Podcasting more popular than blogs? No way, say bloggers
The news made for catchy headlines: podcasting is more popular than blogging, research firm Nielsen/NetRatings claimed. Could it be, really, that more people create and upload audio and video clips than dash off musings on websites? No, in fact, it couldn't, as bloggers immediately pointed out. Nielsen erroneously compared the number of people who listen to podcasts -- content consumers, to use the technical term -- to the number of people who write blogs -- content producers. "Lame beyond belief," writes Robert Scoble, who recently jumped from Microsoft to a podcasting startup. "Podcasting doesn’t need the false hype," he adds. "We need real numbers, real research, with organizations we, and advertisers, can believe."
Frank Barnako called Nielsen/NetRatings, and got a confession from PR people there: They screwed up the language of the press release, confusing the term "podcasters" -- the people who create podcasts -- with "podcast listeners." Estimates put the actual number of podcasters somewhere around 10,000 -- a pittance compared to the millions of active bloggers. So much for the podcasting revolution. Long live blogs! 
CNNMoney.com Comment Policy: CNNMoney.com encourages you to add a comment to this discussion. You may not post any unlawful, threatening, libelous, defamatory, obscene, pornographic or other material that would violate the law. Please note that CNNMoney.com makes reasonable efforts to review all comments prior to posting and CNNMoney.com may edit comments for clarity or to keep out questionable or off-topic material. All comments should be relevant to the post and remain respectful of other authors and commenters. By submitting your comment, you hereby give CNNMoney.com the right, but not the obligation, to post, air, edit, exhibit, telecast, cablecast, webcast, re-use, publish, reproduce, use, license, print, distribute or otherwise use your comment(s) and accompanying personal identifying information via all forms of media now known or hereafter devised, worldwide, in perpetuity. CNNMoney.com Privacy Statement.
|
|
| 
