Austin could be the "podcasting capital of the world" if Stephen Dulaney and his group succeed in their goal of keeping Austin ahead of the pack with the new media technology.
"Our mission is to first of all have fun, teach people and learn as we do it, and establish Austin as the podcasting capital of the world," said Dulaney, president and founder of the non-profit Austin Podcasting Network.
Podcasting is a new Internet-based technology that basically allows anyone with Internet access to run an online radio show. Using "podcatching" software, users subscribe to feeds that automatically transfer audio files to their computers, which they can listen to at their leisure, either on a computer or a portable player like the iPod.
"I think we have a good shot because this is the audio version of the Internet," he said. "If we can learn from each other and teach each other we can have some kick-ass content."
Dulaney started working with scripting software eight years ago and publishing his own blog four years ago. In January 2005, he started the Austin Podcasting Network. Dulaney estimates that there are about 7,000 podcasts worldwide, and only 1,000 are active. But he says that number is prone to rapid growth.
"It's kind of the killer application because once it got into iTunes, it broke its infrastructure," he said. "The file sizes are just massive. When you add a million to 10 million listeners, it's really going to force people to re-engineer, which is good."
Dulaney predicted that soon, the average person will get 25 percent of his or her television and 80 percent of his or her music from podcast downloads.
Dulaney and his Austin Podcasting Network offer free technical support to anyone in Austin who wants to launch a personal podcast.
"I talked to Stephen one day. I didn't know him at all," said Catherine Crago, another member of the podcasting group. Dulaney arrived at her home that afternoon, set her up for podcasting and refused payment for the services.
"He just wanted people podcasting," Crago said.
David Nunez, an Austin resident who works days as a project manager at a trade association, wants to use podcasting to expand his personal Web site. By collaborating with Austin Podcasting Network, Nunez said he hopes to get more exposure for his technological and experimental artwork, as well as inspiration through dialogue with other techno-savvy Austinites.
"I basically want to talk to smart people," Nunez said. "Get ideas from smart people."
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