Adam Curry to Launch Podcasting Network
27 01 2005In pop culture, Adam Curry is most notably known as a former MTV VJ from the 80’s. Those of us that were a part of the early Internet industry also know that Adam founded, grew and sold OnRamp - a web development consultancy.
Since then, he’s been a poster boy (poster man?) for the blogging revolution. In addition to blogging, Adam’s on to the Next Big Thing: Podcasting (a phrase that he coined, actually a phrase coined by Ben Hammersley in an article for The Guardian in February 2004) (Thanks for pointing that out, Cori.). You can hear Adam every day in his Daily Source Code Podcast.
Last year, he and Dave Winer launched iPodder.org, a site that enables people to automatically download and listen to Podcasts.
Later this year Adam will formally launch a podcasting network. From a Fortune article:
Later this winter Curry and partners plan to launch a podcasting network, offering an edited selection of the web’s best dispatches and tools for neophytes to create their own casts. Just as blogs have challenged mainstream media, Curry predicts that podcasts will take on radio and satellite. “With podcasting, people can tune out the world and listen to whatever they choose,” says Curry. “In a way we’re really looking at the dismantling of the monoculture,” he says. Guess it’s a good thing he’s not at MTV anymore.
(via Steve Rubel’s Micropersuasion)
Is Adam going to supplant broadcast radio, Internet radio or mass media in general? Probably not. But with 4.5 million iPods sold in Q4 2004 alone (not even counting all the other MP3 players on the market) there’s definitely an audience that’s hungry for quality, on-the-go content.
My guess is that coupled with the power of the blogosphere, it’ll probably spread like wildfire - providing it’s easy to download-and-go. Simplicity and automation will play a big part in this.
Even Geeks (and quasi-geeks like me) are going to need the time-saving convenience of automation. I mean, I just don’t have the time to wait around for a queue of Podcasts to download and copy to my iPod, then pack up my Powerbook each and every morning.
That’s where applications like iPodderX come in (Mac). I couldn’t find a Windows app, but I’m sure there’s one in development.
Update: Steve just told me that the primary Podcasting app on Windows is iPodder.
Bookmark to:
The best Windows podcast client at the moment is actually Doppler.
Also, the first podcast network has been up and running since early December 2004 at The GodCast Network.
The podcast client hting is certainly a firebrand issue, and will be different for everyone. I don;t agree with Chris that it’s Doppler, but neither do I think that iPodder is perfect - I don;t think there actually is a *best* client; to each his/her own. iPodder may be the most common one, however, I don’t know.
BTW, Adam Curry most certainly did *not* coin the phrase. It’s been variously attributed, but most evidence that I’ve seen points to Ben Hammersley (see references at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Podcasting)
Thanks for the correction. Didn’t want to steal Ben’s thunder.