to the internet; they will receive information wirelessly as it is updated. In addition, as cell phones and portable devices continue to merge together, the market grows larger.

For firms that have thousands of employees or brokers, the distribution of company information is very important, and once again this offers each institution a method of on-demand delivery which is convenient to all.

There are numerous uses for propertycasting currently, and over the next few years it will explode in popularity. It is beneficial to institutions as well as the consumer, and it will be seen as a great tool in any real estate organizations’ operations.

Ryan Hoback is CEO of What I Want Podcasting.

They specialize in developing podcasts & nanocasts for a wide range of industries. Their development team guides each client through the process of creating podcasts that incorporate brand integration and deliver the target message through a positive visual & listening experience.

http://www.WhatIWantPodcasting.com

info@WhatIWantPodcasting.com

“Interactive Podcasting” is a term that is yet be uttered by the podcast masses. However, in its infant stages it poses a direct threat to the special features market of DVD’s, and as it grows, it will certainly revolutionize the way we view television forever.

What is “Interactive Podcasting” you may be asking.

In an article I wrote a few months back I made this statement,

“Podcasting in my opinion is the genesis of Video Internet Technology. That is, the merging of what we know as the “internet” and current broadcast, cable or satellite programming. It has long been discussed that the internet and television would one day be one in the same. But there has not been much talk into how this transition, into a new future of “Informative Entertainment” or “Intelligent Programming” will develop.

Video podcasting has opened the floodgates for internet television to directly compete with traditional broadcast television. Over the next few years, companies like Microsoft and others who have already introduced home T.V. set-top boxes, which will stream internet feeds directly to televisions in your home. This is the birth of home internet television in its purest form.

Everyone owns a DVD or two, right? If not, you have at least watched one, I hope. Now, when you put a DVD into the machine and turn it on, it takes you to a menu screen. This menu screen gives you options to choose from, such as scenes, extras, director’s cut and so on. These extras are huge draws for DVD sales, like Shrek, Star Wars, etc. The reason they are a big success, is because they put the power of choice in the hand of the user. Whatever your choice may be, the DVD will follow, and execute.

So what if podcasting had the ability to implement “user options”? What if you were watching a Video Podcast, and have the ability to choose different features of that podcast by simply placing your cursor over the screen and choosing your option. What if you had the ability to alter and control video, with the same user applicability that you can on a webpage or search engine.

Podcasting has just ventured into the video phase, where everyone from amateur producers to billion dollar media companies are scrambling to figure out how to make this medium useful, and of course, profitable. So as the medium evolves, the user will demand more from the industry, and a response will be absolutely necessary, in order to make digital media as viable and powerful as a DVD and VHS tapes once were.

The response society will need, is to make digital content as interactive as a physical product would be and then some.

Because what good is the new “Pirates of The Carribean Movie” being delivered to your home set-top media device, if you can’t choose to watch how they produced the new spectacular sword-fighting scene you heard about?

Right now podcasting is the first step in the direction of internet television, it has opened the door for subscription based technology to thrive on the internet. And that is the birth of internet cable television in its purest form. So as the podcast masses start to grow into the hundreds of thousands and millions of viewers per podcast show, the industry will start to add user options to its shows, and these options will be interactive in their nature.

For example, let’s say you are watching a popular video podcast like What I Want Fitness ( http://www.WhatIWantFitness.com ). This show features personal training advice from an instructor, and during the session you are watching, you see a particular exercise that you really liked, and would like to see more variations of. So what if you could take your mouse and click on the trainer’s bicep, and as you did that, the screen would open a list of bicep exercise shows that are available, as well as text on the bicep muscle structure. You could then instantly transition to a new bicep exercise, or maybe click on the text to learn a little more about the muscle you are training.

Now this is a very simple example, but very true to the power of interactive podcasting, and eventually interactive iTV. Podcast shows that start implementing these features will attract a huge viewer response ratio, where a show will then be able to alter its programming in direct relation to the data and feedback it is receiving from its viewers. This will only make programming better in the future. If 75% of the viewers are choosing to look at resistance related exercises, then the show will be able to get that data from web statistical information, and implement the changes to serve their audience better on the next show.

As this power is implemented by the major media conglomerates of the world, internet television will take off, and the merge of the television and the internet, will have occurred.

You see, until practical applicability of interactive programming is made prominent, internet television will not see its true potential. But once it does catch on, Interactive Podcasting will be seen as the birth of this revolution in media delivery.

Now, if we could just get the browsers to keep up and give us the support we need in the xhtml level.

Ryan M. Hoback, is Founder of Motivated Entrepreneur, Inc. and What I Want Podcasting, LLC.

Motivated Entrepreneur Inc. is a business incubation firm that helps entrepreneurs grow their business’s.

What I Want Podcasting specializes in developing podcasts for commercial application in society.

http://www.MotivatedEntrepreneur.com http://www.WhatIWantPodcasting.com