Questions for Podcasting Economics

- All answers by James Wrona

1) How does podcasting fit into the organizational communication in business, non-profit, and academic contexts?

- As far as business goes, podcasts fit in because they can provide advertisement for a product and can provide a way for companies to get their products out there in a new and unique way. They can encorporate commercials and advertisements into their podcasts. For non-profit organizations, podcasting is good because it promotes interactivity and it is much less harsh than text giving the listener the option to listen, as opposed to forcing them to read due to the lower amount of attention required for audio. In terms of academics, it gives students a new opportunity to learn. It is very interactive so the student is very much in control of his education which has proven to be quite effective in getting students to receive better grades. Very few students like to read, more students will be willing to listen to a podcast.

2) Why does the speaker say that podcasting extends message?

- The speaker says that podcasting extends the message because it is able to send across a message in some of the proven most effective ways possible: audio, video, and the Internet. The information in a podcast can be short and sweet or dragged on depending on what the content creator wishes. He or she can have more or less to say about it which opts for the extending of an original message.

3) How does podcasting encourage participation culture according to the speaker?

- Podcasting is different because it encourages action. It provides the listener with information and hopes the listener will take action based off of what has been said. Information found in podcasts come from a variety of different sources and then those sources are used to make a new podcast which will influence more and more and it never stops. That's what participation culture is all about. One can argue that the sole purpose of creating a podcast is to get somebody else to create their own podcast. Everyone has their own unique way to make something better by adding something to the original message, and that is what podcasting is all about: participation culture.

4) What are the three critical concepts of development for a successful media when the speaker talks about email, blogging, and online ad? Why does podcasting have the three elements?

- The three critical concepts for developing a successful media in regards to email, blogging, and online advertisement are: whether or not your listeners pay attention to the information (entertaining), the tools that you provide to the user to access the information (educational), and whether or not the listeners can interact with the information (ease). Podcasting has these three elements because they all, when put together, create a successful podcast. First, and foremost, keeping the attention of your listener is undeniably crucial otherwise you're talking to yourself. Second, the tools that you provide to the user to access the information are also critical. You can't just talk about it: you have to allow your listener the opportunity to find it themselves and look into it as well. Finally, whether or not the listeners can interact with the information is also very important. Like I said before, podcasting is all about participation culture and if the user doesn't feel like he or she is included in your podcast in some way or another then they will not be interested in listening to what you have to say. It is as simple as that. All three of these elements when used properly create a quality podcast.

5) How does the concept of digital media convergence get applied in podcasting when the speaker discusses the compounding media?

- It's quite simple. Podcasting is available on so many different mediums: whether it be a mobile phone, YouTube, the Internet, or anything else. A podcast can be a .mp4, .wmv, .mp3, .wav, and multiple other files. It's so accessible from anywhere you go and the compounding media is referring to how all of these different mediums become one medium ultimately and that is the podcast. But, it's available in so many different forms and accessible from so many different outlets and that is what the concept of digital media convergence is all about.