Just a quick note – I just read that Sony is debuting the first-ever combination mobile phone and MP3 player, the W800i. (Well, they claim it’s the first such combo device, but I haven’t verified that.)
Anyway I’m intrigued by the emergence of this kind of device, because I can see my larger vision for podcasting starting to take root in reality…
As I’ve said before, one of the reasons why I don’t like the term podcasting is that the method of distributing independently created audio programming via webfeed has no inherent connection to portable MP3 player devices as we know them today – certainly not the Apple iPod in particular.
Over the next few years, it’s likely that we’ll see devices such as cell phones, computers, media players, and quality audio/video recorders merge into a convenient, portable, all-purpose media/communication tool. The sony W800 is one small step in that direction. Combine that with ubiquitous high-speed wireless broadband (we’re inching toward that, too), and podcasting is poised to become very appealing and usable to a massive audience.
Look at how popular cell phones are. Imagine if you could subscribe to and receive podcasts directly via your phone/player. Imagine that your phone/player automatically downloads your favorite shows whenever you’re not making a call and it finds suitable internet access. Imagine that you listen to these shows on your phone and use your phone to record audio comments that you can automatically send back to the podcast creator.
Wham! You’ve then got a highly interactive and individualized medium. It’s media by and for the masses, but it’s definitely not “mass media” as we’ve know it so far – and a good thing, too.
We’re not there yet. But we’ll get there. Just watch.
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