Podcasting Isn't Radio
...so stop acting as if you can make it so.
You know, I love a good marketing blog. It's no secret that I'm fascinated with various facets of selling and corporate America. I believe you need to know your enemy. And by en large, most monsterous corporate America entities enjoy preying on the consumer more than actually helping them. There's a thin line between "helping" them, and I'm not going to debate that.
What really angers me is how Steve Rubel suddenly has the brilliant plan to infect, yes infect advertising, spot-promotion, and product-pushing bullshit that has inundated virtually every facet of our on and offline existences into podcasting. Something that is so new, fresh, and pure, that to put a single ad into a popular show such as IT Conversations is like blood in the water. The sharks will be circling soon after, and then corporate entities will begin to sponsor, give money to, and thereby affect the content and direction of these shows.
Now this isn't to say that Steve doesn't have some very cool topics, posts, or insight. I felt it important to say that. But...
Clearchannel doesn't exactly have a good reputation, and they got it by owning as many radio stations as possible and then firing anyone who thought for themselves. By this act you find that the masses don't notice it as much and simply conform to what is out there. Podcasting is in such infancy that it doesn't have the bullshit that comes along with most mass-appeal broadcasting systems, but am I the only one who expects MTV to begin podcasting (brought to you by Motorola) their interviews (in association with Sony Entertainment) and now with live performances (courtesy of Virgin Mobile)?
Man, I just can't wait for this garbage to infect yet another interesting outlet of creativity.
That seems to be the real question. Just as any form of art can be watered down, censored, and awash with mediocrity, one of the most awful new words in our vocabulary can be called Podvertising, and I akin it to a rusty razor and your virgin wrist.
Does this mean that the amazing IT Conversations and Adam Curry must do this solely for their own well being? Must they get no compensation for their time? Of course not! But what it doesn't mean is that you must use podcasting as yet another advertising market. It seems those in advertising see everything as a medium, everything is an outlet, anything that can be looked at, heard, or felt is just another viable surface to place a promotion, and why not? They've been cultured this way. Our culture has been (god help the pun) cultured to this extent.
These marketing execs know not what they do, as it is all they know. But in my feeble attempts in hoping to save podcasting, I see the wave of advertising coming to throw mud on what is now clean, pristine, pure, and exciting.
I can just hear the screams of the few now. This message was brought to you by Joe Bob's Soapbox Company.
You know, I love a good marketing blog. It's no secret that I'm fascinated with various facets of selling and corporate America. I believe you need to know your enemy. And by en large, most monsterous corporate America entities enjoy preying on the consumer more than actually helping them. There's a thin line between "helping" them, and I'm not going to debate that.
What really angers me is how Steve Rubel suddenly has the brilliant plan to infect, yes infect advertising, spot-promotion, and product-pushing bullshit that has inundated virtually every facet of our on and offline existences into podcasting. Something that is so new, fresh, and pure, that to put a single ad into a popular show such as IT Conversations is like blood in the water. The sharks will be circling soon after, and then corporate entities will begin to sponsor, give money to, and thereby affect the content and direction of these shows.
Now this isn't to say that Steve doesn't have some very cool topics, posts, or insight. I felt it important to say that. But...
Clearchannel doesn't exactly have a good reputation, and they got it by owning as many radio stations as possible and then firing anyone who thought for themselves. By this act you find that the masses don't notice it as much and simply conform to what is out there. Podcasting is in such infancy that it doesn't have the bullshit that comes along with most mass-appeal broadcasting systems, but am I the only one who expects MTV to begin podcasting (brought to you by Motorola) their interviews (in association with Sony Entertainment) and now with live performances (courtesy of Virgin Mobile)?
Man, I just can't wait for this garbage to infect yet another interesting outlet of creativity.
That seems to be the real question. Just as any form of art can be watered down, censored, and awash with mediocrity, one of the most awful new words in our vocabulary can be called Podvertising, and I akin it to a rusty razor and your virgin wrist.
Does this mean that the amazing IT Conversations and Adam Curry must do this solely for their own well being? Must they get no compensation for their time? Of course not! But what it doesn't mean is that you must use podcasting as yet another advertising market. It seems those in advertising see everything as a medium, everything is an outlet, anything that can be looked at, heard, or felt is just another viable surface to place a promotion, and why not? They've been cultured this way. Our culture has been (god help the pun) cultured to this extent.
These marketing execs know not what they do, as it is all they know. But in my feeble attempts in hoping to save podcasting, I see the wave of advertising coming to throw mud on what is now clean, pristine, pure, and exciting.
I can just hear the screams of the few now. This message was brought to you by Joe Bob's Soapbox Company.
2 Comments:
So you expect everyone to produce great content and spend hours upon hours to create it, host it and use
major bandwidth, what for free?
Sorry but all things in this world need money to continue. Great Podcast will have many listeners, the more listeners the more bandwidth used.
But I guess in your little world everything should be advertising free.
When you have spent 12 hours a day producing content day after day for nothing and your just doing it for the good of mankind maybe your can spout your non-advertising ways. Maybe you shoud go to work today and tell your boss it is FREE day and he doesn't have to pay you for your time !
Your comment seems similar to anti-open source arguments.
You mean all these brilliant minds put this all of this hard work into the kernel and now they're just going to give it away?! Oh my God! What are they thinking!
There are tons of open source projects, big monster ones at that, that can lead to well paid positions with great companies, or simply survive on their own through the support of users. This is how I would like to envision podcasting through the years.
With bittorrent getting more and more popular, and easy to use, there should be no complaints as to distribution methods and how best to utilize a small-bandwidth podcast setup.
Post a Comment
Links to this post:
Create a Link
<< Home