Wednesday, June 08, 2005
His Mission: Simplify Podcasting
His Mission: Simplify Podcasting: "His Mission: Simplify Podcasting
Odeo co-founder Evan Williams wants his startup to be a one-stop shop, from easily finding podcasts to creating them and selling ads for them
See Our Podcast Picks
It's the paradox of podcasting. The new technology, designed to let average Joes and Janes create and distribute homemade radio programs over the Internet, is too difficult for the average person to use. Despite hundreds of 'how-to' files floating around the Web, even listening to podcasts is still a several-step process, requiring links to special 'podcatching' software, checking the feeds, and then listening to the files with a separate MP3 player or on your computer.
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Creating and distributing the podcasts -- while certainly easier than operating a radio station -- is no walk in the park either. So it's no surprise that the most popular podcasts so far are still aimed at the techie crowd, with names like IT Conversations and Daily Source Code.
Enter Evan Williams. He's the pioneer who started the blog-hosting site Blogger that helped to kick-start the Web-logging movement. With his new company Odeo, Williams and partner Noah Glass aim to build a one-stop Web site where the masses can find and subscribe to podcasts, and create new podcasts with ease. Odeo will then help match advertisers to the newly created podcasts or let podcasters charge a subscription fee to listeners. "
Odeo co-founder Evan Williams wants his startup to be a one-stop shop, from easily finding podcasts to creating them and selling ads for them
See Our Podcast Picks
It's the paradox of podcasting. The new technology, designed to let average Joes and Janes create and distribute homemade radio programs over the Internet, is too difficult for the average person to use. Despite hundreds of 'how-to' files floating around the Web, even listening to podcasts is still a several-step process, requiring links to special 'podcatching' software, checking the feeds, and then listening to the files with a separate MP3 player or on your computer.
Advertisement
Creating and distributing the podcasts -- while certainly easier than operating a radio station -- is no walk in the park either. So it's no surprise that the most popular podcasts so far are still aimed at the techie crowd, with names like IT Conversations and Daily Source Code.
Enter Evan Williams. He's the pioneer who started the blog-hosting site Blogger that helped to kick-start the Web-logging movement. With his new company Odeo, Williams and partner Noah Glass aim to build a one-stop Web site where the masses can find and subscribe to podcasts, and create new podcasts with ease. Odeo will then help match advertisers to the newly created podcasts or let podcasters charge a subscription fee to listeners. "
