Now, I do see podcasting having applications – like Caribbean Free Radio (smile) and other things which are of a periodical nature. For development issues, I think that the infrastructure has to allow maximum communication for people – and podcasting, as it is, is one way. Mobcasting can be two way, and it is something Andy Carvin has tossed my way and which I do need to get to sometime in this life, when I unbury myself from other things.

Certainly podcasting is elitist if you think of it purely as tool for development–though I think you can say the same of blogging.

I do believe, however, that digital audio has huge implications for development, especially in cases where literacy levels limit the value of the printed word or where people simply do not care to read (they’d still have to read the transcript of the podcast!). Remember that at the end of the day, the term “podcasting” simply describes a method of delivering audio, not the audio file itself.

Nor do I think the two media–text and sound–are interchangeable: they do different things in different ways, or at least they do when they’re done well. As Marshall McLuhan said, “the medium is the message”.

Thanks for the link to the Divali photos–just borrowed one to put in the post.

Take care,
Georgia

I am still not a big fan of podcasting, for reasons that go right back to what Ethan Zuckerman’s weblog points to if you do a google search for the improper spelling of my name. Podcasts have a use, but they are not the biggest thing since sliced bread for me… Until transcripts start appearing for the podcasts, I think it’s pretty elitist. That’s sort of a hint for better marketing as well, with lower bandwidth costs for the servers. ;-)

There’s a few more Divali pics here that I took: http://www.flickr.com/photos/knowprose/search/tags:divali/
I didn’t write anything up on that, and I’m not likely to – the celebration is well covered in the Wikipedia and all I did was wander around and take some pics, practicing with the camera: hardly worth writing about.

For some reason, I need to write, so I’m writing. Hope it keeps up. Actually, it was something that you said here that resonated with me. We’re here. Talk about here, not as if you’re elsewhere.

I think that link is what was missing.