RonVitale

The Future of Radio?

There's a non-violent revolution happening as I type this and as to whether it'll take off so that non-techie people will hear of it or not is still under debate.

I'm talking about podcasting. Webopedia.com defines podcasting as:

"Podcasting is similar in nature to RSS, which allows subscribers to subscribe to a set of feeds to view syndicated Web site content. With podcasting however, you have a set of subscriptions that are checked regularly for updates and instead of reading the feeds on your computer screen, you listen to the new content on your iPod (or like device).

The format used for podcasting is RSS 2.0 with enclosures. The podcasting enclosures refer to all binary (non-text) downloads. You can read the text description of the enclosure before downloading the item to view."

That’s a bit too much of a technical definition for me. A simpler definition of podcasting is: Use your PC to download grassroot “radio” shows in mp3 format from the Internet to your iPod. Pretty cool, huh? Not impressed? Read through this interview of Adam Curry (yeah, that VJ from MTV back in the day) and then get back to me.

He launched the ipodder.org Website last August and about 500,000 people have downloaded the software. The interesting thing is that anyone can become a radio star. Just create your own program (most home PCs have the ability to record your talking into a mic) and put it up on the Web. Presto.

But let’s think for a moment: Imagine nearly 2,000 various programs being podcast on the Internet. Just use the ipodder software to pull the content you want to your PC and it’ll download it to your iPod for your morning commute. Take your iPod and go. You’ll never have to listen to the crap that’s on the radio ever again.

What I enjoy about this type of technology is that the user is required to think. You have the ability to pick and choose from whatever you want to hear. With terrestrial radio, there’s only so many programs on the air at one time. And the music selection is horrible. I like to think of my music tastes as eclectic. Maybe I want to listen to an Indigo Girls song, then the Beatles, maybe to some Vivaldi, and to top it off, the Cowboy Bebop theme. Mp3 players allow their owners to experiment with how we listen to music. Create an “exercise” playlist, a “TGIF” one, or whatever your heart desires. You’re no longer locked into the same top 40 hits that radio stations play again and again.

Now imagine using ipodder to down “radio” shows with ipodder.org to listen to public radio, BBC shows, or just John Doe’s basement broadcast that he put together in his basement. The choice of being able to allow yourself the freedom to choose is eye-opening and revolutionary.

At the moment, there’s no business model for any of this. People are just starting to experiment with the technology, but I think it’s safe to say that there will be a time in which our portable devices are either connected to the Internet full-time or part of the time (saving content and allowing us to listen/watch while on the road). The beauty of the Internet is that people from any part of the World can now create a Blog or podcast with little or no experience. Sure, there’s going to be a lot of subpar content to wade through, but there will also be gems.

We’re at the start of a new age with how we listen and watch content. No matter if you use ipodder or Bittorrent, technology is changing the way we listen, watch, and learn. What I find interesting is how big business will take to this challenge. Already people are able to download the latest movies and subscription only content via Bittorrent. Will the NBCs and Time Warner’s of the world try to squash the technology or embrace it? Time will tell. I rather hope they chose to embrace it.

Work, Work, Work

I've been rather busy in the last week.  I've completed a Magic: The Gathering article for MTGSalvation.com that should see publication on February 28th and I finished another Magic article last night (that's also been accepted for publication for MTGSalvation.com.  Not sure when that's appear though).

And I finished late last week a "how-to" writing article that I intend to send out for publication later this week.

Also last night, in between coming home from work and giving my son a bath, I continued work on "The Coin Collector" (a fantasy short story).  I have a lot of work to put into this.  I'm only about 1,400 words into teh story and it's not going as well as I would like.  I'm having a hard time getting into the correct descriptive mood to write what I see happening in my mind's eye.  But at this point, I just want to capture what happens in the story and then I can go back and re-write.

What about the novel you ask?  "Amelion's Song" is finished and I've put it aside while my wife goes through and gives it a read.  I'd like to have some emotional distance from the book before I sit back down and re-write it.  There's some decisions I will need to make about characters and plot lines that I'd rather not make yet.  I need some time to let the ideas all simmer in my unconscious mind. 

SFWoE Contest: Placed Fifth

Just wanted to write this down. As fate would have it, I started wondering why I had not received notification about the SFWoE (Science Fiction Writers of Earth) contest I had entered back in November 2004.

Late this evening I received notification that my story "Toynbee's Gate" placed fifth out of 143 entries. No, I didn't win any of the money but I was pleased to crack the top five.

I've been informed that I will be receiving a letter that will enable me to submit other stories to the 2005 contest.

I have one other story out in a contest and I also sent out my story "Follow Me" to another paying online Website.

In the meantime, I need to gather my strength (and get over being sick with a stomach virus) and start work again on my novel "Amelion's Song."

Just wanted to share a small bit of good news.

For more information, visit the SFWoE Website.