I really like podcasts. They’re typically free from itunes and they cover a wide range of topics. I listen to ESPN’s PTI as a podcast and I get to skip all the commercials. I download Adam Carolla’s radio show whenever I have a long commute, and because of no commercial interruption, it is a great way to pass the time. I also listen to a podcast for learning Japanese. I liked the show so much that last summer I interned with them at their Tokyo office. I got to see all the “behind the scene” effort that goes into making the show. I liked all the different levels of production, ranging from actual recording to all the editing, to the final product. Additionally, the company relied heavily on Web 2.0 technologies such as Skype and Google documents. Both those technologies are free, and because they were free, the small company was able to focus more on producing shows and less on finding ways to communicate.
I also enjoy watching online videos. I always find it surprising that as soon as some sort of “event” happens, say Miss Teen USA’s response about geography, it can blow up on the internet and become even more of a sensation online than it originally was. For example, Janet Jackson’s Superbowl boob-showing incident was made into a big deal because of the media (both in the sense of the “news media” and because of youtube, tivo, and search engines that reproduced the image) made it so easily accessible. Now I for one missed the actual incident when it happened live, and I bet most of the people who were “outraged” by it missed it live too. Ten years ago this would not have been a big deal, but because we have the technology to stop, rewind, and slow-mo everything, CBS go fined something like $500,000. I think about these kind of things a lot.
Brian, I definitely agree with you that innovations like YouTube have forever changed the landscape of our collective memory. I think it’s interesting that the public’s memory and attention are determined by popular vote, the number of times Miss Teen USA’s response about Geography or songs like Chocolate Rain are viewed. Do you think that media technology like YouTube serve as a well-needed archive or does it have more of an “I know (and can show you exactly) what you did last Summer” aftertaste?