This generation perceives the interactive components of the Internet to be the focal point of media in the 21st century.



The advent of mp3 players has allowed the role of media presentations to be portable and storable. RSS feeds have taken the podcast and made it nearly instantly accessible.

The tie that Boomers and Busters had to radio is virtually non-existent in this new generation. They gain their music from online sources. Even the notion of a CD player is a somewhat archaic idea. After all, why pay for a disc when you can pay only for the songs you want and store them on an extremely small and portable device that you can customize to alter content whenever you want?

Traditional media was slow to come to the party, but they are increasingly making podcasting a dynamic part of their media distribution.

While record companies were also slow to understand the impact of the Internet they now embrace the ability to sell songs via online download sites.

Independent artists are no longer looking to traditional radio to become popular. These artists are populating sites like MySpace to get their music out. There have been several success stories from individuals and groups who have noted tremendous sales of their music simply by relying on social media and podcasting to get the word out.

Podcasting can educate and entertain and it has the ability to connect listeners in a way traditional broadcasting has done for a different generation. Podcasting can also be consumed via cell phones and other portable devices.

It is even possible to dock an mp3 player and allow a podcast to be used in a classroom or conference center. The role of this media has become too large to be ignored or dismissed.

Radio and television stations are working to fuse traditional broadcasting with Internet alternatives. This role may not always be clearly understood and the concepts may even be embraced differently with each station, but there is the recognition that this media may be the frontlines of the future of broadcasting.

I once heard it said that if railroad companies had thought of themselves as a transportation company they might have seen even more success. This may be the notion traditional broadcasters must struggle with.

Podcasting and Internet broadcasting is a bold frontier and many professional and armchair enthusiasts are populating audio bytes with a uniquely branded sound and listening experience.

The tie to a younger generation that understands electronics and online shopping may make podcasts and online broadcasting a potential goldmine for advertisers. If you are an online business owner looking for something that reaches out to those primarily 25 and younger then sites that feature popular podcasts and audio streams may be a positive choice for your online advertising and marketing strategies.

The fact that a huge percentage of radio and television stations have moved some product offerings online means that this direction is not a subtle shift, but a tsunami of change in broadcasting.