Redwood, California hosted the Corporate Podcast Summit in late June, 2006.
They predicted a 'perfect storm' of Podcasting/RSS developments will hit the Internet in the first quarter of 2007.
Several major factors are converging next year.
The first and possibly the most important one is the mass upgrading to Internet Explorer 7.
While most of it will likely only 'catch-up' to Firefox and Apple, Microsoft still has a huge percentage of the market share for browsers.
After I gave a speech on RSS Feeds and Podcasting, two smug Apple users approached me and were delighted to inform me that everything I was telling the 500 people in the audience, they had been doing on their Apple for a year.
With the next version of Internet Explorer, everyone else will be able to quickly and easily subscribe (or unsubscribe) to RSS Feeds, which is how Podcasts are distributed.
The bottom line is in the brave new world coming, you will need great content more than ever.
You will need personality.
You will need to connect and communicate.
You will need to entertain.
Once someone subscribes to your feed, if you constantly pitch them, or are boring -- one click and you are gone forever.
This will have a major impact on email.
I can forsee a future where the only email that makes it through are those that you approve.
If I want to read your newsletter, you better have an RSS feed.
I will receive no spam, because I will only receive business or personal emails, that I have okayed.
It is quicker and easier for you to read the headlines for the RSS feeds and decide then which ones you want to read more.
This is the way it is with ICQ, Yahoo or MSN Messenger.
The second major change heading like a tornado next year is Metrics.
There are more programs in development to collect accurate data.
How many people are listening to your podcasts? How long do they listen for? What did they do afterwards? Who are they? Where are they? When did they listen? What are their demographic and economic profiles? Websites like [http://www.
attentiontrust.
org] are working to answer those questions while balancing the indivduals right for privacy.
hey track what surfers pay atention to (and what they don't).
This data is valuable information for businesses.
And for the consumer.
The trick is to focus on solving the consumers' problem of buying what they want rather than th esalesman's problem of getting attention.
Finally Google, Yahoo, Microsoft and others are continuing to find new and compelling ways to integrate RSS feeds into their services and programs.
Yahoo's new mail, Windows Lives, Google Desktop are all great examples of what's coming.
It is important to remember that even a small podcasting audience, who subscibed based on sbject matter and topic, is a laser targeted group who can tell you directly what's going well, what's not and what needs to happen in the future.
As my old university professor used to say, If you want to be a leader, find out where your group wants to go, get in front, and yell back, 'This way!' To get this valuable feedback, make sure you ask for it.
On your podcast let your listeners know you want to hear from them.
Give them options, such as a feedback email address, a phone number to call - www.
k7.
net has a free service that your listeners can call and leave their comments.
The comment can be posted immediately or moderated.
In 2007, the preparations you make in 2006 will bear fruit.
Those businesses that take the time to position themselves, and prepare their customers, will see huge inroads as your competition scrambles to catch up.
Those that don't will suffer the same fate that befalls those who are unprepared when a natural disaster hits.