Recasting the Concept of Podcasting: Part I

Colin Dixon writes:  "... Early RSS converts saw portability was one of the key benefits of podcasting (that is, downloaded files allow for on-demand consumption of content independent of having an Internet connection, whereas streaming required a live connection). But that's all portability was - a benefit of podcasting, not a logically necessary feature of podcasting. In other words, once podcasts were downloaded to a PC, they could be consumed on a variety of appropriately-enabled devices - some portable and some not. It simply didn't matter where or on what device the content was consumed. ...¶... According to a recent consumer survey conducted by Bridge Data, the relevance of portability to podcast usage has been vastly overstated. In fact, more 80% of podcast downloads never make it to a portable player or another device - they are consumed on the PC (or, worse, never listened or deleted). ..."  Link:  Designtechnica.  Be sure to read the comments following the original posting on Designtechnica.  --Dennis