Podcasts

1 Case: Podcasts Section 5 (2 pm), Group 4 MI021 Computers in Management, Fall 2007 Group Members: Rob Tilson Brian Stager Clement Yeung Brendan Erhard Mark Wilkie 2 Technology, as it rapidly and continuously progresses, is becoming more and more inextricably bound to nearly every aspect of society. Media, education, medicine, all of these fields owe a great deal of their progress to advances in technology. Podcasts, a relative newcomer on the tech scene, has made quite a splash in the short time it‟s been around. A new way to distribute audio and video files over the internet, podcasts have become widely used in many major disciplines one might not expect, including politics and higher education. If not everyone has heard of podcasts yet, it would be a safe bet to say they will in the near future. Podcasts have become increasingly popular since they were first drafted up in 2000 by Tristan Louis and implemented by Dave Winer. Podcasts are a form of distributing digital audio and video files over the Internet, typically for convenient use on a portable media device (PMD) such as an MP3 Player”1 The name of this internet technology came from the combination of the words „iPod‟ and „broadcasting‟. This name however was invented long after the first podcasts were developed by Dave Winer in January 2001. The first podcast on record was created by Radio Userland when they integrated a song into a weblog. The first major push for podcasts was by many bloggers who wanted to integrate multimedia into their blogs. The next major step in the development of podcasts was when the Ed Radio Application was made available in June of 2003. This in effect made the first podcast search engine. The Ed Radio application would search RSS feeds for mp3 downloadable media and put them on one feed. The next major advance for podcasts was in late 2004 when the Podkey program was launched. This program was designed to let podcast producers and users communicate. The growth of podcasts from here on was exponential. On October 18, 2004 Google recorded 100,000 hits for the term “podcasts.” This number jumped from just 2750 a few weeks earlier. This massive growth lead many people to get into the podcast „market.‟ John Edwards was the first national level politician to create a podcast. Later in 2005 Apple iTunes added the Podcast feature to its newest version. Along with the capability to play podcasts it also created a page where users could publish and search for other podcasts using the iTunes and GarageBand. This, coupled with the rising global awareness of podcasts, lead The New Oxford American Dictionary to announce that the word of 2005 was „podcast.‟2 As is evident with the name, the Apple iPod and iTunes had a lot to do with the success of podcasts. Apple created a platform that people could use to search easily for podcasts and with the advent of Apple‟s iPod video, the idea of video podcast became very prevalent. Many major news companies began to publish news cast, NBC‟s Nightly News with Brian Williams for example. The history of podcasts has been brief, just under eight years, but its rapid growth has created an internet phenomenon. 34 To completely understand the magnitude of this cultural trend in technology, one must first understand how podcasts really work. To distribute a podcast, the content publisher first needs to upload the media file to a web server on the Internet. After obtaining the URL of the file, the publisher references the address to a list called the feed. The feed is formatted in RSS, which stands for “really simple syndication”. This list often organizes all the episodes chronologically and contains text descriptions including, author‟s names, dates, titles, and most importantly, the links to each of the episodes.5 To listen to a podcast, the most straightforward way is to go to the feed, download each episode one by one, and listen to it like a normal MP3 file. A more convenient way is to use a podcast client that allows 3 subscriptions. A podcast client acts as an RSS aggregator, which would download and manage podcasts as soon as they are released. Some examples of podcast clients are iTunes, AudioShell, Juice, NewzCrawler…etc.6 One of the most popular applications to listen to podcasts is Apple iTunes. Not only is it a digital music player, iTunes is a podcast client because it allows users to subscribe to podcasts. The iTunes Store has a podcast directory, and users can browse and subscribe to podcasts according to their interests. As soon as new episodes are released, iTunes will automatically download them. Users have the option to listen to the podcasts on their computers or have iTunes automatically download the podcasts onto their iPods. All of this can be done within iTunes without using any other application. Besides the most popular audio podcasts, there are “video podcasts” and “enhanced podcasts”. Video podcasts, just as what it sounds like, are videos that are delivered like normal podcasts. Some examples are NBA highlights and MTV Daily News, which are free and can all be easily found on iTunes. Enhanced podcasts are podcasts that display pictures along with the audio. Publishers can also create chapters in an enhanced podcast that allow the audience to easily jump to a certain topic within an episode.7 Pocasting‟s uses have progressed from being essentially recreational, to being used by businessmen, politicians, and students alike. Podcasting technology has recently been introduced as an educational resource used to enhance the learning experience of many higher-education institutions. Last May, Apple, Inc. released iTunes U as a new component of its media player application iTunes. iTunes U, which is accessed through the iTunes Store component of iTunes, offers free audio and visual educational services from many of the top colleges and universities of the United States. Since its inception, about 200 colleges and universities have collaborated with iTunes to offer resources to the public, including Stanford University, Duke University, and MIT.8 iTunes U, besides offering thousands of free audio and visual files from universities across the country, is also very easy to use. As soon as colleges share information with iTunes and set up their own iTunes sites, faculty members are able to publish content related to their class. Students then download the content, either to a PC, a Mac, or an iPod, and use it to enhance their learning. 9 This practice, when teachers make online recordings of lectures available for students to download and play on portable music players, is known as “coursecasting.” 10 The most popular “coursecasting” content downloaded by students from iTunes U includes “course lectures, language lessons, lab demonstrations, sports highlights, and campus tours.” 8 Duke University, along with five other colleges, worked with Apple, Inc. as a test pilot for the iTunes U service. Last year, the podcasting service was used in eleven spring semester classes at Duke, including a French class, which used the iPod video and iTunes U to conduct an oral exam. So far, teachers are grateful for the improved learning experience, and praise its convenient method to share information to students and its user-friendly experience.11 Education is certainly not the only place one will find the use of podcasts becoming implemented; politics, media companies, and even health care have also caught the pocasting bug. Podcast use has grown substantially since their creation almost eight years ago. Podcast use has spread from college and university use, to high ranking officials, business companies and the media. In fact, Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper 4 became one of the first ever head‟s of government to use podcasting as a way to allow more of the public to hear his views on issues in the country and world. His podcast, “Prime Minister of Canada‟s Podcast,” is on his website and allows one to subscribe to it using software like iTunes. One can listen to all of his recent speeches ranging from announcements on the expansion of the Nahanni Park Reserve, to talks with the Council of Foreign Relations, to statements at the conclusion of the 2007 APEC Summit. United States President George Bush also uses podcasts. On the White House website, one can find President Bush‟s most recent speeches, weekly radio addresses in Spanish and English, as well as press briefings by Dana Perino, the White House Press Secretary. In addition to high-ranking officials, businesses are also taking advantage of podcasts. Sway Interactive, a media-marketing firm is another fantastic example. Jason Weaver, the chief executive officer at Sway, says that at least 15 percent more of his clients are using podcasts to broadcast internal employee communication materials, marketing messages and advertisements in May 2007 than a year ago1. Aurora Health Care, a company based in Milwaukee, uses podcasts to give customers information on obtaining medical records, change doctors, or educate themselves on health issues. Finally, perhaps the fastest growing group using podcasts is the media. Radio stations, newspapers, and major news stations are all starting to make use of podcasting. Many National Public Radio stations have been using podcasts to re-air its many talk shows as well as CNN radio and UK-based music empire Virgin Radio. Many of America‟s major newspapers also offer oral presentations of its articles such as The Wall Street Journal, the New York Times, and the San Francisco Chronicle. Also, major television stations like FOX, CBS, ABC, and even VH1 have started using podcasts to allow the public to listen to news headlines or recaps and clips from favorite shows. The widespread impact podcasts have had on what seems like every major aspect of society is impossible to overlook, and quite impressive considering its relatively short history.12 13 14 15 In the almost eight years podcasting has been in existence, podcasts have gone from a brilliant idea, to enhancing and almost revolutionizing many major industries. The ability for individuals and major companies alike to share digital audio and video files has never been easier. What started with bloggers wanting a fun and new way to improve the experience of those who wrote on their blogs, has suddenly become university professors uploading lectures and oral exams for their students. One can put speeches from President Bush on an iPod, a media clip from NBC, or even a recap from your favorite television show. Although this is not a sustainable competitive advantage in the long run, firms that utilize podcasting technology will benefit by treating it as a new and free distribution channel. Additionally, the sooner firms, politicians, and universities adopt this technology, the more time they have to build up their podcast library, which makes it harder for late adopters to catch up, as illustrated in the case of Duke University and iTunes U. Technology has always helped to improve people‟s lives in some way, but podcasting has taken such a seemingly simple idea and managed to integrate and enhance the way people relate to each other more effectively than anyone could have imagined. 5 Works Cited "Podcasting." Microsoft Encarta Online Encyclopedia 2007. 10 Oct. 2007. . “Podcast is 2005 Word of the Year.” 10 Oct. 2007. . “History of podcasting.” 10 Oct. 2007 9:43pm. . “The History Of Podcasts.” 10 Oct. 2007. . “Podcast." Wikipedia. 2007. 10 Oct. 2007 6:00pm. . "Podcast Software (Clients)." Podcasting News. 2001. 10 Oct. 2007 . "Enhanced Podcast." Wikipedia. 2007. 10 Oct. 2007 6:10pm. . Nagel, David. ”Apple Rolls Out iTunes U.” Campus Technology. 30 May. 2007. “Apple-Education-iTunes U.” 30 May. 2007. Apple, Inc. 11 Oct. 2007. . Young, Jeffrey. “Apple Releases Free „iTunes U‟ Software to Colleges for Coursecasting.” The Chronicle of Higher Education. 25 Jan. 2006. . Menzies, David. “iTunes U Making Impact at Duke.” Dukenews. 20 Feb. 2006. . “The Podcast Directory.” Podcast.net. 2006. 7 Oct. 2007. . Paulus, Scott. “Companies using podcasts to reach multiple audiences.” The Business Journal of Milwaukee. The Business Journal Database. 2007. 7 Oct. 2007. Prime Minister of Canada‟s Podcast. Canada‟s New Government. 7 Oct, 2007 . White House RSS Feeds and Podcasts. The White House. 7 Oct. 2007 . 6 Endnotes 1 "Podcasting." Microsoft Encarta Online Encyclopedia. 2007. 10 Oct. 2007. . 2 “Podcast is 2005 Word of the Year.” 2005. 10 Oct. 2007. . 3 “History of podcasting.” 2007. 10 Oct. 2007 9:43pm. . 4 “The History Of Podcasts.” 2007. 10 Oct. 2007. . 5 “Podcast." Wikipedia. 2007. 10 Oct. 2007 6:00pm. . 6 "Podcast Software (Clients)." Podcasting News. 2001. 10 Oct. 2007 . 7 "Enhanced Podcast." Wikipedia. 2007. 10 Oct. 2007 6:10pm. . 8 Nagel, David. ”Apple Rolls Out iTunes U.” Campus Technology. 30 May. 2007. 9 “Apple-Education-iTunes U.” 30 May. 2007. Apple, Inc. 11 Oct. 2007. . 10 Young, Jeffrey. “Apple Releases Free „iTunes U‟ Software to Colleges for Coursecasting.” The Chronicle of Higher Education. 25 Jan. 2006. . 11 Menzies, David. “iTunes U Making Impact at Duke.” Dukenews. 20 Feb. 2006. . 12 “The Podcast Directory.” Podcast.net. 2006. 7 Oct. 2007. . 13 Paulus, Scott. “Companies using podcasts to reach multiple audiences.” The Business Journal of Milwaukee. The Business Journal Database. 2007. 7 Oct. 2007. 14 Prime Minister of Canada‟s Podcast. Canada‟s New Government. 7 Oct, 2007 . 15 White House RSS Feeds and Podcasts. The White House. 7 Oct. 2007 7 .