Four Innovative Podcasting Ideas

Okay, I admit that we probably don't really need more podcasts. There are already so many people sharing their ideas about business, culture, news, and everything else in podcast form that I'm surprised iTunes doesn't crumble under the sheer volume of it all. Podcasting may lend itself to radio-style programming, but many people are finding new ways to use this format.

Here are some of the cool things I'm seeing.

1. Real estate listings. I'm a bit of a real estate junkie, and I can't tell you how many times I've taken those expensive-but-shoddy color copy fliers from those little mailboxes that sit atop Realtor signs. I usually find them crumpled up in a jacket pocket a couple months later. Having video podcasts—especially for those really expensive homes I like to gawk at—seems ingenious. In September, I got a press release that suggests that at least one person is doing just that. The Jenson Group offers podcast tours of high-end homes in Las Vegas, and the company's founder, Robert Jenson, thinks it's the wave of the future. "Agents and home buyers alike may view and share valuable information remotely, while out and about in the field," he said in the release. "This allows interested parties to qualify a property and take action far quicker than ever before, providing a significant strategic advantage." Yeah, it's kind of hype-y, but it's also kind of awesome.

2. Local government meetings. A number of places are making their city council meetings available as podcasts. Seattle; Dublin, Ohio; Lakeville, Minnesota; Palm Coast, Florida—the list goes on. Who knows if people listen to these—based on the videos of a few of them, they certainly don't get many real-life onlookers—but it seems like a smart idea for the sake of transparency and access.

3. School concerts and events. Sarah Vowell has written hilariously on the particular anguish that accompanies watching middle-school band concerts, and so I suppose there's no real need to force more people to watch them than is strictly necessary. Still, it seems like a fine idea to put choir concerts, soccer games, debate tournaments, and the like on to podcasts so that relatives and friends in distant locations can watch them. Or, heck, so the participants themselves can watch themselves in horror a few years from now.

4. Museum tours.  Instead of getting those clunky earphones and little machines for electronic museum tours, now you can just download programs onto your iPod. Some are just audio tours, some allow you to see the contents of the museum by watching the video tour. As more iPods have the ability to wirelessly download these podcasts, I suspect these services, offered by museums and fans alike, will become more popular.Publish Post

Other stuff I'm missing? Let me know in the comments.