As the Apple Turns: Scene 5265: Podcast Invasion, Day Three (7/1/05)

Podcast Invasion, Day Three (7/1/05)

We lied: we're going to mention Apple's recent plunge into the oh-so-hep world of Podcasting after all. Why such a blatant violation of a solemn promise made mere paragraphs ago? Well, first of all, Apple just started crowing about a new development in Podcastland, and we'd like to cover something timely without having to worry about never having included the backstory. And second, we're really, really, untrustworthy and horrible people. Seriously. We'd throw post-expiration-date Go-Gurt at your grandmother for a ten-spot. Yes, even Shrek's Ogreberry/Donkeyberry Punch. So stay off our bad side.

So, right-- Apple released iTunes 4.9 a few days ago, which now has a Podcast Directory that allows users to "discover, subscribe, manage, and listen to Podcasts" right in the application itself. iTunes currently supports over 3,000 free Podcasts, all of which deliver fresh recorded content straight to iTunes whenever new audio content is made available-- and thence to a connected iPod, of course, for listening on the go. The latest iPod software update adds a Podcast menu to supported devices, allowing for easy navigation of download audio programs and for bookmarking within a given Podcast, similar to the way it works with audiobooks purchased via the iTunes Music Store. Them's the basics. Got it? Good. Promise shattered, backstory complete, on to the new stuff.

So here's what Apple was crowing about as of yesterday: according to yet another press release, users have subscribed to over a million Podcasts in just the first two days since iTunes 4.9 hit the streets. We don't know for a fact that that's a lot, but hey, it's a million-- sounds good, right? And we've got industry insiders to tell us that a million subscriptions in two days is, indeed, a very healthy number; Adam Curry (yes, that Adam Curry), the inventor of Podcasting, reports that "subscriptions have dramatically increased" across the PodShow Podcast Network since iTunes 4.9's release, indicating that "listeners are voting with their ears." (And we all know how tricky that can be, what with needing to grasp the ballot between your earlobes and all.)

Meanwhile, Will Lewis of KCRW says that his Podcasting servers have been "swamped with a stratospheric increase in traffic," with downloads having "increased tenfold" since Tuesday, clearly indicating that Apple has "propelled Podcasting into the mainstream." August Trometer, who wrote iPodderX, concurs: "Podcasting is like cappuccino. Gourmet coffee was around for a long time, but it took Starbucks to put it on the map. Apple is like the Starbucks of Podcasting." So apparently we can all expect a minimum of six Apple retail stores on every city block, now. Just think of all the independent mom 'n' pop Podcast stores that Apple's going to drive out of business...

But back to those million subscriptions: the Podcasts are free, so Apple doesn't score any cash from this-- at least, not directly. But since "Podcast" is the hot media buzzword right now and iTunes is arguably the best (if not the only) mainstream one-stop-shop jukebox that can suck down Podcasted content and slap it right onto an iPod, the odds are pretty good that all this hype over Podcast support in iTunes will goose iPod sales a little, and iTMS purchases as well.

And just wait 'til we start Podcasting AtAT episodes as read by Sean Connery, accompanied by interpretive guitar music and background vocalizations by Jewel. Those guys owe us a favor.

SceneLink (5265)

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From the writer/creator of AtAT, a Pandemic Dad Joke taken WAYYYYYY too far

The above scene was taken from the 7/1/05 episode:

July 1, 2005: In addition to all full-size iPods going photo a few days ago, word has it that higher-capacity shuffles and minis are on the horizon. Meanwhile, Apple racks up a million Podcasts in the two days since iTunes 4.9 was released, and IBM says that while it could make a G5 that would fit in a PowerBook, it just doesn't feel like it...

Other scenes from that episode:

5264: Old New iPods, New New iPods (7/1/05) Okay, so while we were AWOL yet again (and trust us, this wasn't the last time-- not by a long shot) we missed out on the whole "the iPod photo is dead, long live the iPod" lineup reorg that touched down earlier this week...
5266: "We Meant (Not) To Do That" (7/1/05) So we feel a little guilty that Real Life(TM) has horned in on production so much that we only managed to broadcast a grand total of four new episodes through all of June (that's batting .182-- who are we, Toronto Blue Jays back-to-the-minors shortstop Jason Alfaro?), but our therapist makes a good point: just how guilty should we feel when the progress of Apple-flavored drama seems to have slowed to the glacial pace of a Department of Motor Vehicles queue on International "Everybody Communicate By Blinking In Morse Code" Day?...

Or view the entire episode as originally broadcast...


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