About a month ago, Leo Laporte, founder of the TWiT.TV podcast network, proposed that the podcasting community adapt the term netcast instead of podcast. His main reason was that Apple had begun pursuing its iPod trademark, and was now going after services with the name “pod” in them; most notably Podcast Ready, a podcast-based service. He added that the name netcast had some additional benefits, such as preventing confusion that podcasts need iPods.
When Leo initially proposed the idea, I had my doubts, but I still felt the name change was feasible and was for a good cause. Now a month later, I’m completely against the idea. Since netcast was proposed, I learned that Apple was suing Podcast Ready not over their name, but a software application they develop called myPodder. myPodder sounds too much like iPod, and to top it off, integrates with the iPod; therefore giving Apple ample reason to protect their trademark. In addition to this news, I also learned that Apple could not obtain a trademark to iPodcast, due to the term podcast now being considered a common word.
Since the initial worry of a legal battle for the term podcast is over, I think Leo needs to stop this netcast crap now. The name doesn’t have a ring to it like podcast. Millions of people are just starting to catch on to the term podcast, and trying to interpose netcast in there is just going to confuse them. To add fuel to the fire, the name netcast isn’t much better legally; netcast is a trademark of Netcast AG, a research firm in Switzerland. While I’m going to continue to listen to Leo’s shows regardless of his decision, I believe it would be in the best interest of the podcasting community to abandon the netcast campaign. Besides, TWiT.TV has always been podcasts I love from people I trust, not netcasts.
11 Comments
Phew, glad I read your whole post before asking if you were crazy.
Netcast? Eh.
Podcast? Much better, though I don’t know why.
Did I come off as accepting netcasts early in the post? I was trying to present the facts before I started giving my opinion.
Well one would think that before they click read on.
Sort of. The title kinda told me too. That’s why I was glad to read it.
Ever since Leo’s overbearing misuse of the term Web 2.0 I’ve stopped listening to TWIT  Dvorak had a part to play in it too. I’m with you though, netcasts is no better than podcast. It will definitely confuse the world at large that doesn’t know what either is.
Next thing you know Apple is going to sue Granny Smith…
The term podcast has been around longer then the iPod so it would be really dumb to change it after it’s been used for over 6 years now and give me reason to hate Steve Jobs more…
I like the sound of Podcast over Netcast. Net____ sounds so 90’s. And yes, Netscape, I’m looking at you too!
Great point. Netcasts do have an old-school technology feel to it. Podcasts sound hip and in.
Though they sound hip and in only because of the iPod. What would we call Podcasts if it weren’t for the iPod? Zunecast?! Lol. Sorry…..though I am very glad AAPL is doing well, yay!
Apple missed their chance to own the term “podcast” when they didn’t claim it originally, even though everyone using it knew that it refered to creating audio files to work on an iPod. Now that podcasts are played on everything from home computers to mobile phones, the iPod part of it is long gone. “Podcast,” as you pointed out, is an accepted common term.
Still, Apple can now sit back and enjoy the fact that every single reference to a podcast or podcasting in general is, in fact, a roundabout advertisment for their product and their product alone. They actually win a lot more free exposure by not owning that term. I wonder how many people in their marketing department are claiming to have done that on purpose.
I hate the term podcast regardless; it makes an unnecessary association with the iPod (and yes, that’s a bad thing). We should change the name already and be done with it.
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