Eric - I understand where you’re coming from.

Commercial podcasting pioneers, though, need to take responsibility for their survival. Most will fail. They can either complain about it or they can regroup and try again.

Justin - really good points. While a lot of us were thinking “Wow - we can put on a show!”, the general public was wondering why they should want to listen to a bad recording of amateurish content.

I’m not sure if I agree that the good times are over for early podcasters - but some early podcasters are really disappointed at the way mainstream attention is now focusing on mainstream podcasts.

Unfortunately the good times have ended for many of the early podcasters, but certainly not for the podcasting industry, as more people with an expertise in creating quality and interesting media jumped aboard. It’s individuals and organizations and companies having no previous media experience learning how to do it themselves, and those media companies already making great content learning how to jump aboard. And it’s those people who have recognized how podcasting can grow into a vehicle for music, experiments in sound and vision, advertising, big budget productions for wide release, etc. It’s a whole new community, and it’s just as relevant as in 2004. It’s just different. Both are good for separate reasons, but now audiences have more options to be empowered in what they listen to and watch than in 2004. And that’s a good thing.

Keep up the great work!

Justin

As to the main issue - making money at this - to be clear - it is possible - in fact nearly easy - to make money podcasting or blogging. All you need is a good sized or valuable audience. If you have the right audience and you make a minimal effort to connect with advertisers you can get paid. I have a waiting list of advertisers wanting to sponsor some of my shows.

But just because I make money at this, doesn’t mean I am not a real podcaster or blogger. In fact, even if you agree with Dave’s twisted view, it is possible to be unedited and still be commercial. You can be open and transparent and still attract advertisers. I am very opinionated on my shows. I don’t hold back for fear of offending my advertisers. Nor do I let them have any say in how I do my show.

I think it’s time that our community stopped worrying about what Winer thinks. Instead, we need to get about the business of educating all sides - podcasters, audience, and advertisers - how this new way of publishing can benefit each group.

I also disagree with your premise that people should stop complaining about how hard it is to find advertisers. The fact is, there are frustrating practices (kickbacks anyone?), entrenched biases, and misinformation within the advertising world that work against independent producers on a daily basis. Much of the misinformation is propagated by old media afraid to lose it’s stranglehold on advertisers who are not bold enough to do a little independent research, or were burned in the dot com bust of the nineties.

This is not to say you should fold up your tent at the first dry spell, or place blame on advertisers, but it is something to be very aware of.

Eric

Um, yeah. Sure.