To start things off, I need to point you (the reader) to this article so that you have some understanding (assuming of course you don’t already) of what I’m talking about today.
Leo Laporte, also known as the leader of the TWiT Army, has recently set out on a mission. This mission, which he has chose to accept regardless if anyone follows, is to rename podcasts to netcasts.
To understand the importance of this change, we must first discuss what exactly a podcast is/was. Podcasts are like radio shows that the listener can pull up on demand. Imagine your “On Demand” from your cable company but for talk radio, and you kind of have a start at understanding what a podcast is. Podcasts did not start out as the “easy to download inside iTunes” thing that they are today. Quite the contrary, to download and listen to podcasts you not only had to have a decent understanding of how to us RSS, but you also had to know where to find one of a couple of programs that could strip the audio files out of the RSS feeds and add them to your iTunes library for listening on your iPod. So yes, podcasts started out as shows to listen to on an iPod. But all of that changed with the release of iTunes version 5. Apple included podcasting into the (then) latest version of iTunes which in turn caused an explosion of content. The Podcast Directory in iTunes grew exponentially for months on end (possibly) forever cementing the link between iPod and podcast.
So was Apple wrong to make podcast download simple and easy to the everyday computer user? Not really, in fact it was a smart business move on their part. See, what had happened was, some people out there found a new way to use iPods and the phenomenon was fast growing. Apple seized this opportunity to promote yet another use for their flagship product. By taking something that had some momentum already behind it and making easy for the average consumer, Apple was able to call attention to a new medium of content that was already popular among the tech elite.
Fast forward a couple of years later, and podcasts is still the term used to describe downloadable content like TWiT or KCRW’s full list of available podcasts. And to top things off, Apple files a cease and desist order against a podcasting company for their use of the word “pod”. Now there is speculation going on about if this is an attempt to maintain rights to the phrase “podcast” or simply the word “pod” when used in relation to downloaded content that can be played on a media device.
There is confusion about podcasts and where they can be played. And the truth is, you do not need an iPod to listen to a podcast. You can use a web browser, a phone that plays mp3s, a CD player, or even Windows Media Player. All of these things (and several more) can be used to listen to podcasts. Sure there are some extra steps involved and Apple’s one click solution that iTunes provides in absent in some of these but the fact still remains that you do not need an iPod or iTunes to listen to podcasts or watch vidcasts.
To combat this confusion, Leo Laporte has decided to make a push to change the word from “podcasts” to “netcasts”. Stating that “iTunes is the best and worst thing to happen to podcasting”. This might seem like a statement that contradicts itself but there is some truth to it. Because iTunes made distributing and downloading podcasts so easy, it dramatically increased the number of potential listeners. But at the same time, it locked people into the iTunes/iPod relationship and cemented the relationship between iPods and podcasts more firmly into the publics mind. What Mr. Laporte called for at his Podcast Expo keynote address (his second in the two year old expo) was for podcasters to separate them from this confusing term and instead rely on something that was a little more encompassing of the medium as a whole. Podcasts, or Netcasts rather, are more than audio content. There are several out there that have video counterparts and some are even video only. The term “netcast” encompasses all aspects of the medium better than “podcast” because of the audio stigma that comes with being associated with iPods.
But, much to Leo’s dismay, a large percentage of the community disagrees with him and thinks that sticking with the term “podcast” is the better move. They could be right too, since I really do not foresee Apple changing over to the “netcast” terminology instead focusing on the association between podcasts and iPod, because in the end it is just going to sell more iPods. Apple got into the podcast game at just the right time and has firmly planted the idea of “Podcast=iPod” in the consumer’s mind and that goes a long way in marketing.
Personally, I understand Leo Laporte’s desire to change the name. I even understand and somewhat admire him for going for the long haul and attempting to take out a trademark on the term “netcast”. However, I do not see it working in the long run if Apple does not, in good nature, change the name of the iTunes Store’s “Podcast Directory”. If Apple does not change the name, there is little chance that “netcast” will catch on and this little crusade could die out.
[Technorati Tag: Commentary]
[Technorati Tag: Podcasts]
[Technorati Tag: Netcasts]
[Technorati Tag: TWiT]
Michael Koby 
Podcasts Versus Netcasts
To start things off, I need to point you (the reader) to this article so that you have some understanding (assuming of course you don’t already) of what I’m talking about today.
Leo Laporte, also known as the leader of the TWiT Army, has recently set out on a mission. This mission, which he has chose to accept regardless if anyone follows, is to rename podcasts to netcasts.
To understand the importance of this change, we must first discuss what exactly a podcast is/was. Podcasts are like radio shows that the listener can pull up on demand. Imagine your “On Demand” from your cable company but for talk radio, and you kind of have a start at understanding what a podcast is. Podcasts did not start out as the “easy to download inside iTunes” thing that they are today. Quite the contrary, to download and listen to podcasts you not only had to have a decent understanding of how to us RSS, but you also had to know where to find one of a couple of programs that could strip the audio files out of the RSS feeds and add them to your iTunes library for listening on your iPod. So yes, podcasts started out as shows to listen to on an iPod. But all of that changed with the release of iTunes version 5. Apple included podcasting into the (then) latest version of iTunes which in turn caused an explosion of content. The Podcast Directory in iTunes grew exponentially for months on end (possibly) forever cementing the link between iPod and podcast.
So was Apple wrong to make podcast download simple and easy to the everyday computer user? Not really, in fact it was a smart business move on their part. See, what had happened was, some people out there found a new way to use iPods and the phenomenon was fast growing. Apple seized this opportunity to promote yet another use for their flagship product. By taking something that had some momentum already behind it and making easy for the average consumer, Apple was able to call attention to a new medium of content that was already popular among the tech elite.
Fast forward a couple of years later, and podcasts is still the term used to describe downloadable content like TWiT or KCRW’s full list of available podcasts. And to top things off, Apple files a cease and desist order against a podcasting company for their use of the word “pod”. Now there is speculation going on about if this is an attempt to maintain rights to the phrase “podcast” or simply the word “pod” when used in relation to downloaded content that can be played on a media device.
There is confusion about podcasts and where they can be played. And the truth is, you do not need an iPod to listen to a podcast. You can use a web browser, a phone that plays mp3s, a CD player, or even Windows Media Player. All of these things (and several more) can be used to listen to podcasts. Sure there are some extra steps involved and Apple’s one click solution that iTunes provides in absent in some of these but the fact still remains that you do not need an iPod or iTunes to listen to podcasts or watch vidcasts.
To combat this confusion, Leo Laporte has decided to make a push to change the word from “podcasts” to “netcasts”. Stating that “iTunes is the best and worst thing to happen to podcasting”. This might seem like a statement that contradicts itself but there is some truth to it. Because iTunes made distributing and downloading podcasts so easy, it dramatically increased the number of potential listeners. But at the same time, it locked people into the iTunes/iPod relationship and cemented the relationship between iPods and podcasts more firmly into the publics mind. What Mr. Laporte called for at his Podcast Expo keynote address (his second in the two year old expo) was for podcasters to separate them from this confusing term and instead rely on something that was a little more encompassing of the medium as a whole. Podcasts, or Netcasts rather, are more than audio content. There are several out there that have video counterparts and some are even video only. The term “netcast” encompasses all aspects of the medium better than “podcast” because of the audio stigma that comes with being associated with iPods.
But, much to Leo’s dismay, a large percentage of the community disagrees with him and thinks that sticking with the term “podcast” is the better move. They could be right too, since I really do not foresee Apple changing over to the “netcast” terminology instead focusing on the association between podcasts and iPod, because in the end it is just going to sell more iPods. Apple got into the podcast game at just the right time and has firmly planted the idea of “Podcast=iPod” in the consumer’s mind and that goes a long way in marketing.
Personally, I understand Leo Laporte’s desire to change the name. I even understand and somewhat admire him for going for the long haul and attempting to take out a trademark on the term “netcast”. However, I do not see it working in the long run if Apple does not, in good nature, change the name of the iTunes Store’s “Podcast Directory”. If Apple does not change the name, there is little chance that “netcast” will catch on and this little crusade could die out.
[Technorati Tag: Commentary]
[Technorati Tag: Podcasts]
[Technorati Tag: Netcasts]
[Technorati Tag: TWiT]
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