My Thoughts On The Digital Edge Podcast
Just before I sneaked out of the office yesterday I received a surprise in the form of a hand-delivered package containing a flash disk and a letter drawing my attention to the launch of SA’s newest tech podcast, The Digital Edge. As soon as I got home, and in between whipping up supper and greeting the mad horde, I listened to the sultry tones of Saul Kropman and Jarred Cinman as they delivered a very polished and impressive first show.
Podcasting has never really exploded in SA despite some very cool people throwing their weight behind it. Even the likes of 94.7 Highveld Stereo and 702 Talk Radio promote recordings of their shows as podcasts, but this has not helped encourage SA’s online users to explore the world of podcasting more enthusiastically. The ZA Tech Show, a popular local podcast run by Simon Dingle and guests, and Reuben Goldberg’s Internet Economy podcast are two possible competitors to The Digital Edge, but it seems that Jarred and Saul want to differentiate in terms of the length of the show (keeping it shorter at about 15 minutes) and aiming it at a more mainstream, less geeky audience.
I was especially impressed with the production quality, content and the succinct interviews with guests Walter Pike and Andy Hadfield. I am really looking forward to the upcoming weekly instalments of The Digital Edge – if they can keep up the quality, the originality and of course consistency (the hardest part), I think it’ll do well. What the exact definition of ‘well’ is in the SA podcasting space, I’m not sure, but I must be frank and say if I was going to put energy and effort into something new it wouldn’t be a podcast. Perhaps this is primarily a more aggressive move by Jarred to market the services of his company, Cambrient?
Popularity: 21% [?]
I also gave it a listen and I’m not convinced. It is without a doubt a marketing tool for Cambrient which was very clear for this first episode, and I for one don’t want to waste 15 minutes listening to an advert disguised as helpful content. Even if some of the content is actually good, it’s still an advert.
Good luck to them though but I won’t be listening more I don’t think.
by Jason
on 13. Jan, 2009
The content matters most
by Paul Jacobson
on 13. Jan, 2009
I agree with Paul on this one. Example: I was just watching the cricket and loved it, and there was tons of advertising. In other words even though it is being sponsored does not in anyway make me less likely to watch/listen/read the content. In the case with Digital Edge, the content is actually pretty informative and done very well.
There are easier ways of marketing that are way more effective than a podcast, do you honestly think it would be worth the effort if that was the sole intention?
I wish the guys all the best with Digital Edge.
Ciao
by Jason Adriaan
on 13. Jan, 2009
Mike, thanks for the positive review, it means a lot to us. Just to be clear: obviously we are paying for it and we are going to get some marketing mileage out of it. But we are sincerely committed to putting up great content — why would anyone listen to a 15 minute Cambrient PR shpeel?
Keep listening, lots of exciting stuff on the way
by Jarred Cinman
on 13. Jan, 2009
With regards to podcasting as whole, I think that the introduction of podcast ‘readers’ on most new highend gagets, like the Samsung omnia, HTCs and most other Windows Mobile driven devices may get people more interested in this form of media. It got me going.
by Jonathan
on 25. Feb, 2009