The pitfalls of joining a podcast network like PodShow?

I often struggled with the thought of joining a podcast network and the benefits that it would give me with my podcast. Hot on the heels of my 100th episode, this issue with PodShow makes me rethink the whole idea as ever being a good thing.

Some podcasters are “pissed” at PodShow, a podcast portal founded by podcasting pioneer Adam Curry. The site appears to be republishing podcaster’s podcast feeds, with changes, under PodShow URLs. […]

The republishing of podcast feeds under different URLs has raised controversy in the past because it can infringe on podcaster’s copyrights, confuse listeners about the correct source for the podcast and make it impossible for podcasters to know how many people are subscribing to their podcast. […]

“There’s stuff to do and things to patch/fix/glue on PodShow.com,” said Podshow’s Adam Curry. “The most obvious being that external feeds should of course link to the original external feed.”

Some podcasters think the bug explanation is credible.

“We don’t know that it was intentional by any means,” said Ookles’ Scott Johnson. “Before we pile on lets give them time to correct it. If they don’t correct it then, by all means, flame away.”

Many podcasters aren’t buying this explanation, though, having seen similar approaches to retaining visitor’s attention previously.

“That is not an innocent mistake,” said podcast pioneer Michael Geoghegan, (Reel Reviews, Disney). “Someone had to plan which RSS channel elements to pull and which to ignore. The cast and crew at PodShow have been around long enough and, frankly, dealt with the issues of RSS feeds enough times to know better.” [podcastingnews]

Innocent mistake or not, it’s an issue to not take lightly when you are a podcaster. The heavy hitters are already weighing in on what’s going on, and PodShow really hasn’t had a chance to make the corrections necessary, if this is indeed an oversight on their part. However, being one of the first, “major” companies that has been created towards podcasting specifically, you would think that this would have been considered from day one.

The other element to this drama makes me draw a comparison to how record labels work in relation to the major recording corporations and independent labels or bands. You have to be careful when you go with the big guys because they can own your soul depending on the details of your contract. Going indie tends to gain you some generous breathing space in terms of creativity, but doubles your work.

You have to be careful when the popular group of kids in school come knocking at your door and want you to be apart of what their doing. If you’re not careful, you can get locked into something that might not be as cool as you thought it would. I understand that PodShow contracts are supposed to be pretty flexible and generous towards the content of your podcast. Of course, you’re still putting your name down in ink, and that’s legally binding.

Update: The “problem” seems to be resolved.

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