In the Words of Aretha Franklin...

In this week's readings, we read a little bit about the evolution of blogging in "Citizen Markerters." It was pretty interesting that today's blogger.com was really the Roman's Acta Diurna over 2,100 years ago. Imagine taking the time to carve this message right now into a huge stone and hanging it in the public square, who has the time for that?...my how technology has changed..
In addition, the chapter went on discussing the invention of the printing press. movable type 1.0, LiveJournal, podcasting, and even TiVO. Probably the most interesting of examples was the creation of TiVO. When I was in middle school, I can remember thinking that this was perhaps the coolest thing ever invented. I was very involved in dance, so I never had the time to watch much T.V., but when I did, nothing ever seemed to on. With TiVO, I could record the O.C. AND even pause it too, just like a movie! Much of the success came from the idea of personal FREEDOM. Audiences were no longer chained to their seats during their favorite show and were use the restroom and grab a snack for an extended period of time (longer than a commercial break at least).

Another interesting topic in this chapter discussed podcasting. From previously taking an advertising class, I was aware that radio is struggling in a world of iPods. However, until recently, I was not even aware of podcasting, and was really surprised with the 63 million podcast listeners that are expected for 2010. Maybe I just wasn't in the know? But it doesn't surprise me that since these are becoming more and more popular, radio is not only losing their viewers to music on the iPods, but to podcast. Again, we can hear Aretha in the background screaming "Freedom," for the cause of this shift in technologies. No longer do we have to be limited to radio stations on a family road trip, we can now play OUR chosen audio.

It's all about freedom.

Podcasting for PR

This week, our PR for Social Media class discussed the dos and donts of making a podcast. To be honest, I have never subscribed, or even listened to a podcast before, I guess I just never understood what actually they were. After learning about how easy they are to listen and download, I'm wondering why I never knew this before...

Even after being introduced to podcasts, I was kind of wondering how something with limited visual cues could be useful in a PR profession. My brain was painting a picture that podcasts were just like talk shows with a few cute bells and whistles that were spliced in. But that was far from the truth. After listening to a few examples, you do not just have to interview people in podcasts..you can record professionals leading discussions or lectures, and use it as another learning tool in your area of study.

Podcasts are audio mp3 files that use RSS so you can subscribe to this podcasts (meaning every time you plug in and sync your iPod to iTunes, you will automatically receive new podcasts.) Because podcasts use RSS, the PR industry is benefitted because it keeps an audience up-to-date, sometimes even on-the-go. Not only is it effective with constant communication, it adds personality and edge to competition. Even though podcasts are popular, many people (like myself) have not yet experimenting with a podcasts, therefore it would be a great technique to make yourself stand out from competitors. It could also be a great addition to your blog. Instead of only conveying messages through words, it adds variety in a sea of text. Adding a podcast to a blog can provide a medium of communication for the audience to respond as well.

Podcasts are inexpensive and easy to make- I expect to see more and more podcasts emerging within the PR industry.