Gcast Lets Podcasters Phone It In

Pocasting was supposed to bring radio-style broadcasting to the masses in the same fashion that blogging put publishing within reach of anyone with a computer and an Internet connection. Along the way, however, the process proved to be more difficult, because broadcasting required a whole different level of software and hardware to make happen. Gcast is trying to reduce the complexity by introducing a service that allows you to record a podcast from a telephone.

Ali Partovi, who runs Gcast and its sister site Garageband.com, originally conceived of the idea as a way to introduce a new audience to Garageband.com musicians by building a community of amateur disc jockeys, but he says the service has taken on a life of its own. "When we first approached it, we were trying to get musicians heard, by embracing the amateur DJ and providing tools for him," Partovi says. "It started with music and how to promote music, but as we created tools and put them out there and had people use them, we found the technology had far broader use."

To use the service, Partovi says, you sign up, call the 800 number, record the podcast, and press pound. You then embed the Gcast player into your blog and the podcasts update automatically when you save the recording. "By simply by cutting and pasting some html [for the Gcast player] into my blog, any time I update Gcast content, it updates the blog. You have to create account at Gcast and copy and paste code into your blog, but once it’s set up, it automatically updates. I don’t even have to touch a computer if I don’t want to."

Partovi says that when most people think of podcasts, they think of 20-minute long-form broadcasts, but he envisions a much shorter form, perhaps only a minute for Gcasts. He says the long-form podcast is great for a commuter who has time to sit and listen for a sustained period of time, but for others, a shorter form could work better and could expand the medium. "What’s out there is the tip of the iceberg because when you go to a shorter format and put the tools in the hands of anyone who wants to do it, you get broader types of content."

But Chris Pirillo, a technology pundit who runs the Lockergnome family of Web sites and is himself a podcaster, says what Gcast is doing is not really anything new. They have just put a new name on it. "Gcast sounds interesting, but it’s a new spin on an old tactic. Audio blogging has been around, and you can record by phone. It can be [convenient], but it sounds like voice mail," he says, and Pirillo says voice mail does not make for a high-quality broadcast.

For Partovi, however, it is about providing an outlet for anyone to broadcast. He says, for instance, that he uses the service to record his two-year old daughter to enable friends and relatives to hear what she’s saying. "I have a podcast for my two-year old daughter. It’s her voice and the audience is family members. They can see the photos of her on my blog, but the most exciting part is the soundtrack, hearing my daughter’s voice saying whatever cute thing she is saying."

Another way to use Gcasts, Partovi says, is as a way for celebrities to communicate with fans. In fact, former Senator John Edwards, the 2004 Democratic nominee for vice president, has been using Gcast to communicate with constituents, and his media person has reported that it is much easier than putting together a conventional podcast. Edwards still uses the long-form podcasts, but he mixes in the Gcasts to offer a phone message from the road.

Pirillo wonders whether phone-based podcasts will take off and supply revenue, and he suggests that ease of use is not the problem in podcasting. "It’s not the tools that are missing, it’s the talent," he says. "Any idiot can pick up a phone, dial a number and leave a voice mail. I think it’s a nice idea, a good service, but I don’t see any value proposition."

Partovi disagrees and says having a large user base will lead to advertising revenue. He recognizes that people will probably not tolerate a long ad, but he can see streaming a 10-15 second ad before the podcast. He says he will also offer a fee-based service for users who want to forgo the advertisements. "We are in business to make money . . . and I believe podcasting, as with all successful media that came before it, will be an advertising-supported medium. Podcasting will remain free, but [users] will have a certain tolerance for ads embedded in content."

Partovi says if ads don’t work, he will find a way to make this work as a business. "I feel confident that if you have a service that amasses a large audience you will find way to make money."