Podcasting GTD

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Don't know how many of you have heard of this new meme doing the rounds called podcasting, but it looks very interesting. Kind of like a DIY radio show that can be 'broadcast' worlwide.

For a brief explanation, see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Podcasting.

I wonder what the odds are of David (or someone else) using this as another route to market?

Maybe another way for David to distribute his newsletter and/or thoughts while he's out and about?

Anyone from davidco (or other forum members) care to comment?

Cheers
 
It'd be great to see. I listen to podcasts during my 80 minutes/day of commute time. It's a great way to get some value out of that otherwise-lost time. There's not a lot you can do while driving a car, but audio books and podcasts are excellent.
 
Looking Into It

The troops at DavidCo are definitely aware of the merits of podcasting and looking into it. One consideration is that afaik there is no way to authenticate podcasts, so there would be no way to regulate who gets the feed (yet). If David is going to pour his heart out on a regular basis for commuters to download, it probably makes sense to charge a fee for the subscription. Right now it looks like the podcast clients don't really do authentication, so it is "open season".

Anyone else have more input on this?
 
Fee vs. Free Internet Audio Content

Adam Curry, Dave Winer and others should definitely be lauded for making internet audio content more accessible to the masses, coining the phrase podcasting and propagating that meme.

Cutting through the hype and hoopla for a moment, let’s discuss the idea of fee vs. free audio content. Since there is no fee based podcasting system in place, the troops at DavidCo or anyone else for that matter would need to turn to another alternative for managing commercial subscriptions and transactions. Audible.com already has such a system in place. So looking at this from the runway level and assuming mutually acceptable terms, a deal can probably be reached with a few phone calls. Check out the periodicals section of their site for some examples.

On the subject of free audio content, let’s take a 50,000 foot view. Podcasting is relatively quick, simple and easy to start delivering free audio content NOW. No contracts, no negotiations, no having to authenticate users, authorize credit cards, etc. Currently the troops at DavidCo provide free blogs, free newsletters, and even some free videos. These are great sources of information and also make excellent promotional tools. If I remember correctly, David’s vision is too make GTD accessible across the planet so that even grade schoolers are learning this stuff. So I think the better question is to figure out how to make free internet audio content profitable, rather than determine what type of fee to charge. Think about how many subscribers DavidCo can reach NOW through podcasting free content rather than waiting for the technical and commercial hurdles to clear. How many teenagers or adults for that matter do you know that have an Audible.com account? How many teenagers and adults do you know that have an iPod? As Napster says "do the math"! ;)

-m
 
Hey Guest (obviously, that's not your real name)

What podcasts do you listen to? I also have an 80 minute commute and haven't found anything good to listen to.

-Thanks!
 
Re: Fee vs. Free Internet Audio Content

morias said:
How many teenagers or adults for that matter do you know that have an Audible.com account?
Click to expand...

Remember that all audible content is available from the iTunes music store, so to answer your question, I know a lot of people who have an account! :-)
It would be slick if Audible and iTunes would work out a way of dealing with subscriptions on audio periodicals, so it could work just like a podcast and still have an appropriate fee attached.... Another option would be to make, for instance, 5 minutes of a 30 minute podcast available for free and then point folks to audible/itunes if they want the full file. Davidco is still a business and i doubt they're going to watch to give too much content away as you're thinking... otherwise we'd be able to download GTD Fast now....

George Dick
 
Hi George,

I definitely agree with you that it would be slick if Audible and iTunes Music Store could handle subscriptions to their periodicals. To access the periodicals section, you still need to have a separate Audible account. Out of the dozens and dozens of people that I know that have iPods and iTunes accounts, only one has a separate Audible account not including myself.

I think we’re also in agreement that Davidco is a business that needs to make a profit. Currently, they use free blogs, free newsletters, free tips, etc., on their web site as informational and promotional tools. I actually bought the GTD Fast and Ready For Anything CDs. I should have clarified that I’m not saying that they make that particular content free. I’m advocating that Davidco should focus on turning free podcasts into a profit center. Free podcasts can be used as promotional tools ala free blogs, or can adapt some type of sponsorship model. Podcasts don’t have to be daily, they can be set to any schedule and any length. David himself doesn’t have to do all of the recordings either. He can pre-record batches of 2-3 minute introductions on specific topics which are then handled by other coaches on his staff. The Davidco banner can be an umbrella for a Coach’s Corner podcast sans David. The free podcast model allows more flexibility than a paid one. If I’m going to pay for a David Allen podcast, then I would expect that he personally record a weekly 60 minute program at a minimum. If it were free, I’d be pleasantly surprised every time one showed up.

Just my 2 cents,

-Michael
 
A 38,548-ft perspective

I've been e-casting in some form since Greg and Eric set up my initial Web site in 1997, as a way to raise the GTD flag and see who saluted. Podcasting is simply a more penetrating version of the same thing. And, as I've been maturing about the business of my business, what I'm realizing is that GTD requires a relationship with some "source" of its DNA over time, to really penetrate and stick. So, if any of you are wondering about how I'm going to be relating to the world of blogging, podcasting, and the like - I'm trying to frame how they will relate to offering the best opportunity for the most appropriate kinds of relationships that people will invest in, until they figure they've integrated GTD sufficiently into their own DNA. So, we're working on how to create forms of relationships that people can enroll in, at various tiers of depth and intimacy with me and the GTD source code, as it were. Staying connected in with me/us, in all the most efficient forms that can take, will no doubt include any trusted medium. So, what am I going to do with podcasting? Something, absolutely. What, exactly? Beats me! - David
 
Hey, great to get the word straight from David.

David, your podcast on the TPN Gadget Show was great. I hope you keep going with this medium, as I think it would be incredible to get your Productivity Paradigm spoken by you, with emphasis the way you would place it.
 
First steps????

Well, on top of the TPN Gadget Show I mentioned, it seems that David and Eric Mack have done a podcast together with Mark Orchant.

The show seems to be the first of Eric's Digital Sandbox series, and I hope a sign of things to come.

Thanks David and Eric for kicking this off.
 
Pay

I, for one, would be willing to pay a subscription fee to listen to a weekly blast from David and Co. Probably the easiest model for this kind of thing is Audible Subscriptions: they already handle subscription audio content (New York Times, etc.) and GTD is consistently one of the top-selling "self help" titles on Audible.com

It would be great to get it for free (podcast) but I think it bears mentioning that it would be worth paying for.

One runs out of audiobooks to listen to when one has a long commute. :)
 
Modification to Podcasting

I actually listen to David and other blogs, or news articles using a tool designed for converting text to speech. I do a batch convert of articles to mp3 by utilizing the Text Aloud software http://www.nextup.com, and AT&T Natural Voices http://www.naturalvoices.att.com/ .

I just convert the documents in to voices dictated by either a male or female voices (with a number to choose from). Then listen to it in the car, train, etc.
 
Don't give it ALL away, David !

I would hope that Davidco simply uses podcasting for glorified advertising, for the books, the seminars, and the consulting. He is giving an awful lot away already.
 
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