Podcasting

Lab Exercise 8: Podcasting
As a group we found 10 podcasts about media and technology news on www.itunes.com. We gathered information about who produces the podcast, the format of the podcast, how frequently it is published, the intended audience, how popular it is, and commercial sponsors involved. My partners were Tim and Taylor.

1. Digital Media Insider-The Digital Media Insider is published on the Digital Media website. The podcast is produced by O'Reilly Media Incorporation. The format of the podcast is somewhat of a News letter. It is organized into different categories of News feed. The podcast is published quite frequently and was last updated today. The intended audience are people who find interest in technology and media and audio tips and ideas. I was not able to find how popular the podcast was or how many subscribers they have. That information was not published. I listened to the podcast and they did not have commercial sponsors.
2. Digital Media Tips and Tricks-This blog is published by Ben Williams through his website. The podcast deals mainly with new technology and digital media developments. This is generally when the podcast is published as well. The podcast is published frequently. The podcast is intended for those who are interested in new media technologies. It is sponsored by Coded Signal Inc. The subscription information is not available.
3. Engadget-The Engadget podcast is published by the Engadget website. The podcast is published weekly and is a one stop shop for computer and technology enthusiasts. Commercial sponsors could be AOL since it is the parent company of the blog. The podcast is distributed in the ACC format and the subscription numbers are not currently available.
4. Science and Technology Coverage-The Science and Technology Coverage is published on the PBS website. The podcast is produced by MacNeil Productions. The format of this podcast is also News based. The podcast is published multiple times a day and was last published yesterday. The intended audience are people who are interested in science and updated news. The podcast I listened to was about the oil spill in the Gulf. I was not able to see how popular the podcast was because the subscribers were not published. The commercial sponsors were PBS and the Knight Foundation, Intel, Bank of America, Chevron and CPB.
5. The Economist-This is an audio companion to The Economist and publishes posts several times a week which allows for supplementation of the print edition and website. The main audience of this podcast are readers of the economist who give offerings on news, media, politics, technology, and science. The Economist is supported by its own publishing resources. The format of the publication is MP3. The subscription information is not available and its' popularity is not known.
6. IT Conversations-The IT Conversations podcast is published on the IT Conversations website. The podcast is produced by the Conversations Network Corporation. The format of the podcast is group conversation and discussion. The podcast is published frequently and was last updated this morning. The intended audience are people interested in learning more about information technology and the effects of emerging technology in society. The popularity of the podcast could not be measured because the subscribers were not shown. The commercial sponsor was Audible-Podcast.com.
7. Cranky Geeks-This is a weekly podcast where a group of expert panelists get together and discuss the most controversial topics in technology news, issues, and developments. The podcast is distributed as an MP3. The intended audience are technology enthusiasts who enjoy a quirky and humorous look at current technology trends and news. Cranky Geeks is supported by GoDaddy.com, which is a web hosting business. The subscription information is not available on this podcast.
8. PC Mag-The PC Mag podcast is published by the Ziff Davis Publishing Holdings Inc. The podcast is sponsored by Brother.com and is published multiple times a week. It is meant to supplement the print publications of PC Mag. While the number of subscribers was not available, the intended audience is people who are interested in solutions to everyday technology problems and those interested in technology news and developments.
9. NPRs on the Media-NPR's podcast is published by NPR weekly and is a guide to how the media is made and works in the industry. The main audience are regular NPR listeners who are interested in technology news. This allows the NPR audience to examine new technologies and weigh the political implications of legislation and developments. The podcast is distributed as an MP3 and subscription information is not available. NPR is also not commercially sponsored.
10. HT Guys-This podcast is published by Jason Cypret of HT Guys as a video podcast every Tuesday and Friday. It is intended for those who are interested in the advancement of audio and visual technology, specifically home theater systems and HDTV. The sponsors are generally the listeners of the podcast, this creates a very communal type market environment. The subscription information is not available.

Final Summary
Overall, this was an interesting assignment. Finding podcasts that dealt with technology and media was quite easy because there was so many to choose from. Most of the podcasts were audio. We found a few that were videos as well. The overall general audience for the podcasts were all people interested in technology in one form or the other. The subcription information was not provided for most of the podcasts. And we came to find that most of the podcasts we chose are published frequently.