Nickname: Chaz Rough

Review: The enhanced podcasts are truly powerful. I launched 3 enhanced podcasts for Churchill Downs, Inc. (Home of the Ky Derby) for the Fall 2005 Meet. I created an enhanced podcast promoting 2006 derby merchandise with a hot link to the Web page. I also had a hot link for anyone interested in becoming a Twin Spires Club member. These were all well received and early results are strong. This is a great new way to speak with our customers through the great technology of podcasting.

Date reviewed: Dec 1, 2005 8:08 PM

Nickname: LSMFT

Review: Frankly, if advertising starts showing up in the podcasts that I listen to, then I'll be rethinking the value of that particular podcast, and hoping that an ad-free alternative shows up sometime soon. I'd be much happier making micro-payments directly to the people that made the show.

Date reviewed: Dec 1, 2005 5:00 AM

Nickname: neotrope

Review: As a long-time podcaster, interviewing folks in the book and music biz, and the author of the forthcoming "Savvy Guide to Podcasting" (Indy-Tech, 2006), I can tell you first-hand that podcasting does have a great potential beyond being a hobby. I had 88,000 people get the RSS file of my show in November. People are listening! I've tied my show into my business, and interview my clients (luckily many in the entertainment biz). The clients love it, we have fun, and people find it in search engines. My book is about the marketing of podcasts, and my experiences in this area. Make money? Maybe. Help promote my business? It definitely has brought me new clients who hear my show, look into what I do and more about my clients, and this has led to new clients. 'casting will just explode in '06 -- it's a subscription model like TiVo with the potential for a billion channels. It won't be called podcasting in a few years, but it will become mainstream very quick, and it will stick.

Date reviewed: Nov 30, 2005 11:15 PM

Nickname: Dante Hamilton

Review: I think the future of podcasting is in enhanced podcasts. This allows not only audio, but still images and links to website URLs. Interaction is the key here. Just listening to a podcast without any two-way activity is very limited. Unless you have the on-air personality of Howard Stern, I don't think auido only podcasts are the future. Especially with the new Apple video iPod, which can play enhanced podcasts. Whether or not anyone makes money in podcasting remains to be seen. One thing is certain: Bill Gates and Microsoft will be waiting in the wings to figure out a way to make podcasting a part of the operating system. That is, after they make Microsoft Office a "standard."

Date reviewed: Nov 30, 2005 4:28 PM

Nickname: island nz

Review: For me, it is a revolutionary new technology, and I enjoy hearing the shows ad free. I stay informed on my own time, and appreciate the quality of the shows I subscribe to. Advertisers are struggling to find new ways to reach consumers, who want content on their own terms. If they start getting interrupted with ads, I will not subscribe.

Date reviewed: Nov 30, 2005 7:05 AM