Investigating Genres- the complexities of

    The Podcast has a lot to unpack.  The genre is packed with unique tropes and forms.  With its net of means of distribution and defined style, it is nearly a medium unto itself.

Patrick Breitenbach "My Podcast Set I" Taken on August 8, 2008 via flickr 

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    To consider the podcast, it is useful to consider the role it plays.  It often plays in the background of some less than captivating task.  The drive to work and dinner preparations are standard environments.  Listeners are often long time followers, happy to hear a familiar voice.  The content of the podcast can range from management advice to discussions of social media, but the familiar easy to listen to quality is still there.

    Since they take the form of simple audio files, podcasts are remarkably easy to distribute.  iTunes and dedicated sites serve the same distribution as YouTube.  The most noteworthy trait of such a service is how it makes its money.  Advertising and merchandise often work around the difficulties of charging for something that can be so easily copied.  The rise of services like Patreon have made even more non-traditional pay systems possible.

    The simplicity of the podcast opens it to anyone with an internet access with out alienate less internet literate audiences.  If I had to define the podcast, and I do, I'd say that; It is a combination of the comfort of a talk-show with the possibilities of the internet's vast capabilities as a medium.