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Podcasting Hits the Mothercorp
We’re just going to come right out and say it – we don’t get podcasting. Yes, we know what it is and how it works, and what mp3 player du jour it takes its name from. But it’s really just taking a pretaped file and putting it on your player to listen to a later time, no? Taping for the digital age. Why does that warrant a fancy name? And do people actually listen to podcasts on a regular basis? They must, because everyone and their mother has a podcast, or an impending attempt at one in the works. Even Metro Morning, who hopes “CBC Radio listeners will be able to grab up-to-date local stories and information from Toronto’s No. 1 morning show according to their own schedule.” We find it hard to believe that people are going to pick up Andy Barrie’s all-important morning musings to listen to them over lunch, but perhaps they will. Perhaps we’re just lazier and less inclined to listen to old news than the rest of the world.
Meanwhile, CBC’s got a simultaneous podventure in Radio 3’s new podcasting site. It promises ‘top-notch independent Canadian music.’ And it’s the kind of ‘less talk more rock’ podcasting we could actually see being of some interest to more people than Andy Barrie’s mother. It’s not the CBC 3 we knew and loved, but if we can take a piece of it with us when we leave the house each morning we’ll be right pleased.