Social media's like punk rock, it knocks down walls for all, and that's good. But it frees up as much, or more, rubbish as it does material of quality. Nevertheless, some people, usually those with a love-hate relationship with radio, were very enthusiastic lo these many years ago, about the platform that podcasting provided. That enthusiasm has waned in recent times. (Though not for everyone.) Lately, comedy seems to be revitalizing it.
Comedy podcasts run the length of the field, from one-man ruminations to frantic bit-factories to interview shows. Some are free, some cost, and many offer a combination of the two options. Below the fold, I offer a far-from-inclusive introduction to different types of comedy podcasts and have tried to include a few that are acknowledged to be influential.
Swedish software and design company The Astonishing Tribe, also known as TAT, has been developing a rather astonishing augmented reality application for mobile phones. Originally built as a software concept, the Android app called "Recongnizr" is a mobile prototype that allows you to use your phone in order to "see" who a person is and what web services and social networks they're connected to. App users can also associate traditional address book details with their profile like their full name, address, phone number and email, for example.
Welcome to the weekend, friends - and what a week it's been. Facebook announced a huge open-source code dump; Social Media Week kicked off in six cities around the world; and the tech world was constantly humming with news and opinions about the iPad.
Frankly, we're exhausted.
One topic that's been top-of-mind at RWW, though, week in and week out, has been location-aware apps and technologies. We're so excited about these kinds of technology that our next premium report is going to center around a lot of geo-based tech! More on that later. For now, fill up your iPod with these three podcasts on location-aware tech, and have a relaxing, informative weekend.
Once again, the weekend is upon us - time to unplug, unwind and relax!
But lest your brains turn to jelly during your time offline and away from work, load up your iPod with our weekly selection of podcasts sure to entertain and inform. The topic of this week's parade is augmented reality (AR), the technology used to add a layer of data and visualizations over the real world in which we live. Download these discussions of a hot new area of tech, and give them a listen at your leisure!
Welcome to the weekend, readers!
Your primary focus at this very moment might be your Friday night drink-ups, but we've got a new feature to help you maintain your mental clarity and conversational arsenal throughout the weekend - all while keeping you at a safe distance from your computer and allowing you to roam freely through the real world.
We're happy to present the Friday Podcast Parade! Load up your iPod with this curation of experts on audio, and give these chats a listen while walking your dogs, working out or running errands. You'll be smarter for it, we promise!
Is your podcast listening experience less than fabulous? If it is, you should check out HuffDuffer, a social discovery and organization service for podcast files.
The service was expertly built by UK designer Jeremy Keith and you'll know you're in for a remarkable experience when you go through the sign-up process. HuffDuffer will make you smarter and it's fun to use. Check out our 5 minute video tour of this remarkable service below.
Google Labs just launched Listen - an "audio magazine" that allows Android users to subscribe to programs and search terms to queue up their podcasts for easy listening. While Listen only offers English audio podcasts for now, the company plans on expanding to index video and content in other languages in the coming months. The product allows you to keep a couple hours of audio on your phone for your daily commute, lets you share podcasts with friends, and helps you find the latest updates for breaking news stories.
One of the big trends on the web is more and more location aware / sensitive web applications. Increasingly powerful mobile devices are enabling this. In the latest episode of RWW Live, today at 3.30pm PST, we'll talk about how the Web is evolving to include more location aware applications and what barriers are still in the way. We'll also talk about privacy and other user concerns and what is being done to address them. We have special guests from Yahoo! Fire Eagle, Four Square and Outside.in on the show today.
The latest episode of RWW Live, today at 3.30pm PST, will be focused on online travel applications. We have executives from 4 great travel startups on the call: TripIt, Yapta, Dopplr and PlanetEye. In the show we'll be discussing how the Web is changing the way people travel for work and fun. It promises to be a fascinating discussion, so we hope you tune in to the show LIVE at 3.30pm PST Monday (6.30pm EST) on Calliflower or Facebook. You can also ask questions during the podcast, using the chat function.
Thanks to the new TV.com application from CBS, you can now stream clips and full episodes of popular TV shows like 'CSI:Miami' or the original 'Star Trek' right to your iPhone or iPod Touch. You can even watch full episodes of Beverly Hills 90210, if you are so inclined. Besides shows from CBS, the app (iTunes link) also features shows from CNet, Showtime, and the CW. Currently, the only other app that features full episodes of TV shows is Joost, but we are still waiting for iPhone apps from other TV networks, Hulu, or Sling.
