Ugh. I am getting so sick of this debate. The one where people are complaining or arguing over the name of “podcasting”[wiki] and how it should or needs to be changed.
I think this is the culture that has developed in the land of blogging and podcasting. We all have a voice, so everyone wants a stake in saying what is what, and this is the brilliance that comes with this world of new media. However, it’s driving me insane.
It’s come up today on a posting by Scott Bourne on PodcastingTricks.com, and he isn’t the first guy to focus in on this. I would bet that he won’t be the last, but does the name of “podcasting” limit the medium in terms of growth and exposure? Might there be another name that would help make it more, dare I say it, mainstream?
Podcasting seems limiting. We are seeing the whole world look at You Tube, iTunes and other services as a way to consume media – period. A NEW way to consume media – NEW MEDIA – in other words.
I find myself increasingly using the term NEW MEDIA instead of podcasting. My pal Leo Laporte uses NETCAST. What about you? What term do you use? [podcastingtricks]
Personally, I use the word “content”. Whether it’s blogging, podcasting, or uploading photos to flickr, I am creating and sharing content. I feel like that is where the current realm of podcasting really needs to focus, and that is the comment that I left on Bourne’s post.
John Bollwitt on June 13th, 2007
I feel like if we spent as much time and energy on this topic of a sweeping name change as we actually spent on making this medium more prevalent and accessible, we’d be further along than we are now.
At the same time, the more you try to change something right now, the more you’ll run into responses like, “Netcasts? Oh you mean podcasts? Now I know what you are talking about.”
Look up the history of radio. It used to be called “wireless” until the term radio caught on. It didn’t happen overnight, and there is something to be said about forcing change. We just need to keep cranking out content to make people take notice, and then the name with shape itself.
I’ve fallen behind on creating content, so there is some hypocritical aspects to what I am saying. Still, the name is not the reason to fault anything, and this consistent argument will barely change that. Discussion is good, but there is serious need for great content so that more people take notice and make this medium stronger. Better accessibility through technology wouldn’t hurt either, but that’s a whole other topic for another time.
Until major software companies start embracing podcasting and adding the ability to easily search and download available podcasts, people won’t be introduced to the medium. All it would take is a nice little icon on my Firefox toolbar that would do everything Juice does for me. Most internet consumers don’t know a thing about Juice…but if it is already there in their browser, then they may explore and find out about it a little easier.
But, usually when that happens, there is a price tag attached to it.