Godcasting: The Podcast's Killer App?

Godcasting

I am fascinated by 'Godcasting' as I have always enjoyed listening to religious content, especially sermons 'on demand' especially from my old home church in Nashville Belmont Church or from my mentor Don Finto, pastor emeritus, available on mp3. Sermons or for that matter any content available via Realplayer is extremely cumbersome, so I generally pass them on by.

Sermons on iPods? I do benefit from a review. In fact, where possible I listen live the first time through, and take notes on the second listen via mp3. As a visual and auditory learner, I enjoy a book like Getting Things Done in print, eBook and audiobook or why I enjoyed One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest via the book and the movie. Missed the theatre version however.

Statistics indicate that the normal, untrained listener is likely to understand and retain only about 50 percent of a conversation (message). This relatively poor percentage drops to an even less impressive 25 percent retention rate 48 hours later. This means that recall of particular conversations will usually be inaccurate and incomplete.

Aha! So this is where bad theology begins, or "stinky thinking". Remember the scene in Monty Python's Life of Brian, when Jesus is giving his Sermon on the Mount and the two guys way in the back couldn't quite hear? The interpretation was "Blessed is he with big noses"...

The buzz:

Godcasting: The Podcast's Killer App?:

"The technology is a good match for religious content. Many religious groups generate new audio content in the form of sermons, music or services every week. This content is often recorded for sharing with shut-ins, people in hospitals and others that can't attend services."

According to analysis of search results at Lycos.com, weekly church sermons that can be downloaded from the Internet and played on portable audio players have become the Podcasts most in demand.

"During the past month, searches for Godcasts have risen over 355%," said Dean Tsouvalas, writer of the Lycos 50 report. "There are no specific 'Pod preachers' being queried, but it's only a matter of time before the 'Billy Graham' of Podcasts emerges," he wrote in an e-mail.

'Godcasts' booming across the Internet

That religion and spirituality have found a niche in this new technology should not be a surprise. Nearly two thirds of the nation's 128 million Internet users have used the Internet for faith-related matters, according to study last year by the Pew Internet & American Life Project." another study

Churches have historically taken advantage of new technology, from radio evangelism to televised sermons to cable television channels such as God TV. Most recently, they have embraced the Internet, forming the Internet Evangelism Coalition."

The Lowdown on Podcasting: Now it's a lot easier to listen than it is to send your own audio programs into cyberspace. But stay tuned -- this party's just getting started "
(Eight part series)

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