NiemanLab published an article titled “The dawning audio web.” The article explored different aspects of the rise of podcasts that I had not previously considered.
Just like with technology, the increase of podcasts has pros and cons to it. Steve Henn discussed different benefits and risks of podcasts that I found interesting and not commonly discussed.
“But today, audio is one-dimensional — you can’t ask questions of a podcast and get answers. Audio isn’t yet interactive, personally relevant, or intelligent. It isn’t easily shareable, and it’s been next to impossible to discover a podcast about the neighborhood you’re walking through or a town you’re driving through.”
However, Steve Henn explored possible future plans for podcasts, sharing that they are trying to expand podcasts at Google to “allows people to search for podcasts on the web — not just by a show’s title but by searching for whatever they’re curious about. Search for a podcast about CRISPR or the Dirty Kanza gravel bike race and Google will suggest podcasts to answer those questions. Searching through the world’s audio instantly is becoming possible.”
We are still in the time period of transitioning to printed news to almost completely digital news. Reading about future plans of podcasts and how they might be further developed was an interesting reminder that we are in an ever changing society that is constantly developing news products.
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