NBC & A Podcasting Reality Check

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I don’t think I’ve posted yet how impressed I am with Apple’s easy-to-use integration of the ability to subscribe to podcasts right within iTunes 4.9, but just the same I’ve been skeptical about podcasting’s ability to become (as Apple says) “The next generation of radio.” My thinking being somewhat along the lines of the comments by Mark Cuban referenced in an earlier post (below).

However, I have to admit that I was surprised to happen to catch the end of tonight’s rerun of today’s Meet the Press and find Tim Russert (with some embarrassment) promoting that program’s new podcast. (Of course, this is also a reflection of increased web competition between broadcast networks… see post below re CBS.)

Bottom line, this media moment reminded me of the old days (5 or so years ago) when I’d see a commercial web site’s URL on TV and took it as confirmation that the Web really was becoming an important medium. Maybe podcasting will become important too? Maybe it really is the happy media marriage of Tivo’s “any time you want it” with the iPod’s (and any other portable digital media player’s) “any place you want it.”

Whadda you think?

Podcasting: A more sober view (and more)

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Who woulda thunk that wildman NBA Mavericks owner Mark Cuban would be the one to provide the most sober overview of the podcasting trend I’ve seen, but he did. Also, of interest to blog fans, Cuban announced the reincarnation of his blog-oriented search engine (formerly IceRocket, now BlogScour), not to mention a fun bit of Dot-Bomb memorabilia about the day 7 years ago when Broadcast.com went public. As always, Cuban continues to be, IMHO, a pioneer of interest on the digital frontier. Just lay off those reality shows, Mark.

Geospatial Tech: An Important Next Frontier

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I first came to understand the vast impact that “geospatial technologies” will have on all of us (think GPS systems hard-wired into computers, chips on packages and mobile applications) when I read Howard Rheingold’s Smart Mobs: The Next Social Revolution. Apparently, leading edge publisher, O’Reilly also thinks this trend is important because they just had a conference called “Where 2.0”. If you want to catch or tune into this wave, I recommend this in-depth perspective about the current state and future potential of location technologies. It’s the transcript of an interview with Tim O’Reilly and Nathan Torkington.

Apple: the iPod Company (sales rock on)

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No longer the Mac company, Apple may now be “the iPod company.” They shipped 7 times as many iPods in the last quarter at the year before, almost 6.2 million units, and only 1.2 million Macs (even though Mac sales did well too and represented more gross revenue). Read the Bloomberg report

CBS News Commits to New Net Services as “Cable News Bypass”

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Calling the revamping of its CBSNews.com web site an “extreme makeover,” the relatively new president of the relatively new division, CBS Digital Media, Larry Kramer (a true Net Vet as well as founder and former CEO of CBSMarketwatch.com) announced a “seismic change” (new Web attitude) at the old network’s news organization. He said in an online video that new initiatives or “investments” would include podcasts, a blog called “Public Eye” (which will provide feedback and criticism as well as public praise for CBS newscasts), and lots of custom “web-only” video content on an on-going basis.

This new commitment to new content in some ways reflects what other networks are doing with their cable news sister networks. As reported by the New York Times, Kramer calls this a “cable news bypass.” He said in the online video announcement, “On the web, daytime is prime time,” and pointed to larger audience opportunities online than even cable can provide.

We’ll see if they can get traction (build a powerful/viable audience), but Kramer “gets the Web” and should be able to provide the necessary leadership. Certainly, this CBS initiative couldn’t hurt; and it will most probably inspire other news organizations to get more serious (and hopefully more transparent) about the importance of their organization’s web presence. Let’s hope so.

Wallace Wide Open in Insightful Commencement

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Noted American writer David Foster Wallace concludes that “It is unimaginably hard… to stay conscious and alive in the adult world day in and day out.” We all know these challenges. At least those of us who are trying to live our lives fully awake, or as awake as we are able to be… Wallace rants, “simple awareness; awareness of what is so real and essential, so hidden in plain sight all around us, all the time, that we have to keep reminding ourselves over and over.” Ain’t it the truth? But equally fascinating, for me at least, is the articulate, insightful, off-handedly humorous, yet fully forthright and un-cynical way that DFW brings a real message home for the Kenyon graduating class. He is a remarkable writer. Thanks, my son, for another solid referral. Read the full text of David Foster Wallace’s commencment speech at Kenyon University

Insights into Online Poker’s Amazing Growth

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I’m not sure how long this, to me, fascinating article will be free online… It was in last Sunday’s NY Times. The article, “At PartyGaming, Everything’s Wild” profiles the parent company of PartyPoker.com as well as the astromonical growth of the online poker market. In the case of PartyGaming (which will go public in the UK soon), “The company had revenue of just $9 million from its poker business in 2002; by the end of 2004, revenue had climbed to more than a half-billion dollars.” Or for the online poker industry overall, “Total revenue for online poker among all companies was already a healthy $92 million in 2002, but it then exploded, surpassing $1 billion just two years later, according to Christiansen Capital Advisors L.L.C., a consulting firm in New Gloucester, Me., that specializes in advising gambling companies.” And, “…In the process, the firm estimates, the total online poker market will mushroom to $6 billion in 2009 from $1 billion in 2004.”

To learn more about why I think that online poker is also a great way to learn to play poker, click here.

Inspiring: Steve Jobs Commencement Address at Stanford

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When I first got an email with this commencement address by college drop-out Steve Jobs at Stanford University, I thought it must be urban legend; but, as this link shows, it’s for real. And, more importantly, it’s quality content. Inspiring even. Jobs speaks of “connecting the dots” in your life, the value of love and loss (using his “devastating” removal from Apple as a powerful positive in his life) and, most profoundly, death as the ultimate motivator, including details of his recent battle with pancreatic cancer. Check out the full text of Steve Jobs’ remarks

Internet Talk Radio Coming of Age?

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I had a solid hit of viability listening to some Internet radio shows this morning. I linked through from an inspirational email to Hayhouse Radio and listened to some pretty solid motivational/spiritual content. Then, I picked up on the fact that the provider was wsRadio.com and began listening to an SEO Radio show about search engine optimization. All the wsRadio.com shows seem to be well implemented via an Active X player that worked fine on the Mac and each program is nicely supported by RSS feeds to promote return listeners. Professional quality. Well done. And, a welcome addition to the broadcasting landscape. On-demand radio will ultimately rule.

Understanding Apple’s Intel Announcement

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Apple’s announcement that they would begin producing Macs using Intel chips rather than IBM PowerPC chips is something of an earthquake, or a tectonic shift for the world of personal computing. It is perhaps best explained in simplistic terms as bringing the Mac software community into a more connected and less isolated place (of course, this will take place over time, over the next couple of years). The best analogy that I read (including some more dweeby analysis) was by ZDNet’s John Carroll who compared the change as being from the isolation of the Azores to the connectedness of Manhattan In other words, Apple will still be an island, but there will be lots more ways (bridges and tunnels) to make connections with other kinds of software and computers. This opens many doors for new possibilities in the future, including less expensive Macs. Right on.