Today is the 5th anniversary of something huge in podcasting. 5 years ago today, iTunes 4.9 was released by Apple. It is when they (Apple) included a podcatcher in to the iTunes store. It is also the 5th anniversary of me downloading my first podcast. It was for iPodLounge. The podcast is now defunct.
When iTunes 4.9 was released it came with a directory of about 1,000-2,000 podcasts. Not just individual episodes, but of shows themselves. Most of them had tens of hours of content in a library that could be downloaded easily. Well it was easy if you had a decent internet connection and a computer that moved faster than a hamster taking a nap.
I quickly began to learn about the medium. I downloaded the Nate and Di Show, Gabber Jaw and The Twisted Pickle. Sadly all three shows are also now defunct. All three were some of my favorites, and still are. I then heard my first podiobook. Scott Sigler’s EarthCore. All of these shows started BEFORE June 28, 2005. The feeds for all the shows listed in my initial listening experience are all still active. Since then, I have listened to many other shows that have also started before iTunes 4.9’s release. The Redboy Podcast (one of my all time favorites) is a shining example of what was done before 4.9 and they are still podcasting to this day.
I started my show just months later. I am in the initial wave of Post 4.9 (Shows that started after iTunes 4.9 was released) podcasts. I wasn’t around in the wild days when everything was done differently and had to be changed to be part of the Apple way. I missed out on the trial and error of handwriting, typing, your RSS feed.
Many of the shows that were initially listed in iTunes when 4.9 was released have since faded in to history. Some are still going strong, such as The Big Show, Zaldor’s World, Mur Lafferty, Tee Morris, Evo Terra, and Comedy4Cast to name a few.
What is frustrating to me today, the 5th anniversary of an event that changed my life, is that Apple says it is the 5th Birthday of podcasting. Now don’t get me wrong, I love love LOVE Apple products. I have my share of them, and hope to keep that growing. But Apple didn’t invent podcasting. Steve Jobs did not get on a microphone in August of 2004 and create an audio file that was then transmitted to RSS readers, like original MTV VJ Adam Curry did with The Daily Source Code (this is the accredited date of podcasting’s birth).
Now I will celebrate podcasting’s 6th birthday in about a month and a half. Not today though. It is just the anniversary of the day Apple released an update to one of their software titles. Shame on you Apple for trying to rewrite history. By the way Apple, can you send me a new iPhone 4? I want one really bad and would love to have one before January.
I do want to thank Tee Morris for inspiring me to write this post. Sometimes a 140 character tweet can get your mind going.
