I’d like to announce that ColoradoStartups.com now has a companion podcast. Each week, I’ll summarize the posts from ColoradoStartups.com on the podcast. I’m using Boulder’s own ClickCaster to manage and distribute the podcast. If you want to give it a try, go here (I’ll feature it more prominently some day).
ClickCaster is based here in Boulder. The site (at ClickCaster.com) allows you to easily set up a profile and start podcasting right away. What’s cool is that you’re able to do this directly through the site with no installed software. The site uses Java plugin technology to provide a basic voice recorder and manages the creation, hosting, directory and other aspects for your podcast. I was then able to take a code snippet ClickCaster provided and pop it into the blog at ColoradoStartups.com quite easily.
I recently met with Scott Converse, the founder of ClickCaster. We had a great chat about the company. Scott has a bunch of things going on. For one, ClickCaster is a pretty slick consumer facing site on its own. It’s a really easy way to add a podcast without having to deal with most of the related issues. This is similar in concept to the popular site Odeo. Both sites let you record, play, find, and generally manage podcasts.
What I really liked about Scott was his overall vision for ClickCaster. He’s figuring out how to monetize podcasting. For example, to gain an annual pass to a particular podcast, you may need to pay $10. ClickCaster provides the tools and hosting, and you can provide the content. ClickCaster manages this with a nice revenue sharing system. If you take that to the extreme and imagine major content providers, you start to see how this could turn from a small operation into a very large one. ClickCaster has begun walking down this path by signing a few deals with content providers and have launched a few branded portals already. This is a really clever way to monetize podcasting if you ask me.
Although the service is still a tiny bit rough around the edges, it’s still pretty easy to get going and to use. The only drawback to using something like this is that the recording tools are fairly primitive. You can record audio, but the editing tools are not there. Scott told me that we can expect some improvements in this area in the near future. I for one can’t wait!
Go and check out ClickCaster if you’re curious about podcasts. I think you’ll like what you see.
