Dana and I have decided to take the week off from publishing a new show as we are retooling the show.

Next week will mark our departure from broadcast radio distribution. It is just time to go 100% online only distribution of our show. It is just no longer worth it for us to format our show for broadcast radio.

It seems like the right time to drop broadcast radio distribution with Wired calling “The End of Radio” as we know it article in the March 2005 issue.

It just seems like no one cares anymore that our show is on broadcast radio. I spent over 5 years thinking that our broadcast radio distribution was the path to success for the show. But with the advent of podcasting and the crush of new content online has forced my hand in abandoning broadcast radio. The time has come to realize that staying on broadcast radio forced us into making a show that is less attractive to an online audience.

I feel free now to create a show with fewer breaks and few if any spot radio commercials. I prefer to do sponsor mentions within our show. I am also looking at the structure of the whole show. We have spent many years on the cutting edge of online radio. I feel now that our broadcast radio show format is old and outdated.

Please send me your thoughts (robg@webtalkguys.com) on how you think our show should be formatted to fit with your listening needs in an Internet topic radio show. We are a very broad yet niche program and have been praised for having such a diverse topic offering. The question is offering such a diverse content a good thing or should we just become more focused on a narrow topic area. The other thing is should the show become more of an interview only format?

I want to thank you for listening to our show and we always appreciate hearing from our great listeners all over the world.

Napsterization of TV: WebTalk Radio with guest Peter Yorke discuss the TV industry crackdown on tv downloads with bit torrent, Firefox’s 25 million downloads and Microsoft IE7 upgrade announced. 1 hour (2-19-2005). Listen Windows - MP3

Phil Leigh host of Inside Digital Media clicked the record button on the other end of the phone the other day and then got me talking about my basketball playing days and why I started WebTalk. We also talked plenty about podcasting. Listen to the 45 min Stream - mp3

Microsoft Blogger Robert Scoble unleashes amazingly candid criticism of an internal Microsoft marketing team. Robert is doing an amazing job of walking the line on being real and honest about Microsoft’s weaknesses.

Robert Scoble, Microsoft Blogger post:
I am so pissed.

“Why don’t you get your non-geek friends to link to it then?”

The amazing thing about this post is that it is so contrary to my long-standing image that one of Microsoft’s marketplace strengths is marketing. I remember thinking for so many years that Microsoft was the top company in the world at marketing. Robert’s post is shocking to me. I wonder why some of Microsoft’s divisions have lost the marketing edge of the past? I have noticed on trips to the Microsoft campus for meetings that the company is just too big now to live on the cutting edge. I do still believe that very good cutting edge technology marketing does still exist at Microsoft, but it seems to be getting harder to find. Microsoft has been hiring many new people that maybe don’t stay up with the latest marketing trends. I know this is a very simplisting explanation of this complex issue. I think that Microsoft has become a typical Fortune 500 company and many of the other major companies are having a hard time keeping up with the marketing changes being caused by the blogsphere.

Robert Scoble, Microsoft Blogger post:
Sorry, if you do a marketing site and you don’t have an RSS feed today you should be fired.

But it’s fake. All of it is actors. No real people. No real point.

I think that the other interesting part of this post is Robert’s reference to this new Microsoft site as being fake. This has been the foundation of classic marketing campaigns as having very controlled messages and messengers that are totally fake.

Robert’s post will be a tough pill for a classic marketer to understand and convert to a campaign. I think this cut’s to the heart of the challenges in front of modern marketers. Classic marketing spin is just not getting results anymore and this strikes to the heart of the change that is happening at Microsoft because of the Scobleizer Blog and Channel 9.

It is also interesting that this marketing manager was still savvy enough to recognize that he needed to ask Robert for help. The challenge for marketers now is to reach customers with real messages that come from real and trusted influencers like Robert. Robert is an example of a trusted voice that cuts through the clutter of other less believable marketing messages. You cannot create trust as it needs to be built and earned over time. Robert’s post is an example of how Robert has built the trust of his readers. You could never hire an actor to get the impact of a Robert Scoble.

On this weeks show Mitch Ratcliffe was harsh on Adam Curry and podcasting, his bigger points are logical and make sense. To Adam Curry’s credit he has encouraged people to be creative and has spread the word. This is not the whole story about Podcasting though. As I have always said the whole podcasting hype is cultural not technological. It would be good if many of you who wrote can look past the hype and harshness to really think hard about podcasting for what it is and its roots.

Mitch Ratcliffe has been a guest co-host on the show for almost 6 years and he has brought thought provoking discussion to show listeners. While some have not always liked his commentary, others do agree with some of what he says. Thus he is doing what a good blogger does and sparks discussion. Mitch has done that here with podcasting.

The point of the show is to talk honestly and openly about the online issues of the day and sometimes that involves being very open about these issues as many podcasters and webcasters feel the same as Mitch on some of his topics.

You can be assured that Mitch is not jealous of anyone, these are his honest journalistic thoughts from many years of being involved in the creation and delivery of online media.

I want to thank everyone for being involved in the discussion and giving us your thoughts as that is valuable as well.

I have heard through Microsoft Blogger Robert Scoble that Bill Gates announced at the RSA event that we will all be getting an IE upgrade for XP. Internet Explorer Browser 7 Beta is coming this summer.

From Microsoft Press Release:
Gates announced Internet Explorer 7.0, designed to add new levels of security to Windows XP SP2 while maintaining the level of extensibility and compatibility that customers have come to expect. Internet Explorer 7.0 will also provide even stronger defenses against phishing, malicious software and spyware. The beta release is scheduled to be available this summer.

Microsoft has been under pressure to do this for months, but it does not seem like it will be a features upgrade as all that was promised was greater security in the IE browser. I hope they slip in some features upgrades like support for RSS, Tabs and better search integration.

I downloaded the new MixCast Live software onto my new HP notebook computer and recorded a 10 minute mid-week WebTalk podcast today. I just posted this new mp3 file to our podcast RSS feed.

Many of you have asked for more shows per week and I am curious to try some of the new podcasting tools that are coming out online.

I am now mobile with WebTalk in my ability to do interviews and recording from anywhere. Please let me know how you think WebTalk should evolve or change to remain competitive online with the explosion of other technology podcasts?

I am also looking at dropping all my broadcast radio distribution as it costs money in fees paid to the radio stations per hour. I also like the opportunity to produce a show or shows that do not have highly structured segments and breaks. Dana and I spend so much time editing for length to the second that it is just not time efficient for us to keep producing such highly structured programs. We like the ability to be able to go as long or as short as we want with the show. I want to spend more time in producing quality shows and less time being worried about length of segments.

Please visit PodcastAlley.com and Vote for our show if you like it. If you do not like our show then please let us know what we can do to make the show better. Get the new mp3.

WebTalk Radio discusses Google Maps, Podcasting, possible new net taxes, GoDaddy.com superbowl spots spreading online. We are also joined again by Mitch Ratcliffe from Red Herring “The Now” Blog and RatcliffeBlog.com.

We also speak with Susannah Fox, Assoc. Director and researcher at the Pew Internet Project as she explains a recent Pew Internet Project report on the future of the Internet over the next 10 years. 58 min. (2-12-2005)

Windows - MP3

This morning I got an email from Byron Acohido with USA Today who wrote one of the two Podcasting articles that came out today. He wrote me to thank me for helping him with his story and yes, I did get quoted in the article.

USAToday story quote;
Podcasters anticipate that the overall podcasting audience will continue to swell as the tools to create and subscribe to podcasts become more user friendly. For the moment, a patchwork of tools makes trial-and-error de rigueur.

“Someone needs to take the geek factor out of it before you can have a revolution,” says Rob Greenlee, host of WebTalkRadio.com.

This is not the whole story.

I actually spent hours on the phone and in-person talking to Byron about podcasting. We met at the recent Podcasting Dinner in Seattle. He attended and heard some very candid discussion on the state of Podcasting from a group of leading podcasters. I explained to Byron that Podcasting at its root is not totally new and that the connection to the iPod is both a big short-term plus and a long-term curse. It is interesting that this angle did not come out in the article. I also explained to him that I did not think that the big digital media platform companies like Microsoft, Real Networks and Apple will support podcasting as a distribution platform until it gets much bigger and when it does deploy will it be done the same way we think of current Podcasting? I think it will not as they all will build some proprietary extension of podcasting. I would say two of these three platforms are benefiting by the Podcasting movement and they are primarily Apple and somewhat Microsoft. Apple is by far the biggest winner in the Podcasting movement.

While I do think that both Apple and Microsoft would benefit in the long-run by building in support for RSS and Podcasting into iTunes and Windows Media Player 10. I also feel that these companies are not headed in that direction (opportunity for iPodder plug-in for Windows Media Player 10 and iTunes). They have been and continue to move in the DRM driven direction as they want to only work with major broadcasters that currently have huge established audiences that can drive subscription or membership business models. The major media content expects royalty payments for distribution rights. Right now Podcasting has no way to do this and thus is stuck in the grassroots and homegrown content creation market which has yet to gain the respect of these platform companies.

I have also sensed a movement away from spoken word content at all these major platform companies as they focus on music and digital video. Talk content or Podcasting type content is getting left behind. I do need to say that some at those companies are starting to realize that they have accidentally forgotten about spoken word content in the exuberance to chase the music and video market and will be rolling it back into the music and video services at the next upgrade generation.

This Podcasting movement is on the radar of the major media and digital media platform companies, but is yet to be thought of as significant. This thought may seem like a negative comment about Podcasting, but it is a reality check in the midst of all the hype that we are seeing in the mainstream media. Podcasting is an interesting and revolutionary story that exists somewhere on the rapidly approaching horizon. Though it does appear to be a revolution - is that revolution actually here and now? I think we are seeing a revolution in the mind about Podcasting potential that is yet to be realized.

I will continue this as we get closer to the horizon as the Podcasting or Mobilecast sun is just now starting to shine.

I think it is very important that we all keep talking about the future of the podcasting process of distributing mobile audio content. The discussion about mobile media is much bigger than just the iPod platform on which the podcasting house of cards is built on.

The podcasting name has been entrenched in the culture and news media and will not be going away anytime soon. It just seems like we need to start shifting the discussion in a different direction that is more inclusive of other devices and platforms. I think the name podcasting should be used to describe the iPod process only and the type of grassroots media type that it has been popularized for the type of content that travels on this distribution process.

I do think though we all need to accept the fact that mobile media distribution is much bigger than the podcasting name. I regularly talk to people who think that podcasting is an iPod process only. I tell them no, but then they always ask why is it named podcasting after they know it works with the Windows Media player and on all the other mobile media enabled devices. People are just plain confused by the podcasting name.

I also know that the major media broadcasters are perplexed by the name as well. I do think the major broadcasters are not going to want to use the name podcasting as the broadcasting name for there broadcasts as they are all advertising based and using a name like podcasting is promoting a particular device platform the “iPod”. Apple spends millions on media advertising and I just don’t think they will want to give Apple the free advertising.

If we want this way of audio distribution to really succeed we need start moving the name for this process to a more generic name like “Mobilecast” or “Mobilecasting”. This word phrase is much more descriptive of the process and is not linked to a particular branded mobile player device.

Just my 2 cents. I am trying to spread the word and spark a discussion on the issue. I know that I am not the only one who feels this way as I have heard from many podcasters who have quietly talked about this issue for months now.

I am seeing many bloggers post about being able to watch the superbowl ads. What is wrong with all of us? These are commercials right and I thought we are required to skip them as that’s what is says in the TIVO manual –right?

No, we are all required to think these commercials are now “CONTENT” of entertainment value and so now we are seeing sites like IFilms put up a page that is dedicated to streaming all the new Super Bowl Ad’s. Is that Ad’s on the iFilms site that is running against the Super Bowl Ad’s on this site. That is a twist, an all commercial experience. Now that is entertaining.

I guess that I will visit the site and help usher in a new era of commercials as content as it seems to work. All of us in the content business need to learn something from these super bowl commercials. Wow, brain flash on this one that if you make a commercial entertaining then it has the potential of living beyond just the paid airing.

Audio and Video Search Gets Hot Online; joining us is Suranga Chandratillake, Co-Founder and CTO of Blinkx.com and Blinkx.tv. Also discussed is the impact that Microsoft Notepad has had online, Online shopper pick up in-store and Skype takes Voice mail. Listen Stream or MP3

This week is the shows 6 year birthday. After being sick the last two weeks Dana and I will be posting a new show later today. Our guest on the show this week is one of the Co-Founders of Blinkx.com.

Thanks for the nice emails asking for more shows and being concerned about us.

We are fine, but we are looking at doing a complete show remodel as we are getting tired of having the same intros and liners for the show. So look for a re-energized show to come over the next few weeks.

I also plan on getting our archive directory finished with our extensive archives of shows and articles we have done over the past 6 years.

I agree that comparing the iPod to the Pocket PC is mostly unfair. The iPod is generally a device that is only used for audio. Which is fine, but others may want a device that really does more than what the iPod does currently. We may see other features come in the future to the iPod that put it more on par with a smart phone or Pocket PC.

In my view the only thing the iPod has that is significantly better than the better Pocket PC’s is hard drive space, sound quality and cool factor that comes from having a popular device.

Sure the Pocket PC PDA platform has stagnated and I think the key reason for this is that the Pocket PC platform has not been built on a 5-20 GB hard drive machine like the iPod. The other areas that need to be improved in the Pocket PC platform is sound quality of play back and the availability of a microphone input jack. It has a built in microphone, but need to support the ability to record a podcast on the device with a high quality microphone.

Dell is already making the Pocket PC screen display graphics as good as a Portable Media Center device. I guess that I am looking for an all in one device as I am tired of keeping track of a handful of devices that are so specialized. Then lastly, the Pocket PC or now Windows Mobile needs easier tools to get audio and video content into it. Then top it off with some marketing and coolness.

The iPod killer has been created. I think that I have created an OQO or Paul Allen’s “FlipStart” mini-laptop.

What would a geek do without Microsoft’s legendary Notepad application that comes built into the Windows operating system? Yes, it is a freebie and true geeks use it every day. I do believe that I use it almost as much as my Outlook email program. I would not be too far off in saying that Microsoft Notepad is a quiet killer application that is on the significance scale with the IE web browser and MS-Outlook.

I also think that without Microsoft’s Notepad the Internet age would not have grown so quickly as many consider Notepad the one and only html editor. Well, at least the coolest html editor. Most serious web developers will tell you that Notepad is the only coding application they need. The main reason for Notepad’s dominance is because it was and still is the default application used to view the html source code in the web browser. This enabled website builders to view the code used by others on the web and copy basic designs and scripts. This sharing of code fueled the explosion of html web pages in the early days of the web.

If you use a PC and you have not used or have not ever heard of Notepad, then listen up as this little application comes built-in with all versions of Windows since Win 95. Notepad does not ever get a major upgrade, but yet never needs a major upgrade because it just does text so simply and without proprietary text formatting that is so often a problem for web developers.

I would talk about how Notepad was born, but it is a big mystery. I have not been able to find any information on the history of Notepad. I am hoping to learn the name of the person or persons who actually created the best web site editor ever made. It is still the leading programming development tool and you would have thought that it would have been replaced by applications like Visual Basic or FrontPage. The reason that Notepad has maintained its dominance is it’s a free cross-platform tool that uses non-proprietary plain text used by all programming languages. You would think that the best text editors like Microsoft Word and FrontPage would be the best programming editor, but Word and FrontPage use proprietary formatting tags and this causes problems and complications for programmers.

When I get a Word file text from a client that needs to be inserted into a website, I almost always use Notepad as a filter to get rid of all the proprietary formatting that comes with the text .doc file in Word. Then I cut and paste the text out of Notepad and paste it into the HTML file.

I also use Notepad for note taking in my laptop computer and for storing passwords and other text information that needs to be stored. I even have folders full of Notepad text files. I love Notepad text files for three main reasons; user interface simplicity, transferring text between applications and small files size. Windows users: Do yourself a favor and visit a Notepad near you by clicking the Start button, then Programs and then click on Accessories and then look for Notepad in the program list. Keep in mind you are using a world changing tool. Even if you don’t like Microsoft, you should cheer them for creating this tool as without it the Web would not be what it is today.

While the iPod device is a good and well designed audio player. Let’s not just pile on the iPod bandwagon. I heard about this iPod craze at Microsoft a few weeks ago. I even heard that some of the top executives at Microsoft even own iPods. They justify it by saying they are doing research on a competitive product. Lame excuse. What is wrong with this picture?

Wired has just run with an article stating that 80% of Microsoft employees who own portable media players own iPods. While I think that percentage is hard to believe. Even if the number is 50%, I think this just points to how irrational people are about doing what is popular or cool. Microsoft employees and even the CEO need to support very good devices using Microsoft PlayForSure platform.

I feel that the iPod is an over priced device for the value inside and think that other hard drive devices are a better value. I think that the iPod hype and dominance is actually damaging the greater device market. I listen to music, videos and spoken word audio on my Dell Pocket PC device with a 1GB SD card. I have no desire to spend $300 to $400 dollars on an iPod device. I prefer to have a device that supports all media and can run value added applications. I just paid $199 dollars for my Pocket PC, $50 for a 1GB SD card and feel that I got the best value in a device.

See another updated blog post from Rob Greenlee on this iPod topic.