I have been wondering for many years whether the growing Internet music radio networks (AccuRadio, Radioio, AOL Music, Yahoo Music) would add spoken word content at some point.

It would seem to me that, if the larger streaming Internet radio networks want to compete against broadcast radio, podcasting and satellite radio in the long term, they would be building out a complete and one stop offering for future wireless Internet listeners.

Internet radio needs to decide if they are going to survive as a passive listening medium or do they want to attract and offer more active listening content. These Internet radio networks have a long-term opportunity to offer channels of a more commercial radio-like offering and generate more revenue. We all know that Internet streaming radio will be huge, but does the current industry want to just concede it to XM, Sirius and Clear Channel?

While I think focusing on music up to this point made some sense, it just seems like leaving out compelling spoken word news and niche programming on these networks in the future could be a mistake.

WebTalk Radio for August 14, 2005

Is Journalism Dying to be Entertainment
Are Major VC’s seeing profits in Podcasting
Guest co-host: Mitch Ratcliffe, blogger at RatcliffeBlog

What is the Pocket PC’s Future
Guest: Diane Dumas, New Products Editor,Pocket PC Magazine

Show Note Topics:
- Are Major VC’s seeing profits in Podcasting
- Is Journalism Dying to be Entertainment
- Google is pulling it together into one login account
- Is Skype Hype Only Beginning
- Andrew from Australia sends in a cool song
- Andrew talks about TV downloads down under
- Mitch’s trip to Disneyland in LA
- Robert Scoble interview at ITConversations.com

Listen 80 min: mp3 (32MB) and Windows Stream

Over at ITConversations I speak with Microsoft blogger Robert Scoble about how he got started blogging before he went to work for Microsoft and how blogging can benefit large companies like Microsoft. He also explains the fine line that he walks with upper level executives at Microsoft and the level of risk he takes everyday to push discussion on important tech issues that impact Microsoft. Robert does this interview through his Tablet PC microphone over VOIP Skype.

Robert also discusses the growing impact of many other Microsoft bloggers, the need for better weblog search tools and the need for podcasting search technology, coming audio tools in Windows Vista, Google banning communications with CNET News.com, how OPML may be the next big thing, how Steve Gillmor’s Attention.xml could help search engines filter real time information online, the future of radio and why podcasting is different from radio, how the blogosphere is evolving into something much more significant, coming real-time podcasting publishing tools and how blogging is continuing to grow but blog reader audiences are not growing as fast.

Side note: This interview is currently the highest rated program of all time at ITConversations.com.

Read more and Listen (80 min from 8-7-2005)