The Reach - Podcasting and other Portable Media Strategies

This morning finds a well written piece by Richard Siklos on the current state of radio here in the U.S.  There has probably not been a time in the history of radio that so many variables are changing at once.  To Siklos’ credit, the writing is well balanced.  Large radio conglomerates, such as Clear Channel and CBS Radio are looking to sell stations and invest their cash in other technologies - whether that be greater web presence, HD Radio, or satellite.

At the core of the matter is the changing listening habits of the new generation.  He even quotes a surgeon over 50 yrs of age listening to his iPod in the operating room rather than radio, along with what we would expect - a college student who doesn’t listen to radio at all anymore.

Other than drive time, listening in all hours of the day in terrestrial radio are down.  Way down.

The US Wall Street Journal Online has an article today (subscription required) on audio and video search tools that are now coming into focus.  The proliferation of audio and video on the web, combined with the hope for becoming the next “Google” has thrust Podzinger, Blinkx, and TVEyes into the spolight, much to the delight of their PR teams.

Podzinger partnered with BBN Technologies of Cambridge, MA to bring their product to market. 

This is a market that has a pretty huge barrier to entry, considering the technical complexity - so, assuming they are able to satisfy advertisers with results, these companies that hope to become the new “Google” very well could.  The article mentions that Blinkx states that there is about 60% accuracy on amateur voices and near 100% on professional voices.

This proves to be an interesting space to watch - keep your eyes open, but don’t expect the original Google to sit back and watch.

Engadget reports today that last night, RIM announced the initial release of the their first truly consumer model, the Blackberry Pearl, or the 8100 in geek speak.  Hoping to snag one of these to demo at a conference at which I’m speaking later this month.  Expect to see in on the shelves or in backorder mode as early as September 12!

This model includes a camera, MP3 and MP4 play capability and other nice things.  That’s why you might see a long line…..

My continued discussion on Media Swamp with Giovanni regarding the Google Radio advertising platform that is due for release in October.  The discussion centers on how this advertising model can make a dramatic impact on the radio ad model we’ve come to know.  Additional discussion regarding the capabilities of MSN VS. Google VS. Yahoo! and the relative strategies for each.