Old School Social Media Pt II: Podcasts

A while back, I threw out the idea that message boards are the unsexy, old school workhorses of social media.

If it’s true that message boards and forums were doing “online community” before “online community” was hot, then it’s probably equally true that podcasts were making media portable and doing “pull” marketing well before everyone went widget-crazy last year.

As a former radio announcer, and a former podcast cohost, podcasts are another older social media format that is near and dear to my heart, and one of which I think we’re only beginning to tap the potential value.

As Jason recently wrote, podcasting is not only still going strong–there are some companies who are finding creative new ways to use podcasts to enhance corporate sites.

Podcasting–producing serialized audio and/or video content distributed via RSS–is simple enough to qualify for a Common Craft “In Plain English” video.

But it’s also an element of social media that is rapidly maturing.  The LA Times recently wrote about the first “new season” of web series: 

“But this month and next, there’s a critical mass approaching: Hollywood is bringing out what you might call the first “new season” of spiffy, corporate-backed Web series designed to be watched on your computer.”

Welcome to podcasting 2.0.  

As this year’s fall television season launches this month, I can’t help but think back to last year’s WGA strike.  As the Common Craft video illustrates, podcasting allows amateur producers to bypass the broadcast media and find an audience–assuming they have the time, talent and savvy to produce and promote a quality show.  It seems like more and more, the professional talent in Hollywood is recognizing the value of new media.  

So I’m taking the discussion to you now, in the comments.   Do you believe podcasting has achieved mainstream penetration, or will soon?  What podcasts do you subscribe to OUTSIDE the tech/social media bubble?  Do you know of any company that is using podcasting in creative or innovative ways?

img courtesy of rvthomas on sxc