Candidate podcasts, sort of
Tim Kaine, Virginia’s lieutenant governor and candidate for the state’s top job, has his first “podcast” promoted heavily on his home page. Problem is, it isn’t a podcast, just a downloadable audio file. Not that I ever liked the word “podcast” (it doesn’t require an iPod and it’s not “cast” in any way I can discern), but the word still has a clearly defined meaning. It’s not a podcast if you can’t subscribe via the RSS feed and, in Kaine’s case, you can’t. This is also the case with several mainstream media figures (Rush Limbaugh lurches to mind) who have launched what they call podcasts. If enough media figures apply the podcast label to simple audio files, will the unique characteristics of podcasting be lost on the public? No wonder the Wonkette dismisses podcasting as just “downloadable audio.”
Actually, Rush Limbaugh’s podcasts are retrieved via his own podcast aggregating software that is available at no extra charge to subscribers of his website. True, you can manually download these recordings if you wish, but the software does pick it up for you everyday as it put out. So, technically, that is what a podcast is.
Posted by Bryan on 07/05 at 04:09 PM
Next entry: e-Tailers turn to blogs
Previous entry: Balancing blogs' credibility