According to the 2009 Podast Consumer Report, 43% of Americans have heard of podcasting and 22% actively listen to podcasts. Apple alone has sold 218 million iPods and 30 million iPhones all of which play podcasts.
But with all these positive numbers showing growing support for podcasting, there’s still one major problem with the technology. There are just to many steps for podcast listeners to get content.
The listener has to find the podcast, subscribe to a feed, download the podcast files to their computer, and then transfer those files to an MP3 player before they can actually listen to a podcast. That’s just to many steps.
But there is a solution that’s going to replace all that by streaming the podcast directly to an iPhone much the same way Internet radio is streamed today. Instead of downloading and managing files, the listener “tunes in” and listens, creating their own personalized radio station that delivers content when they want it without all the extra steps.
Think about the power of this for just a moment. Don’t rush past this point. The iPhone has truly put a useful version of the Internet in people’s pockets while at the same time giving them an interface that is both familiar and easy to use.
If content is delivered directly to those listening devices without the need for wifi (using the iPhone), or multi-step downloads, or much effort from the listener, then podcasters can truly have direct access to their audience. This is what is commonly known as a “game changer”.
Here’s the solution I’ve come across and I think it is the perfect model example of what’s to come in the future.
While listening to end of The Public Speaker Podcast, an excellent podcast with tips on becoming a better public speaker, Lisa B. Marshall suggested that her podcast could be streamed to the iPhone using the Stitcher App.
After checking out the iPhone App I found that Stitcher enables podcast listeners to build their own radio stations by simply starring their favorite podcasts. I quickly found some of my favorite podcasts were already listed in the Stitcher category listings, and some I simply had to search for the podcast name. Podcast starred as favorites automatically became part of the personalized line up of podcasts that get streamed to the iPhone.
Podcasts can be arranged in any listening order and there are no files to manage or rss feed to subscribe to. Individual podcast shows can be bookmarked for later reference, and podcasts can be shared with friends on Twitter, Facebook, or email.
This is the future of podcast delivery. It has all the ease of radio but customizes the content to the listeners preferences and puts podcasters directly into the pocket of the podcast listener. As soon as new content is published, it is available to be streamed directly to the listener without the steps and delay of downloading and synchronizing a device.
Granted, until cellular coverage includes every square inch of the planet, there may still be cases where downloading a file makes more sense for offline listening. But in most cases iPhone users are always connected to the Internet so this is a very real solution for them. As other devices join the rush for mobile expansion, this type of content delivery is certainly the future for delivering podcasts.
Don’t believe me? Go try it out and you’ll see what I’m talking about.
Charles McKeever
OpenSourceMarketer.com
P.S. Half of this article was written on my iPhone using the WordPress App and all the screen shots were taken on my iPhone while using the Stitcher App.
Just this week, NPR released their own iPhone application which provides a sophisticated method to aggregate content from all NPR shows (podcasts, hourly newscasts) and identify NPR radio stations. I’ve just started using it, and it will help me find new content to listen to since it permits streaming.
Hey Spamboy, thanks for the comment. I’ve been using the Public Radio iPhone App for a few months now as well. I’ll have to check out the NPR version. The important thing to consider with Stitcher though, is that it’s not just streaming radio like with the NPR example. This is streaming podcasts that don’t necessarily have a connection with radio at all. To me this makes podcast listening accessible to a larger audience who isn’t necessarily going to jump through technical hoops to download files like what’s required today.
My next question though is will Stitcher eventually stick ads between the podcasts to make money on the content? If they do, then they should revenue share with the publisher to encourage them and support their efforts to do more. What do you think?
I have tried using the wordpress app to write long articles, it simply takes forever! I applaud your ability to write out your thoughts clearly using the slow typing of the iPhone.
I agree with your theory that podcasting still has not reached its full potential, even though it has been out for many years.