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Blog under the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License
Jun
30
(2005)
Is iPodder.org’s Directory Still Relevant?
Filed under: Uncategorized. Tags: podcasting.
So, now that the iTunes Podcast Directory is out, it seems like there are waaaay too many podcast directories out there (iPodder.org, Podcasting.com, Podcast.net, PodcastDirectory.com, PodcastAlley.com, Podcasting News Directory, iPodderX, Podcast411 Directory, and many, many, many more).
The only one I’m likely to use is the iTunes podcast directory, so I’m wondering (out loud) about the value of the iPodder.org directory…
Should iPodder.org be retired? Does someone want to take over the educational category?
Apple controlling the podcast directory gives me the heebie jeebbies. Apple becoming the podcasting gatekeeper is one thing about this move that makes me uncomfortable.
also, I think alot of people don’t use iTunes to listen to podcasts. I don’t think there is anyway to get to the directory other than with iTunes.
I’m surprisingly OK with Apple managing the directory. It’s really no different than the iPodder.org directory, which is managed by a group of volunteers, except that Apple can dedicate resources to make sure that the directory stays up to date.
The Educational category of iPodder.org only gets updated about once a month, when I make time to do it. Apple will be updating their Educational directory much more frequently because they have staff dedicated to it.
Anyone can submit podcasts, and only submissions that are violating copyright or broadcasting porn or something will be rejected.
It would be nicer if there was a web interface to the directory, but that’s not necessary.
Well, the server responses from the iTMS are all XML (after you peel off a few wrappers). It shouldn’t be too hard for someone to come up with a web interface with a little bit of work.
I could also be wrong, but I think when you subscribe from the iTMS, you get a feed that is cached on apple’s servers. The day 4.9 came out, i noticed that feeds I subscribed to in that way seemed to be a few days behind. I have subscribing in iTunes using the option under the “advanced” menu.
Brad, I thought that too – the items they display within iTunes are out of date, but as the subscriptions are updated, they are indeed pulling current/recent items that aren’t listed within the iTunes directory. The listing for my blog is almost a week out of date, missing my last podcast, but subscribers will get it anyway.
[...] I just noticed that CNN is offering Podcasts, and of course the new iTunes Podcast directory offers many more of commercial type podcasts. So not that I ever really believed that Podcasting was really the new pirate radio that Podcasting was the new pirate radio, but what happens to the format when the market becomes so saturated this quickly? D’Arcy Norman certainly begins to ask the right questions about the relevance of multiple iPod directories, but I guess I am thinking even beyond this … the old question … what happens when ‘x’ becomes too commercial? [...]
We have seen the same happen for RSS and blogs too, but certainly educational podcasts should be made accessible under more than one clearinghouse.
Here is my humble attempt at creating a superlist of podcast directories out there:
http://tinyurl.com/9rusq
Robin, I agree that more than one clearinghouse is a Good Thing, but the main use (IMHO) of a clearinghouse is to provide a service to people new to the concept – a newbie director service.
The problem with the podcast directories is that there are so freaking many of them, where does a newbie start? which one is “right” – that’s what they are looking for.
I suppose podcasting will really hit the mainstream when there isn’t a need for directories. Remember the early days of the web, with all of the manually updated “homepages” that acted as directories of what was available on the World Wide Web? Those are largely gone now…
I suppose the advantage to having a number of podcast directories is that it allows for a certain degree of social networking to emerge. If a podcast appears in all the directories, I know its popular; if it appears in the directories that also list other podcasts I like, I can infer that I may tend to like this podcast more than one selected at random. As long as google can search and page rank the results, I think it could work.
[...] Here’s today’s daily synchronicity, initiated by reading D’Arcy Norman’s post on the preponderance of podcast directories: So, now that the iTunes Podcast Directory is out, it seems like there are waaaay too many podcast directories out there (iPodder.org, Podcasting.com, Podcast.net, PodcastDirectory.com, PodcastAlley.com, Podcasting News Directory, iPodderX, Podcast411 Directory, and many, many, many more). [...]
You must be able to make an iTunes account to add your feed to their directory. You can only do
that if you can access the iTunes Store, which is not available in every country.
another drawback of the iTMS podcast directory. I am sorry to keep harping on this. I just really hate the iTMS podcast directory.
From a publishers point of view, iTMS has lousy categories and lousy structure for multi-podcast “channels” – while it came out of the gate with the prospect of being the biggest directory, its far from the best (ODEO is the best IMHO) – I think they rushed it – hope things are better structured/organized in next revision.