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Where's that competition coming from?

Well it's almost certainly going to be from regular folks like you and I.

How are we going to do it?

Through the internet of course!

Already we're seeing a growing number of bloggers moving into the areas of podcasting audio versions of their spiel and starting up vblogs (video blogs) that are really small TV shows that can be streamed or even downloaded.

Now have your say Got something to say about today's column, or want to see what others think?  Visit The Forums While you're here, why not visit the Aardvark Hall of Shame and perhaps make your own nomination.

The driver for this change is twofold:

First we have new consumer devices such as the iPod and Playstation Portable.

These devices, with their powerful processors, in-built multi-media capabilities and large memories, allow users to dump an entire day's (or week's) worth of audio and/or video into a small plastic box that can be easily carried around.

Enterprising would-be media-stars have twigged to this and are producing an increasing volume of material suitable for use on such machines.

Of course the second driver is the proliferation of broadband.

With modern hi-performance compression systems, an entire hour's worth of audio can be downloaded in just a minute or two -- and good quality video can be downloaded at speeds better than realtime.

Thanks to these two advances, just about anyone can now set up their own virtual radio or TV station and broadcast their content to an audience measured in hundreds of millions of listeners/viewers.

Just as the web has created its own army of minor superstars (Drudge report anyone?) through web-based publishing, this new wave of media-savvy broadcasters will throw up a few stars that will likely cross-over into other media.

Those who succeed will be the ones who have worked out how best to take advantage of the limitations and strengths of podcasting and video downloads/streams.

They'll also be the ones who can best read and address the expectations and needs of such a diverse audience.

Now, as a potential audience, what are you looking for in podcasts or video accessed through the Net?

What type of content would be most attractive (excluding porn! :-)

Are there particular areas that are more suited to this type of outlaw broadcasting?

Would you like a podcast version of Aardvark for instance?

Go have your say in The Aardvark Forums

If you feel that this is a good thing and/or you hold a "geniune affection" for yours truly -- then you are welcome to gift me some money using the buttons provided. In gifting this money you accept that no goods, service or other consideration is offered, provided, accepted or anticipated in return. Just click on the button to gift whatever you can afford. NOTE: PayPal bills in US dollars so don't accidentally gift more than what you were intending :-)

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