The Culture of the Radio Podcast

The most appropriate way to begin explaining Radio Podcasting is to cover the basics of what the radio Podcast is and the culture behind it. The term Radio Podcast refers to an MP3 file recorded with intentions to distribute via syndication feeds and listen to via feed reader (aggregator.) The term does not refer to any new invention, software program or specific company. In many ways it can be considered a slang term that is so widely used that it became exclusive to its method.

Podcast comes from a fusing of the words iPod and Broadcast. The iPod is nothing more than a brand name that monopolizes our thoughts and associations regarding portable media. Broadcast refers to the basics of radio distribution and publishing. An interesting fact is that the exact term, "Podcast" can not be trademarked or patented as a new technology and must remain exclusive to its current meaning in our English language. However, there are many companies who use the words "Podcast" "Pod" or "Cast" within their company name in order to define the products they offer in ways that brand appropriately. Some examples taken from Wikipedia.com: Podcast Reality, GuidePod, Pod Gizmo, Pod-Casting, MyPod, Podvertiser, ePodcast, Podcaster.

The technology behind Radio Podcasts is not a groundbreaking innovation, though the application and uses behind them may be considered a cultural cross road not only for radio but also audio distribution. It originated as a way for many different people to record and host their own radio shows and place them on the web for an easy and reachable audience. But, as any new idea grows legs and runs with it's fundamental ideas, it is now used for a variety of purposes including distribution of all media formats for uses including (but not limited to) education, endorsement, announcements, advertising, entertainment and marketing. The nature of Radio Podcasting allows it to be easily maintained and circulated with little effort to those who choose to stay updated on its contents.

Other spawns of the Podcast culture include: Blogging, Video Podcasting, Audio Blogging and Autocasting. The idea of recording personal: thoughts, ideas, information mental anecdotes and storing them online for all to view is actually a relatively new concept and is precisely how the idea of Podcasting became an instant internet craze. Autocasting allows individuals to listen to audio versions of text based blogs. This term assumes the use of text to speech technology and utilities that convert text into audio files. Audio blogging is very similar to Podcasting, but the content presupposed by audio blogging tends to be based on the contents of any blog (personal thoughts, information, etc.) and not necessarily a radio show. Video Podcasts are exactly like radio podcasts except the reader that the subscriber views the podcast from must have the ability to view video and not just audio and text.

Stay tuned for the next part in this series where I will cover the history of Radio Podcasting and the technology behind it!