Podcasting: What will it take for the 1% to grow?

There are few things that we need to help podcasting grow:

1) Podlinks

In an incredible post by Mr. Kuropatwa in his A Difference Blog, he says:

For example, Ewan shared, in our most recent skypecast (58 min 9 sec. Start listening at 17 min. 10 sec.), an observation about a news reporter younger than he…

This is a great article. Mr. K cites something I really want to hear. It is four or five clicks away (if I'm a non-techie I wouldn't bother!)

I would love it if Mr. K, myself, and others who are increasingly citing podcasts didn't have to go through this cumbersome method of citing sources. There should be an easy way to hyperlink to the actual clip — podlinks for lack of a better term.

We could actually fill our posts with both written and spoken word. This would be very useful. (See a picture of somebody and hear them talk or even better watch a video clip.)

2) Easier editing of podcasts.

Odeo has started doing a great job creating an easy way to RECORD podcasts but editing is not there yet. (See how my students are using it.)

The alternative is to record in audacity, edit it, use the CC commons program to upload to archive.com and fill in all the information. (A pain, in my opinion.)

I predict that when podcasting becomes as easy as blogging that we will have more podcasters. Same for vodcasting.

Leo LaPort was talking about podzinger on a recent podcast and he commented on the fact that he was the most listened to podcast on podzinger. He said that would change quickly as more everyday folks started listening to podcasts.

This makes sense. Early adopters use the technology first. Techies are the only one's who'll struggle with this stuff. Odeo is great and will have some initial usage. Until there is an easy way to do this, however, it won't take off.

Look at the blogging.
Blogging has been around for three to four years. It really entered the mainstream in the last several years. I knew that I'd arrived when one of my teachers told me the other day,

“I thought you were crazy but there was a blogger on CSI the other night.”

I guess I'm legit now that CSI did a spot, huh?

Podcasts have a great future!

Only around 1% of US households are listening to podcasts according to a new Forrester research study. I, however, am listening while I am grading to learn new things. I am listening as I drive for motivation. I am listening as I wash dishes to prevent having a pity party!

Learn to podcast and find your favorites.

This is all part of the personalization of our society. Good, easy to use personalization will make and break the company of the future.

I have a question for you:

Are we willing to personalize education?

Do we want to personalize our society and yet we try to mass produce our children?