In today’s post, I’m going to discuss podcasting, whether you should go into it and the types of formats. Let’s hope it’s a bite sized, so you can learn this quickly!
History of podcasting
If you are of an age that was old enough or are well established in society, the phrase “pod” refers to Apple’s once iPod device. As of 2023, Apple has discontinued the iPod Touch, with their migration strategy to be the Apple Watch and Apple’s iPhone. Approximately around 2005, when MySpace was outdoing Friendster and only University students could get onto Facebook, podcasting was the it-thing.
Podcasts were initially audio only, and required a desktop or laptop using iTunes or other applications as there were other devices other than iPods. The app would fetch for the podcasts from the Internet and then bring it down to app to then sync it in the old fashioned hard wired USB cables.
Video Podcasting
In 2017, your humble Minifig newsie met Luria Pertucci (the artist formerly known as Cali Lewis), at the time (and now presently) is a “coach” for live streamers (but not for broadcast professionals, as that’s not her expertise.)
She and along with a former partner, had exploited the potential in the video iPod, that came out to market in late 2005. The updated iPod had the ability to play out (very low quality) QuickTime video, probably in the quality for a classic Macintosh the decade before, because these handheld devices were not in par to a PowerBook of the time in the beginning years of the new millennia.
Geek Beat – the podcast that Pertucci and her partner at the time were geek-related (tech and other oddball subjects.) Pertucci spoke on the Triangulation series on Leo Laporte’s TWiT Podcast network; that the production of the video podcasts was complex, as all non linear editing systems at the time were not user-focused. Their post production workflow was using Apple’s Final Cut Pro. The use of “Cali Lewis” was used for a number of reasons, with explicit sexism as one of the reasons she had later explained.
Mid 2010s – Present: Fusion of Livestreaming and Podcasts
The content and the format is little more, little less than it is today than it was in the past. From the mid 2010s to the late part of the decade; with the rise of live streaming, that one would make some speculation that podcasts were passe or loosing interest, but podcasts have exploded back to popularity and discussed in the mainstream once again, after a break of say 5 years.
While Geek Beat was one of a few video podcasts back a decade before – a lot of the video podcasting and or traditional podcasts are derived from live streams (kinda full circle to what Pertucci teaches or preaches today.)
Broadcasters like radio groups are attempting to embrace podcasts as radio talent like the Boston sports gabster, Michael Felger, would brag about “broadcasting is better than podcasting” and then you have companies like Wheatstone that doesn’t think their products should be down-there for potential customers. Between the arrogance of talent and vendors, and cheaper talent and cheaper products taking over, sadly podcasting maybe better than broadcasting to many people.