September 3, 2008, 1:57 pm by Tiana

As I am new to actually having or wanting to subscribe to any one or two podcasts, a few problems have occurred. One of the first, and possibly the worst problems, is that I cannot-for the life of me- find a good political podcast to listen to. The short ones are not piquing my interest at all, while the longer (1hour) podcasts are better, I do not see myself listening to them very often. This whole basic scenario is causing me not to sleep during my break before class starts. I am constantly on the search for a great, short podcast yet none has come to me. The second, less significant problem is that I did find a random podcast to listen to but I am not sure if it’s too short to be considered for class.

Now, still on podcasting, these issues have led me to think more about the direction I would like to take when I do my week wrap-up podcast. I have decided that a little humor will go a long way when I create my podcast. I have also decided that it may be interesting to have a “guest” who is not familiar with rhetoric at all. I think that to point out things about the subject that are deemed “important” to the average non-rhetoric interested person could create good results in my quest to find out how my lessons are really going to translate in the real world. I am a little more excited about the podcast that I was before…the class’s reaction to it remains to be seen.

August 24, 2008, 11:04 pm by Laura

Several aspects of podcasting designate it as a medium of the future according to Tom Johnson, but, for me, it harkens back to a former point in media history when like-minded people gathered around a radio to hear the next installment of an audio drama or the day’s news. While podcasts like Escape Pod may borrow some basic suspense elements forged by strictly audio triggers that are reminiscent of the radio soap operas of old, few other similarities exist between the new and the old of audio media. One of the biggest and most important differences, as Brian pointed out from the readings, is the convenience of modern technology, particularly podcasts. Instead of making an entire audience sit still for an hour around huge living room radios as they were broadcast to, podcasts allow a new generation to be entertained and informed at their leisure, on the go and wherever they so choose.

Research on such new media must look at the cultural implications of such technological progress. We may have more convenience at the expense of social unity. Not everyone subscribes to the same podcast, as evidenced by the multitude of options on our short class list alone. Social groups and water cooler conversations become smaller and smaller as podcasts facilitate an obviously growing trend of narrow-casting. Not that this trend is necessarily good or bad – I’ll leave the judgement up to future class discussions.

, 5:42 pm by Brett

It seems that we needed only a matter of time until podcasting became yet another available tool for any ol’ Internet user to speak out. This post deals with not the average user, but the international news corperation you may have heard of called, The BBC.

My first introduction to podcasting came in the spring of 2007, when a professor directed me to find a BBC podcast by Melvin Bragg called, “In Our Time.” Since then, I have listened to numerous other podcasts, and to this day, I find this program to be the most widely informative audio available anywhere in the universe.

Even if they like to spell words like “programme” all funny, those British have sure perfected the art of broadcasting of ideas and current events through mediums such as the radio, television, and now podcasting; however, if I may take a moment to rant about the ridiculous restriction they have exercised on Youtube by not allowing the United States to view their VODCasts, you would oblige me.

The whole idea of this Internet thing is to transmit information almost instantaneously with out paying heed to the previously bothersome hindrances like borders or oceans. I don’t know why the BBC has restricted our country from viewing their Youtube videos. I know there are simple hacks to override the restriction, but the point is the BBC feels their information is privy only to their country. It makes me mad.

Things like podcasting, VODcasting, blogging, or any other advent of the Internet should be available to anyone with a computer and a modem. Last time I checked, neither the United States of America, nor the United Kingdom prescribed to censorship like our friends in the Far East.

If you are like me and think that the BBC should allow their programs to be viewed on Youtube in the United states, then take this opportunity to make an angry comment about it yourself!