Its official. Podcasts are the new Black. I can’t remember anything that has taken off quite like podcasting has in the past few months alone. And if I may take a moment and brag for a little bit - the friskyRadio Podcasts have shown that it is by far *the most* progressive and forward thinking electronic music radio station on the planet. We were the first to do this when no one out there even knew what “podcasting” was. So yea, why be ashamed or hide the fact that we’re (ie. I am) fucking awesome.

Last week’s podcast was off the charts. We had a total of 1014 podcasts for a single show in a matter of just 7 days. Now that iTunes 4.9 supports podcasting, we have a total of about 3012 people subscribed to the fR podcast. Thats insane - considering I dont even advertise the podcast that much. In many ways - its a little too good, as I nearly ran out of bandwith had to buy more just to survive. We definetely need more hosting bandwith.

This is a good article about the phenomenon of podacsting and how even established stations like ABC News and NBC are also getting in on the podcasting craze. Just the other day I noticed that BBC Radio has started its own podcast. From freaks with nothing better to do to established media giants - everyone is getting in on the act.

But I stil think podcasting is in its early stages of development. Its a very primitive way of delivering content. Theres no authentication, no way to limit how many times a unique user can podcast a show, no syndication, no real control over your podcast. I would like to see those things developed… Sort of like Tivo for Radio. Its definetely not just a trend though - podcasting is going to explode even more. However, most people are getting into it just for the sake of getting into it. If it actually benefits the media giants in the long run remains to be seen.