Cutting the Cord - Podcasts

Cutting the cord is a kind-of series on canceling your satellite/cable service and finding your entertainment online, and podcasts are destined to become part of that. If you have been avoiding podcasts because you think they are a fleeting format, Adam Curry (yes, former MTVJ, Adam Curry) just offered Howard Stern $100 million to leave Sirius Radio and join the Mevio podcasting network. Adam Corolla told Greg Fitzsimmons he had some $100,000 invested in his podcasting operation.

A lot of people have come into the field recently, including political satirist and adept interviewer, Marc Maron, and movie-maker, Kevin Smith, who has developed an entire stable of spinoffs from his much-vaunted SModcast. And their success has attracted many sponsors, most of which are adult in nature (at this time). Guys like this are ensuring the format sticks around for a while.

Most podcasts are merely audio-based talk shows (of a type), though some are moving past the "limitations" of the new medium, such as Paul F. Tompkins' Pod F Tomcast, which is largely a series of carefully orchestrated bits, sketches, and routines. Like old radio, Tompkins is going for "theater of a mind" schtick which actually fits his brand of comedy quite well.

There are tons of podcasts out there already, and more podcasters are coming into the arena each day. I'm also about to start a series of podcast reviews.

© C Harris Lynn, 2010