NARROWCASTING

Have you ever sat around with a group of close friends talking and laughing? Better still, have you ever found yourself in a group of new friends, and felt accepted and included from the start? Maybe you've just sat at a restaurant a few tables away from a group who you couldn't help listening to...evesdropping on someone's life. That's pretty much what drives the wave of so-called reality TV shows, and it's the same with podcasting.

A few podcasts are for showcasing music, but many more are just people having a conversation (albeit with a few production elements) and letting you in on the jokes. And others - one of my favorites- replays old radio shows from the medium's golden days. In one recently, I listened to an eyewitness account of the Invasion of Normandy on D-Day.

The internet, which has made the world smaller by making information quickly accessable, and moving thoughts and ideas quickly around the world, has now squeezed us even closer together, so hundreds and listen in to your musings.

Through a special rate I set up exclusively for podcasters a few months ago, I'm proud now to be associated with some of the top 100 podcasts listed in iTunes.

This narrowcasting will have a bearing on mass communications and marketing. The effect is very slight now, but watch for the avalanche within the next 12 to 18 months.

--Thanks for reading.