There’s a revolution in audio technology taking place in basements and garages all over the country. Call it do it yourself DJ’ing on the Internet. Thousands of Podcasts are out there, covering every niche from music to cooking to needlepoint. Virtually anyone with a computer can do it, and somebody, somewhere might be playing it back on their iPod.
Thousands Tune Into Podcasts (WCVB/Boston)
Grape Radio has microphones and a mixing board — all of the telltale signs of a radio station, except for one minor detail — Grape Radio is not actually on the radio. Michael Geoghegan, with graperadio.com, says, “The magic of the fact that once somebody puts a show up, it’s automatically downloaded to your computer, I just found really compelling.” The GrapeRadio crew are wine enthusiasts turned talk show hosts, not just in the studio, but also on the road.
Thousands of Podcasts Available Online (KLAS/Las Vegas)
As Internet booms go, the Twin Cities’ “podcasting” scene remains modest. But local podcasts — radio-like programs recorded on home computers and distributed as Internet downloads for the iPod-toting masses — are beginning to proliferate. Area podcasters are joining forces, too, with growth goals that mirror podcasting developments elsewhere in the country.
Podcasters explore regional potential (St. Paul Pioneer Press)
“Rocketboom” is a Monday-through-Friday video Web log, or vlog, staged as a mini-newscast. Modeled on television yet summoned from cyberspace, each bite-sized dispatch shines a light on what the future seems to be: Whatever you feel like putting out there, accessible to anyone at any time, and (since there will no longer need to be fixed roles in this process) whatever everyone else feels like putting out there for you.
‘Rocketboom’ May Be Future of TV News (Washington Post/AP)
Vlogging is harder and more demanding of expertise than podcasting, and both are harder than text blogging. he eye of the video camera is cold and unforgiving, and the audience, even if pre-numbed by Neighbours and Home and Away, is accustomed to technical excellence. But the technology is fascinating and a further example of how the web is giving individuals a chance to rise, however momentarily, above the grey mass of global humanity.
Old blog, new trick (Sydney Morning Herald)
Yahoo plans to add the capability to import content, such as photos and music, from non-Yahoo applications to its new Yahoo 360 social networking and blogging service, according to an executive of the company… Yahoo 360 initially will allow users to include RSS feeds from other sources, according to Brody, who says Yahoo wants its Yahoo 360 service to be an “open” product. “If you have content anywhere on the Internet, you should be able to share it with friends and family through Yahoo 360,” [Paul Brody, director of community products at Yahoo,] says.
Yahoo Blogging Service Boosts Content (PC World/IDG)
Sirius Satellite Radio Inc. is latching onto the “podcasting” phenomenon, launching a show later this month that will feature a daily selection of the increasingly popular do-it-yourself audio programs. The move by Sirius comes just days after Viacom Inc.’s Infinity Broadcasting unit said it would convert a struggling talk radio station in San Francisco to an all-podcast format. The show, which Sirius was expected to formally announce on Monday, will begin broadcasting weekdays on May 13. It will be hosted by Adam Curry, the former MTV personality who helped create the technological tools that allow podcasting to work.
Sirius to offer ‘podcast’ show (Seattle Post-Intelligencer/AP)
Though many Web sites have long embedded search keywords, or metadata, tagging has a social component that gives it its power. “Tagging is something selfishly useful. It helps you understand and categorize something for yourself,” Technorati founder David Sifry said. “But I can take advantage of the fact that you and hundreds and thousands of people have also tagged the things” for themselves.
‘Tags’ Ease Sifting of Digital Data (Washington Post/AP)