The future of much of our entertainment will undoubtedly be provided through online channels via the internet. Since this entertainment content is on demand, it makes sense that we would subscribe to it and then be notified when new content is available. We already have this system in place for podcasts, which is free content that is produced by enthusiastic producers eager to get their voices heard.
However, at the moment, it doesn’t conform to traditional forms of content, such as a movie, a television episode, or a music single. Given we are moving through a Wild West period for distributing content online, we may be able to look at the podcast platform as a window into the future for the way all distribution of content is managed.
The word ‘podcasts’ is an all-encompassing term that covers so many different types of content. In many ways, it’s a misleading term, and a hangover from the days of the iPod launch in the early 2000s. The term has stuck, and may never change. It all started with audio shows that were like radio shows, but prerecorded. Then came live streaming, and then came video shows and video streaming. The term ‘podcast’ was updated to include ‘vodcast,’ which is a video podcast.
There are so many podcasts now that one cannot even hope to keep up with them all. Just check out the iTunes store to see what I’m talking about. As a producer of a podcast called FiST Chat, my colleague Steve Kern and I have found a format in which we can indulge in our enthusiasm for the topics of film, science and technology, while simultaneously creating content that is simple to consume and distribute via the Internet.
The episodes we produce are structured versions of conversations we would have had on our own anyway. By putting those conversations into a format that is easy to watch, we have found that we can connect to an audience online that shares similar passions for these topics. And since that connection is dynamic, we can have conversations via our social media presences and even forge new collaborations for future content. After having produced over a hundred episodes of FiST Chat, we’re feeling well accustomed to the medium.
Although both Steve and I started in filmmaking, and that’s a field that we will continue to enjoy pursuing, podcasting has given us the opportunity to highlight our work in a way that we couldn’t have dreamed of even five years ago. It certainly would’ve been handy ten years ago when we were churning out more films! But alas, the technology didn’t exist back then for true, high quality streaming for the masses. Now that it does, we’re making good use of it.
I can only go by our own experience to say that podcasting is definitely going to become more prevalent in the consumption of online content in the future. It is the perfect way to subscribe to on-demand content. If it becomes structured, with perhaps the big distributors of movies and television getting on board and allowing subscriptions to their content in the same way podcasts work, we may just have the perfect format for the delivery of content online.
Podcasts – The Perfect Format For Delivery Of Content Online
Image Credit: [Daily Bread]
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