“Dan Farber has a great point about podcasting being a lousy name for Internet-delivered audio files. Podcasting as a moniker has been useful as a starting point for moving from a niche medium to a medium medium. Can podcasting make it to a mass medium? Yes, but alas the name may not. Podcasting as nomenclature will certainly become less and less accurate over time, beginning quite soon,” Dana Gardner blogs for ZDNet.
Gardner blogs, “To Farber’s point, we may need to soon drop the ‘pod’ part of podcasting in favor of ‘mobile’- or ‘cell’-casting. Because despite the phenomenal growth of iPods, the ultimate device for listening to podcasts will soon be cell phones. The only way the iPod will remain true to the podcasting name is if it gains wireless broadband IP support, in which case it’s a trussed up cell phone anyway. And someone other than Apple will run the network, no doubt. (Here’s a thought: News Corp. buys Apple and SkyiPod is born! Steve Jobs takes the reins from Rupert and Pixar gets a new distribution partner to boot! You read it here first.)”
Full article here.
SkyiPod? How about FoxiPod? And what about Cellcasting?
Yeah, News Corp. will buy Apple the same way Apple bought NeXT.
**For those not in the know: while Apple bought NeXT on paper, but it’s widely considered that NeXT took over Apple. If this were true (which it’s not), expect the name News Corp. to go the way of Clarus the DogCow.
“Hi, my name is Dana Gardner, and I smoke too much crack!!”
I don’t even know why people make such a big deal out of the term podcasting with relation to Apple. They didn’t invent it, just brought it mainstream
I think anything can be printed these days…
Rupert will be too busy running for president with Arnold to have time to fuss with buying Apple.
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Cell phones = digital phone, but we still call them Cell Phones.
Kleenex = Tissues, but we say Kleenex for everything tissuey
Vasoline = Pertroleum Jelly, but we still say Vasoline
I think the word Podcasting might stay with us.
So ya think cell phones will replace the iPod, huh? Read my lips: No iPod Cellphones.
I’m so tired of all these pundits who think they have the inside track on THE NEXT BIG THING. Remember how they thought that subscription based music downloads were going to be the future? Last time I looked ITMS was clobbering all of them. Now they think the cell phone will replace the iPod. Nope. Here’s why.
1. Complexity. My phone is already too complex with many features I don’t know how or even care to use.
2. Phone Companies. These minions of the Devil will do anything they can to jack up the cost of a cell phone/iPod. I hate cell phone service providers.
3. Too many eggs in one basket. The iPod is fantastic because it does one thing very well. My cell phone/camera can’t do either better than a dedicated device.
4. Can’t take it everywhere. My gym has banned cell phones, which is where I most often use my iPod. And I really like going to a gym that hasn’t got droves of women yakking on cell phones.
The idea of unifying the iPod and Cell phone is utopian and this push to marry music downloads to cell phones will fizzle out just like subscription music services.
IMHO
Furthermore –
Podcasting is a good term even without an association to the ipod – as in, a pod is a small encapsulated thing (think escape pod from sci-fi)
podcasts are small complete encapsulated bits of a broadcast.
Good name.
“Yeah, sorry I missed ALL of your calls. My cell battery died. Yup. Listening to Mobilecasts again. On the couch? But honey . . . “
Rupert Murdock buying Apple ?
<*groan*> .. now THATS a horrible thought …
Just imagine being forced to listen to Fox News on your iPod !
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This takes propaganda to a whole new level !
Wow, what is he smoking?
Pod is not only iPod, but also it’s a detachable, self-contained unit. Current TV (Al Gore) shows four to eight minute “Pods”, and the movie 2001 made the term famous: “Open the pod bay door HAL.”
Pod seems like the perfect expression for these podcasts.
We still use horsepower for cars.
The only way to stop these useless stories on the web is to boycott the advertisers of the offending website. Editors would fire lousy writers pretty damn quick.
Wow! People nearly getting killed for a $50 iBook! This was foretold here a couple of weeks ago. See: http://www.cnn.com/2005/US/08/16/computer.frenzy.ap/index.html
Anybody remember “Invasion of the Body Snatchers” where a group of people discover the human race is being replaced one by one, with clones devoid of emotion? The alien invaders were PODS!!! Don’t you people get it! We are under attack. Soon there will not be any real people left, only iPeople. Don’t scream at me, I’m just the messenger.
Podcasting has already become a generic term – much like coke. It will not be unseated.
It is, and always WILL BE, podcasting. Anyone who tries to change it (like blogcasting) are just jealous whiners who got beat to the punch.
Pod-casting, both in name and practice, was created by consumers. Consumers have the right to call it whatever the hell we want, Dana. I realize that, as an employee of ZDNet, you’re required to speak ill of Apple at every given opportunity, but people aren’t going to dump the name pod-casting just because you, in your seemingly infinite wisdom, don’t think it’s a good name. You see, Dana, it’s clever because it’s a play on words. The iPod is a great little device that millions of everyday people own. Pod-casting is like BROADCASTING (see the pun?) that everyday people can take part in. Get it? You did your job and dissed Apple with your little article, so you’ll get your bonus check from MS. Excellent work!
Dana Gardner is a dumb ass.
Too much time on her hands. My neighbor’s septic tank has backed up. I think she would be more productive shoveling a different kind of shit; so I’ll get her and my neighbor hooked up.
the asspod? as in this guy can kiss my ass.
If Murdoch/Fox has anything to do with Apple directly, I sell my stock and start using pens and pencils to do my work again, while burning every Mac I own.
never
Does anyone have a link to the “editors” of this simpleton?
Cell phones = digital phone, but we still call them Cell Phones.
JJ, mostly americans call them cell phones… or “cells”
By extension that covers Canada… although Mobile Phones or “mobiles” is also a popular term.
The rest of the world calls them mobile phones… well japan calls them keitaidenwa (keitai) but translated, that conveys the meaning of a phone carried with you. or “mobile/portable phone”
Kleenex = Tissues, but we say Kleenex for everything tissuey Again, the rest of the world mostly says tissues… even romanized Japanese engrish “teshu-“
Not sure about Vasoline, however.
In any case, podcasting is kind of a dumb name… but it has such a similarity to broadcast and there is a lack of any real alternative… webcasting or netcasting would be more accurate. However, i guess one can attribute it to the success of the ipod… until someone builds a better mousetrap.
Personally, ipod’s cool, but i’d love to have the new sony display with the ipod’s ease of use… and I don’t want to look like another white ipodrone either. The muvo has a really cool display too… pity the usability sucks, mind you.
without competition, the consumer ultimately suffers.
Also, how can ONE style be good for everyone. People have preferences. Anyone seen “The Island” yet?
Sorry, but I believe the headline from MDN deserves serious review.
“Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp. to buy Apple? (also dropping the ‘pod’ from ‘podcasting’)”
The 2nd part I have no real issue with, but the first part??
At first glance the statement suggests News Corp/Murdoch is investigating buying Apple Computer, which is clearly NOT the case – it’s someone’s fricken’ blog entry for !@#$% sake.
This is sloppy MDN, very sloppy.
If you were going for shock value you certainly succeeded. You also succeeded in schlock value to boot.
C’mon! Clean your act up!
JJ, while there was a brief time when advertisements for digital cell phones said “drop your cell phone! go digital!”, the fact is that digital cell phone networks are still fundamentally based on a cellular layout. Thus, continuing to call them cell phones is technically completely accurate. This would not be the case for, say, a satellite phone.
magic word “far”, as in “the curve of the earth only allows a radio signal to travel so far…”
The big thing about podcasting right now is free content. But what happens when the big guys start seeing podcasting as a revenue stream? Will you pay (usually exhorbitant) cell-phone rates to listen? Will you be happy with as many ads as commercial radio? Will you cough up a subscription fee to listen to each one? I think not.
Podcasting as a term is fine. It sounds like “broadcasting” and it rolls off the tongue. All the alternatives feel clunky by comparison. To me, cell-casting describes what I want to do with my cell-phone when it keeps dropping calls all the time.