For the record, Social Podcasting started here!

Over the past week or so, I’ve heard quite a bit about “social podcasting”. I wasn’t quite sure what people meant by it, though I am pretty sure I used the term way before anyone else did. Seeking truth, I turned to Wikipedia:

Social Podcasting is a form of podcasting that allows more than one author to upload an mp3 show or episode into a podcast feed. The concept limits contributions from authors invited by the podcast's owner.

Is it just me or does this definition sound more like a collaborative effort - perhaps Collaborative Podcasting? In the radio version, shows are either interactive or not - depending on if they allow for phone calls and other forms of feedback from a live audience. Would that make it Interactive Podcasting?

When I first started using the term Social Podcasting I was applying it to what I was doing with Beercasting. It’s been so long that I might need to refresh people a bit. In November of 2004, I set out on a mini adventure in podcasting. I toured the country, visiting something like 11 cities and recording 300+ podcasts on close to 100 different topics. This was called Beercasting. I even tried to get a company off the ground called Sparkcasting.com where we clearly stated: “SparkCasting™ is the cornerstone of the social podcasting movement.” In fact, my bio in the Podcasting Hacks book even mentions social podcasting.

I guess my underwear got bunched up a bit when I start hearing other people claim that they coined the phrase. Mike Arrington points to Waxxi. It seems like an interesting enough a service to give it a try - I know I have clients that are seeking this type of solution. What stood out, however, was the attribution up to PodServe (I don’t know these folks but it looks like a cool service). I checked out their site and they have their own definition about Social Podcasts:

Social podcasts are created by small (invitation only) groups. Don't have time to podcast on a regular basis? Start a social podcast with a small group of friends on a particular topic. A small group can create a compelling podcast and generate an active following. Want to join an existing social podcast? Just ask for an invitation.

Ultimately, the purpose of this post is to clarify what I think Social Podcasting is, since neither of these use cases really seems to get it right. In January of this year, I put out the beginnings of a whitepaper I wrote for the event industry. I defined Social Podcasting as such:

With Social Podcasting, we engage the participants in dialog. This dialog is designed to surface the comments, questions and concerns that were raised throughout the event, from the seats in the presentations to the tables during the reception.

Open dialog with an open audience. That’s what I was in pursuit of when Beercasting started. That, to me, is Social Podcasting.