Podcasting: the best name?

Posted Monday, June 30th, 2008 1:17 pm by Dave Moyer

Since it first started with Adam Curry and Dave Winer (or should I say Dave Whiner) a few years ago, the medium of “podcasting” has grown in leaps and bounds, starting to work its’ way into the lexicon of the average Joe. If you’re unfamiliar with the basic concept, podcasts are, in essence, audio files distributed over RSS feeds (Real Simple Syndication). Users can subscribe to these feeds in an RSS client or a client specifically designed for podcasts, often referred to as a “podcatcher”. Every time a new episode is added, the feed reader automatically downloads the show for a user to put on their iPod (hence the ‘pod’ prefix) or mp3 player, listen on their computer, or burn to a CD.

I’ve been involved in this world for nearly 4 years now, producing and running tech podcasts nearly the whole way. For over a year, I created, hosted and produced the podcast that became the #1 podcast on the internet related to the Neopets online game: Neocast. This show is in the process of being resurrected by a Bitwire Media property, PinkPT.com. I also produced many podcasts related to historic preservation, including the Historic Colfax Podcast Series in 2006. This show, created for runners in the first annual Colfax Marathon, spotlighted the different landmarks around this street, and talked about its’ rich history. It received over 121,000 downloads in the first 4 months of its’ existence, and counting. Through all these years, I’ve always called these shows podcasts. That’s what everyone knew them as, and that’s what I learned to know them as.

Not long after I got on the podcast bandwagon, the movement to find a better name for the medium seemed to take off. Leo Laporte of TWiT.tv proposed the term “netcast”. Others tried “webcast”, but that eventually became the term for a live streaming broadcast, either audio or video. TWiT’s slogan is still “Netcasts you love from people you trust”, but you’ll notice that Leo, on his nationally syndicated radio show every week, tells listeners to visit TWiT, where he produces podcasts. Why doesn’t he say netcasts? Why the inconsistency?

I completely agree with the fact that the term podcasting is misleading. The most common question I get about my shows from people who aren’t really tech-savvy is, “So, do I need an iPod?” Frustration with this question has caused websites like www.noipodrequired.com to sprout up, and videos like this one (my personal favorite) to surface around the net.

Why don’t I call my work netcasting (my favorite alternate term), and why doesn’t Leo talk about his netcasts on his radio show? Because podcasting’s grown too big. We’re too late! Radio stations have started releasing podcasts of their shows, and general society has started to grow accustomed to the term. It’s the same thing that happened to blogging. Do people “weblog” much anymore? Not really! This blog started out as one, but it’s barely anything like a log of my life anymore. Why do we still call it blogging? Why do we call RSS distributed media content podcasts?

We call those things those terms for the same reason that we still “dial” a phone. Aside from Steve Wozniak (who made a cell from a rotary phone), the majority of society hasn’t literally “dialed” a phone for over 30 years. Why don’t we tell you to push a number? Button this number? Because it’s burned into general society. And that’s a stain that has rarely ever, if ever, has been removable.

Podcasting’s got more than its’ foot in the door, and we’re too late to pull it back out. Agree? Disagree? Am I absolutely insane? Comment like the wind, oh readers.

photo credit: Made Underground