The Paradox of Podcasting – Even "W" gets it!

Podcasting has done what no new technology that I’m aware of has ever accomplished: It’s gone mainstream and underground at the same time.

I don’t know any other word to use besides "mainstream" when I hear from the White House that President Bush’s radio addresses will be offered via podcast. And I have no other word at my fingertips than "underground" when I read a recent Los Angeles Times opinion piece http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/opinion/la-op-mediavore7aug07,1,7300210.story?coll=la-news-comment that suggests that podcasting is the biggest tech craze that most of us have never heard of.

Here’s what White House spokesman David Almacy told me: Selected Bush speeches, along with the radio addresses, are available now at the iTunes Web site. A team of about a dozen Web staffers are converting these and selected speeches into MP3 files and making them available too.

Not only that, the White House has created RSS feeds for the radio addresses in English and Spanish. That means that anyone who wants to can sign up to receive the information through their RSS readers along with news and other Web site updates that offer this service.

"As technology advances, the White House recognizes the importance of providing content in new ways to reach new audiences to communicate the president’s vision," Almacy said.

By Robert MacMillan
washingtonpost.com Staff Writer

Full Story: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/08/11/AR2005081100695.html?referrer=email