Lab Exercise 8

Podcasting
The purpose of this laboratory exercise is to identify 10 podcasts about media and techonology news. This laboratory is another group project and I worked with Miss Crystal Castaneda and Miss Taylor Miller. The resources that we used were iTunes and Podcast.com.

1. Engadget - The Engadget podcast is published by the Engadget website. The podcast is published weekly and is a one stop shop for computer and technology enthusiasts. Commercial sponsors could be AOL since it is the parent company of the blog. The podcast is distributed in the ACC format and the subscription numbers are not currently available.
   
2. Digital Media Tips and Tricks - This blog is published by Ben Williams through his website. The podcast deals mainly with new technology developments. This is generally when the podcast is published as well. The podcast is intended for those who are interested in new media technologies and is sponsored by Coded Signal Inc. The subscription information is not available.
   
3. Digital Media Insider - This podcast is published by the Digital Media website and is sponsored by O'Reilly Media Inc. The podcast is intended for people proficient with technology who are interested in finding media tips and tricks. The podcast does not publish the subscription information but is available as an MP3.
   
4. NPR's On the Media - NPR's podcast is published by NPR weekly and is a guide to how the media is made and works in the industry. The main audience are regular NPR listeners who are also tech savvy. This allows the NPR audience to take the NPR programming with them wherever they go. They also examine new technologies and weigh the political implications of legislation and developments. The podcast is distributed as an MP3 and subscription information is not available. NPR is also not commercially sponsored.
   
5. The Economist - This is an audio companion to The Economist and publishes posts several times a week which allows for supplementation of the print edition and website. This is geared mainly towards the readers of the economist and gives offerings on news, media, politics, technology, and science. I believe that the Economist is supported by its own publishing resources. The format of the publication is MP3. Subscription information is not available.
6. PC Mag - The PC Mag podcast is published by the Ziff Davis Publishing Holdings Inc. The podcast is sponsored by Brother.com and is distributed multiple times a week. It is meant to supplement the print publications of PC Mag. While the number of subscribers was not available, the intended audience is people who are interested in solutions to everyday technology problems and those interested in technology news and developments.
   
7. Science and Technology Coverage - Science and Technology Coverage is published on the PBS website. It is produced by McNeil Productions and discusses developments and news in technology and science. While the number of subscribers was not published the podcast is sponsored by PBS, the Knight Foundation, Intel, the Bank of America, Chevron and CPB. This podcast is distributed as an MP3.
   
8. Cranky Geeks - This is a weekly podcast where a group of expert panelists get together and discuss the most controversial topics in technology news, issues, and developments. The podcast is distributed as an MP3 and once again the subscription information is not available. This podcast is very much geared towards technology enthusiasts who enjoy a quirky and humorous look at current technology trends and news. Cranky Geeks is supported by GoDaddy.com which is a web hosting business.
   
9. IT Conversations - IT Conversations is published by the IT Conversations website. The Podcast is published by the Conversations Network Corporation. The intended audience are people interested in learning about new information technologies and the effects it has on our society. While the subscription number is not published the podcast is distributed as an MP3.
   
10. HT Guys - This is published by Jason Cypret of HT Guys as a video podcast every Tuesday and Friday. It is intended for those who are interested in the advancement of audio/visual technology, specifically home theater systems and HDTV. The subscription information is not published but it is distributed as a video podcast. The sponsors are generally the listeners of the podcast, this creates a very communal type market environment.
    

Final Thoughts:

I would like to take this opportunity to just talk about the conduct and result of the laboratory exercise. I believe that this was a very interesting assignment. Because of the group nature of the project we each looked for technology blogs which interested us. Then we recorded the data and shared it with each other. At this point we were able to each compose our own individual reports and summaries.

The nature of this assignment was in fact interesting to me because I generally do not listen to podcasts frequently at all. Thus being required to research podcasts about media and technology news was at the very least an educational, and in this case enjoyable, experience.