If you aren’t confused, re: Farmers in Appalachian Valleys, then I’ll appreciate your help – ’cause I am confused. You see, I have never written about Appalachain Valley farmers and press releases (have I?), but apparently Stowe Boyd thinks I did.

The title of this post is but part of a comment left by Stowe Boyd on the post, Blogs are Soma to So Many. At least he liked the metaphor – sort of. His comment is in blockquotes below. I respond.

Stowe Boyd: I think the metaphor is pretty, but misleading. You could make the case that anything that any group advocates is like Soma. I don’t buy it. Blogging is not like taking an anti-depressant. It is (at a physical level) a collection of tools for web publilshing, and (at the societal level) a social medium through which we gain understanding of the world. Not a drug.

Actually, my intention re: the use of the metaphor is as follows.

The assertion that blogging will right the wrongs of poor corporate and organizational communication with stakeholders gives blog enthusiasts solace. Enthusiasts hope and believe that social media’s conversational form will bring relief to the distress of poor customer service and customer relationship marketing / management. So, it is the idea of a blog revolution that serves as your soma. You embrace it as something that will make society and corporations, for instance, co-exist in harmony. And, you seem to expect us to get in line – quick.

I agree that blogging is a medium, but I’m a little surprised that you used that term. Isn’t “place” or “space” the blog-speak appropriate term, along with “people” instead of audience? I wouldn’t want you to be drummed out of the Blog Thought Leaders Club. (See David Weinberger’s JOHO the blog, your own reference to Doc Searls, Dan Gillmor’s The Former Audience Joins the Party, and Jay Rosen’s The People Formerly Know as the Audience.)

Those enthusiasts are, after all, creating waffle words or jargon. (See Milton Friedman.) But, wasn’t this supposed to be the movement that did away with required appropriate norms of speech and definitions. Isn’t it the movement that frees all to speak in their own voice? The implication being, if you don’t subscribe to the dogma, “you don’t get it.” I think Stowe Boyd used that phrase.

Stowe Boyd: Your argument boils down to the fact that established mechanisms of PR have been baked into law and other conventions, and therefore blogging — which wasn’t foreseen when those where codified — shouldn’t be used in place of old timey ideas like press releases distributed by newswire services. I have suggested that we could work collectively to get these conventions, or laws, if necessary, changed.

No, my argument is two-fold. But, yes … we can work to change the old laws. However, it will take a lot of time.

First, you fail to do research in advance of your claims, because if you had, you would have known that there are many more legal reasons – alone – to use traditional news releases. And those required practices cannot be achieved via blogs. I will, if you wish, go into the whole reality that PR is much more than media relations, publicity and press agentry. But, I get the feeling you think that’s all it is.

Second, I assert that you make bold sweeping claims about using blogs instead of news releases, yet you fail to recognize the scope and breadth of PR practice in the world. I suggest to you that many, if not most, of these PR practitioners – the ones I believe you care not to acknowledge – cannot necessarily reach their publics / audiences /people via blogs or any online media. At least not now, anyway. In the future, maybe. Now, nope – not all. At best, they should only use blogs and online as one aspect of a communication mix.

An example of a broad sweeping claim? How about your recent post:

Jack Welch on Corporate Blogging: Just be authentic. Be clear in your vision, and have one message and one view that are authentic. I worked somewhere once where they had different messages for employees, analysts and the press. There should be only one message for everyone, and fight like hell to get that message across everywhere you go.

Stowe Boyd: I don’t how you can do this today without blogging, do you?

I hope you realize that it is possible to be genuine … authentic – without a blog. On television, Walter Cronkite, Ophra Winfrey and even Bill O’Reilly have convinced their believers / followers that they are being authentic. On radio, Paul Harvey and Larry King pulled it off. Even Don Imus is believed to be authentic. In print, Maureen Dowd and Thomas Friedman have done it. So have Paul Krugman and Frank Rich. And you and I both know that local columnists have done it for years. In the military, Ernie Pyle was certainly authentic … and heck, even Gomer Pyle was embraced as authentic by his fans. From the pulpit and on TV, Bishop Sheen and Mother Angelica have accomplished the feat in their respective generations. Come to think of it, authenticity can be achieved going door to door. Alfred C. Fuller started doing it in 1906 selling brushes.

Now you and I may not think they are authentic, I don’t know. But we both know that their audiences – the people they interact(ed) with truly believed they were/are authentic. And, gee. I don’t think any of them ever had a blog. I could go on with many other examples, ya’ know.

Stowe Boyd: But no, let’s instead just keep the status quo. I hear nothing more than “Get a horse!” style kvetching, here.

Well, you may only hear that, but hearing and listening are two different things. I don’t like the status quo, but I realize that it is sometimes all you have – for awhile. Change takes time. It cannot be forced.

I’m not kvetching. I’m reciting reality and facts. I am suggesting to you (practically begging you) to listen to, talk to with, the people you choose to berate (“Don’t get it“) and offer ill-advice. Why? So that you may learn what the realities of their world (public relations and marketing communications) is and how they must deal with that reality. (By the way, do you realize that Shel wrote the first book – Online PR Strategies? It is used in business school marketing classes.)

Stowe Boyd: And, oh, by te (sic) way, the idea that PR folks are communicating directly to farmers in Appalachian valleys through press releases is patently crazy. PR is principally directed to media: newspapers, et al. And they all have internet now, even if they are in Boondocks LA or wherever.

OK, I have to admit, I’m stumped to discern where in the world you pulled the “farmers in Appalachian valleys” line from, but I’ll address that, too. You want “patently crazy”? You offer it.

Are you aware that:

Fifty-four percent of all U.S. farms own or lease a computer, up from 50 percent in 2001. Farms using computers for their farm business increased from 29 percent in 2001 to 30 percent in 2003. It appears that computer usage, ownership and Internet access on farms have begun to level off. (Source: USDA report from NASS – 28th July 2003, referenced at the Pig Site. Love that name. Those swine farmers do their research.)

And, I did an interesting thing, re: the Appalachian farmers, and Appalachia overall … I called the ARC – Appalachian Regional Commission – and visited their Web site (they don’t have a blog, sorry). ARC is tasked with economic development in the vast area of Appalachia ranging from Mississippi and Alabama all the way up to New York and Pennsylvania. Their role includes developing better connectivity to rural areas for business development, distance learning and overall education.

You know what I found?

Links to the future reports – 2000 and an update from 2004 (based on 2002 data) and other reports.

There is even this PDF file of the Information Age Appalachia report from the Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC).

Now, in there you will see that even broadband (cable and DSL) access is limited. ARC does not have statistics on phone service availability, as the FCC compiles that in their Wireline Competition Bureau Statistical Reports (formerly FCC-State Link).

Suffice to say, regarding phone service, the ARC suggests that most people in Appalachia have phones (and thereby, possible access to dialup). Perhaps +95 percent have phones. Now, that doesn’t mean they have internet service. You see, there are not sufficient statistics (that I can find – and I asked ARC) on availability of ISP services in the broad areas of Appalachia.

Oh, and about that broadband access – for using YouTube and other social media networks requiring great internet access – the ARC says beware. The statistics compiled by the FCC – re: availability – is greatly over stated. Why? Well, in their sampling, if there was only one person in the area (defined by zip code) with broadband access of any kind, the FCC counted the whole county as having broadband access. Not very trustworthy statistics, are they. Gee, the swine farmers seem to be doing a better job. Bad FCC!

Now, the ARC is doing great work. They also realize they have a long way to go. They are trying to encourage thinking about planning – like laying of conduit and ethernet cables in new construction (buildings, roads, etc), but only where it makes sense – economic sense for the developers and phone/cable/ISP companies. That’s just a small part of what they are doing, but I think you get the point.

All that to say, Stowe, your claim that news releases to print publications in order to reach farmers (and others) is “patently crazy” is — well, “patently crazy.” Um, it is the print and broadcast mediums (radio/TV) that still seem to have the edge in Appalachia.

Guess how you reach them?

Well, I would suggest a mix of traditional tactics and perhaps online – all in a strategy that mixes the right approach for each media outlet / market.

Finally, when you state, “PR is principally directed to media: newspapers, et al.”, you reveal how little you know about public relations and marketing communications. I’m not suggesting that you, “Don’t get it”, because I think you get a lot. Still, Shel has a book. You might want to read it. If you want a copy, leave a comment. I’ll send you one.

OK, I’ve been a little snarky. I apologize. I’m really not trying to fight with you, Stowe. I’m begging you to at least try and see it from other sides of the discussion. There are many sides, you know. I promise not to come and try to tell you how to run your startups.

And, while we agree on medium, Todd Defren reminds us all that it is the message that matters most. But, then … you know that, don’t you? /Message

So, there ya’ go.

If you are going to read one book about the events of November 22, it might as well be this one. When the News Went Live: Dallas 1963 (Hardcover), by Bob Huffaker, Bill Mercer, George Phenix, Wes Wise.

It is a great book.

The stories of these four men are quite remarkable. Students, they were – for the most part – just starting out in their careers. Imagine that for a moment. Powerful stories.

Excerpt from the Publishers Weekly review of the book:

Before November 22, 1963, people depended on the morning or afternoon newspaper for their news. But once Kennedy was shot, America turned to television for up-to-the-minute reports—most of which were supplied that fatal weekend by Huffaker, Mercer, Phenix and Wise of Dallas’s KRLD, a CBS affiliate. As Huffaker explains, back then a TV reporter had to be able to do everything, from getting the scoop at the scene to writing the piece and reading it on the air. Mercer describes the huge sound cameras they’d lug, with film that they’d have to process and edit in time for the next newscast. As each of the authors gives his account of the segment of the Kennedy assassination he was most involved with—the race to get the injured president to the hospital, Oswald’s flight and capture, Ruby’s shooting of Oswald and Ruby’s trial—he opens a window into that earlier era of broadcast history. In the conclusion, the contributors make comparisons to today’s “embedded” reporters. One big difference emerges: in 1963, the KRLD crew had a whole nation awaiting their latest report.

You have got to go follow this story.

Students at Gallaudet University are protesting. No, not just carrying signs and such. They have taken over College Hall on campus. It is the 1960′s in D.C.

The Washington Post (radio) has an interview with some of the students and faculty.

“Now with us this morning through their sign language interpreters (Emphasis is mine.) are LaToya Plummer, a student at Gallaudet University, and one of the faculty members, Dr. Jeff Lewis, who’s with us as well.”

Yep, a radio interview with interpreters. I’d love to have heard that one. The audio is actually there. I missed it. Seriously, this is a great story.

LaToya Plummer explained the reasons behind the protest. “Well, the protest is all about a flawed process for the selection of the next president. It’s not only that but the lack of leadership capabilities that we’ve seen in Dr. Fernandes over the last 11 years.” (Source)

One of the issues is audism. Haven’t heard that one before, have you?

What is audism? A simple definition would be that it is a negative or oppressive attitude towards deaf people by either deaf or hearing people and organizations, and a failure to accomodate them. People who have audist attutides (sic) are considered to be audists. For example, the refusal or failure to use sign language in the presence of a sign language-dependent person is considered audism. (Source)

The following excerpt kind of says it all with regard to how strongly the students feel about this issue:

Jane Fernandez is the president-designate of the University who is scheduled to take office in January. Protestors (sic) deny that they ever charged that Fernandez, who learned sign language in her twenties, is not, as some put it, “deaf enough.” (Emphasis is mine.) But they do say that Gallaudet is more than a school. It is a symbol of what deaf people can achieve and the president must be an advocate for all deaf people. The student protestors (sic) and many faculty members are angry that they were excluded from the selection process. (Source)

We need to follow this story and think about how you would handle it if you were the media relations person for Gallaudet. I truly wish I could be there. I even tried to chat with Erin Caldwell, who is in D.C., to see what news coverage is like up there. Erin, of course, was asleep. The nerve of that girl.

(Google Blog Search for Gallaudet and Technorati Search for Gallaudet)

Hollins University, a small private liberal arts university in Virginia, offers “women’s undergraduate and coed graduate programs with a liberal arts focus.” Hollins has “819 undergraduate women and 238 coed graduate students. From 46 states and 9 countries.”

In their first program, President Nancy Gray chats about the school.

Hollins University president Nancy Gray talks about happenings at Hollins and answers listeners’ questions. This bimonthly podcast is hosted by public relations director Jeff Hodges.

…focusing on exceptional alumni, new campus facilities and programs, and faculty activities, this podcast serves a useful purpose…

It is billed as a bimonthly podcast. I think once every two months is too little for them to build an audience, but we’ll see. Since I don ‘t know about their staff and resources, it may not be possible for them to do more. Now, a school like Auburn could easily fill one each week (if not each day) with interviews from administrators, faculty and students. A lot has been written lately about professors using podcasts for their lectures. I hope university PR offices start to join in, as well.

I like this idea. Just imagine how many news organizations would love to have this to check out each week, or so. A 9:52 production, the program is short enough to get listeners and long enough to have some purpose.

They are calling it the “Ask the President Podcast.” Many universities have had radio actualities online, in the past. The practice seems to have diminished as they go after more and more television and print placecments. Just my anecdotal observation, really. This is an interesting way to get audio online and easily available to media and stakeholders.

Now, a bold step would be to have some unscripted conversations between the president, students and faculty. Wonder if they’ll go out on the limb with their’s?

This podcast is clearly scripted. If it isn’t, then I’d be amazed. Listen and I think you’ll understand. But, the process will – I hope – develop a more conversational tone along the way. Hey, it is new. Let’s cut them some slack.

Still, this is a good example of how podcasting’s growth has begun to catch on in education. Check it out. It was a good podcast. The podcast is listed in iTunes under public relations. They also have a Web page devoted to the podcast’s feed and it features another podcast on creative writing, too. No blog, yet. But, perhaps that’s coming in the future. I’d love to see university presedents blogging … with comments on. Don’t know if any of them will ever take that chance, though. We’ll see.

Today, David has an interview with Allen Pitts,W1AGP, ARRL Media and Public Relations Manager at his blog, Marketing Begins at Home.

I, too, am a Ham Radio fan, but not an operator. No license or anything cool like that … unlike David.

If you’ve ever wondered where the term “Ham Radio” comes from, the ARRL has the answer. Essentially, it is the adoption of an unflattering reference to “hogging the airwaves” that was worn by ham operators with pride. Check out the link and scroll down to “Ham – “Ham: a poor operator. A ‘plug.’”

Thinking about it, the tie in to ham radio and PR makes more sense than any of us probably imagine. PR is about diffusion of information. “The spread of linguistic or cultural practices or innovations within a community or from one community to another.” (Source)

Ham Radio (spark gap transimission) at Auburn University, dates back to 1912. It even includes an initial broadcast from Auburn to Thomas Alva Edison. No kidding.

Pioneer Alabama amateur radio pivots around the electrical engineering department at what was then called Alabama Polytechnic Institute (API) in Auburn. In 1912 API alumnus, Miller Reese Hutchinson, an electrical engineer who served as assistant to Thomas A. Edison, gave a spark gap transmitter and crystal receiver to API. In that same year Congress approved the Radio Act, and universities throughout the nation applied for licenses.

For their station, API students erected a 150-foot steel pipe on the east end of Broun Hall and strung an antenna to the second floor where the set was located. Hutchinson arrived on June 2, 1913, for the dedication, reading the first message transmitted, a note to Edison at his New Jersey laboratory:

“This wireless formally christens the two-and-a-half kilowatt apparatus which I have this day presented to the Alabama Polytechnic Institute in commemoration of the first homecoming of the alumni. The president, the faculty, the alumni, and the student body join me in expressing love and esteem to the father of electrical development.”

Reading David’s interview made me think of other activities here at Auburn University, today. David asks, “How can amateur radio position itself as relevant when communicating with the rest of the world is as easy as signing up for an instant messenger account?” Well, at Auburn University, there are many examples of ham radio operation in education. The School of Forestry, for example, supports a program providing Remote Internet Access Using Radio and Satellite-based Communication Systems in Tachira and Apure, Venezuela. The program is located in Lineville, Alabama. Lineville is, um, well … a tiny town. The cool thing about technology is that it can free you to be “wired” anywhere.

Visit David’s blog and you’ll even learn that ARRL has a podcast, too.

I love history. Many thanks to David for reviving some historical memories from Auburn, for me, with his great interview.

I have been aware of Blogger/Blogspot’s Audioblogger and LiveJournal’s Voice Post functions for some time. Simple to use and free (except for the phone call). Now those are built into their systems, so you are freed from giving out your login/password to your blog to a 3rd party.

I recently began watching the wp-hackers (WordPress developers) listserv and find it quite informative. It was there that I learned of the following…

A new way to post audio files via phone to your WordPress and Drupal sites has now appeared. It is called PhoneBlogz. The downside is – they want/need your login/password for the process to work. Who is going to be willing give that ability to post directly to an unknown party, I wonder? But, you can create a limited access role/user with the ability to create an audio post, but not let it be posted to the blog, and this may be a workaround.

If they can come up with a plugin, that removes that unfortunate problem, then this could be a fun way to post snippets of info to your blog (length of possible audio posts vary in all of the options listed above).

I’m interested in practical business applications. Is there a PR possibility here? Ideas? I don’t know.

Citizen journalists (just as we’ve seen with video and images) may use the function and then one day an audio post will makes it to major media because an eye witness posted audio of some incident. It is bound to happen one day. NowPublic, for instance, offers the capability to publish news via a 1-800 number. Also, there is the idea of a citizen journalist posting observations of an event they are attending. I wouldn’t be surprised if some hard-core blogger did that this week from CES, the International Consumer Electronics Show.

Phone interviews could be posted. However, someone could also post a phone interview (with 3-way calling) and you would never know. That’s not too good, now is it? Think of the goober gotcha’s attempted by someone someday. That is bound to happen, too.

A radio station, with their own implementation of this, could allow listeners to send in requests, news tips, traffic alerts, questions, and more via their station’s site. Podcasters could accept questions and comments for inclusion in their programs. Shel and Neville have a way for listeners to leave comments for their ForImmediateRelease.biz podcasts already. They use k7.net (free) for their ‘comment line’ for listeners to share shout outs.
But what of other applications.

For news organizations, if you can post as a draft and someone can edit it before placing it on the site, then the process has even more value.

So, what tactics can you see this being used for in a productive positive way? Or, is this just another cute little toy that won’t catch on?
Update: Herbert Ong writes to share another option for consideration. Free (he says) for “service providers and businesses with less than $500,000 revenue per year.” Well, I’m thinking that covers a lot of people.

There is a bit of a catch, though. Read on for that. I won’t be trying it out because I started the sign up process, but it asks for a credit card and does not allow you to create an account without providing that info. I tried. So, I’d say this is an unfortunate, and common, problem of a start-up. Too new. Haven’t yet thought through all the ways to encourage testing of the service. It should be easier. I can see Herbert losing a lot of potential testers (not to mention customers) through this unfortunately clumsy error.

He wrote to me and asked that I look it over. I did. Although I see some merit, I won’t be trying it because it seems too ‘pre-Alpha’ in terms of setup and soliciting new users. It is also another example of the perils of pitching a product to garner interest and not having thought throught the process very well. I wish him well, though. Down the road, who knows, it may pan out.

From his site: For a limited time only, merchants who join now will be given a free account. Why free? We are looking to build a community of users and establish our own reputation.

In exchange, we only ask that you please provide us a testimonial and refer us to at least 2 other friends who can take advantage of our services.

From Herbert’s email: “KudosWorks (www.kudosworks.com) is a new tool for bloggers and businesses to capture testimonials and accelerate client-to-friend referrals. It is the first tool to automate the word of mouth process and to engage customers to create customer-created content (videomonials, audiomonials or images).”

Certainly, these two bloggers are two of the best you can read. And, their posts/articles take a pretty rational view of NewPR and how CMS is making inroads. They understand blogs. They get it.

Still, I think most all of these posts and articles fail to state the one point that would really make it true, or valid for the broader business community. All should say / add “smaller regional or national/international” companies instead of the broad and generic ‘small business’.

Why? Well, I fail to see the successful broad application for truly small business (a.k.a., mom & pop). Sure, there is a handful of examples. Maybe three or four handfuls. But, the PR blogging meme for small business ‘other than’ the one person shop of consultants, etc. just hasn’t proven true – yet. Can it? Will it? I don’t know. It may. But, right now – the proof isn’t available in sufficient numbers.

The problem? It is due to where most PR bloggers are coming from. Almost all are working in national / international companies – or, they serve clients with national/international customer bases. So, they don’t think like small / regional businesses.

I think that is, in a way, a natural omission due to their focus on PR activities.

So, I believe that if we can make the distinction – clarify, clarify, clarify – when speaking of where blogging / CMS has worked in PR and avoid the broad generalizations – we have started to make inroads. It is, perhaps, the broad promises of how it will work (without the examples to back it up) that may be a barrier to entry for many small business owners.

The last step is to truly identify and analyze a sufficient number of small business blogs. Anita Campbell does a fine job of it. And, she gave me “a talkin’ to” when I posted about Blogs as Panacea or Placebo some time ago.

Still, I don’t think we’ve acquired a sufficient database of small business blogs (other than individuals in business) to judge the effectiveness.

Kudos to Anita, by the way. She now has added a radio program to her armada of small business tools for all of us to enjoy:

Small Business Trends Radio
Tuesdays, 1:00 PM Eastern U.S. time
on Voice America network
Click to listen

Do You Podcast?
by Cory Treffiletti
From: MediaPost Publications Home of MediaDailyNews, MEDIA and OMMA Magazines

If you take note over the last few weeks of my columns and those of my colleagues, you will continue to see more and more proof that we are losing control. We are losing the battle for ownership of the media we create. The consumer is becoming a partner in its development by demanding what they want, how they want it, and when they want it. Sooner or later, it’s inevitable that the consumer will completely own the relationship. The iPod ad, the Nike ad, the Volkswagen ad… these will be examples of the future. This year might be recognized as the year when the consumer overthrew the throne. A virtual coup, if you will.

I, of course, think that this ‘losing of control’ started a long time ago. Perhaps the first real change was the VCR. Maybe you could go back to the days when making cassette tapes of albums was seen as so cool. But, those are minor compared to the loss of control going on today.

But the changes for newspapers, TV stations and even radio have taken place during the last 5 to 10 years.

Biggest changes? Let’s look at just some.

Peer-to-peer music sharing. The “sharing of MP3 files started long before Napster got popular in 1999.” (Source 1 and 2)

Tivo. In the USA, Tivo was “proposed by Mike Ramsay and (Jim Barton) in 1997. It “launched in the UK in October 2000“.

Blogs/CMS (particularly opensource, free). “The term, coined by Jorn Barger in 1997, refers to a web site that is a ‘log of the Web’, indicating a record that points to material available on the World Wide Web.” The first blogs started way before that, but 1997 serves as a good date to identify the beginning of today’s burgeoning trend.

Think of Kryptonite Locks, Dan Rather, Swift Boats, et.al.

RSS. It began in 1996 [Web RSS (Syndication) History], or in 1997 [The Evolution of RSS], depending upon which version of the story you prefer. Short story, which I’m sure would draw many differing views, is that Ramanathan Guha pioneered the concept/process. Dave Winer, an early adopter of the process, went on to refine and evangelize the present day process and practice.

Internet. The real innovation. Listed as #1 in CNN’s “Top 25: Innovations”, the internet – as we popularly refer to it today, is only about 15 years old.

Although he doesn’t accept the title of inventor of the internet (but did accept some prize money for it ), the title is given to:

“British software consultant Tim Berners-Lee. Frustrated by the multitude of information systems requiring complicated access, Berners-Lee fashioned a universal one that made information readily available.

He created HTML (hypertext markup language) and its rules of usage (HTTP, hypertext transfer protocol) and in 1991 unveiled the World Wide Web, making no money from any of them.”

Bottom line: consumers rule because they are now producers, broadcasters (podcasters/shoutcasters/vidbloggers), publishers/editors and – very capable of being loud critics. Ah, technology.

An op-ed by Douglas MacKinnon, press secretary to former U.S. Sen. Bob Dole from 1998 to 2003, was published at chicagotribune.com on May 8, 2005.

This is a great editorial and everyone should read it. Then, write to every major news source: cable, network, print (they all did it, you know) and demand better practices in the future.

Note to the news media–with an emphasis on the cable networks: Enough is enough.

Your continual focus on, and reporting of, missing, young, attractive white women not only demeans your profession but is a televised slap in the face to minority mothers and parents the nation over who search for their own missing children with little or no assistance or notice from anyone.

So, consider this on how to kick start podcasting…

How about time shifting broadcast and satellite radio. Certainly this can’t be far away (maybe already being done). OK, it is … read on.

I have a Delphi myfi xm2go and it already records audio content and saves it for listening later. Well, with a lil’ software tweak it could record like a Tivo or VCR to get your program from their existing offerings and record it.

Satellite radio had 4.1 million subscribers as of the end of 2004.

Now, how about cars with such a setup, and your home computer does this for you via WiFi network. Overnight it updates the car XM or SIRIUS setup in the garage with the latest files for your commute to and from work the next day. You could already set your computer to record (digitize) broadcasts and put them in a folder to update your iPod/MP3 player. We just need an iPodder-like software to do it automatically. That would require XMRadio and SIRIUS to provide an API or code, which they may already be doing. Some developer out there will create the scripts necessary.

Right now, satellite has all of the major cable news channels in audio. With a good directory and the codes (like in TV Guide) you could set the recorder to grab it automatically. All those programs could be ‘time shifted’ in such a way. Satellite is already going to programs like Opie & Anthony, Howard Stern. Grab those, too. They already have CSPAN radio, so how about all the CSPAN TV shows. They could carry them, too. Grab ‘em.

Now, with the ease of audio & innovations mentioned above; plus, the already existing load of podcasts out there, we have another opportunity. What if these satellite radio providers created a ‘public access’ channel like cable providers offer. Our ‘friends’ in Congress, for instance, might require the satellite broadcasters to offer (as they require cable operators to do) a ‘community access’ channel. Podcasts could go there.

Think of the potential for having XMRadio or SIRIUS cut a deal with Podcast Alley, for instance. Or they create their own sites for podcast submissions. Offer them up as a means of free programming to enhance their overall schedule. Considering that they already have the mainstream options, this would start to grab more of those niche audiences.

This could be where podcasts of sorts really take off as they are exposed to an ever widening audience pool. These ideas might help kick start interest in podcasts.

What do you think?

Update: Shel & Neville will love this latest entry to the podcasting world. Paris Hilton Promotes Movie With Podcast

They have even taken the iPodder software and branded it with a ‘House of Wax’ theme. Who says that mainstream won’t embrace podcasting? Scroll down to The House of Wax Podcatcher.