Podcasting goes mainstream

Podcasting is now officially mainstream. Is this because Apple has released a new version of iTunes that supports podcasting? Sure, that's partly to blame. The podcast directory is a great way to see just how much is out there. There are hundreds of podcasts available for preview. But podcasting is being picked up by radio organizations out there, more specifically talk radio. I'm a bit of a talk radio junkie, and so are millions of other people. Rush Limbaugh's 20 million listeners hear the word podcast several times a day. Sean Hannity is podcasting. Glenn Beck is podcasting. I think Laura Ingraham is too. Just about all of Air America is available through the iTunes browser. That's a massive amount of people who are being informed about podcasting, and it's not just techie IT people. It is changing the face of talk radio, let alone Internet radio. Miss a show, no problem. Can't listen at noon, no problem. Want to listen to Rush and Hannity? No problem anymore. Download the program, load it on your ipod, get the FM broadcaster adapter, and listen in the car. I just wish it was easier to split up and edit an mp3, which you just can't do in itunes. These podcasts can get very large, and I don't want to store 30MB when all I want is a 3 minute segment.