PodShow Lays Off One-Third Of Staff
Mar 15th, 2008 | By James Lewin | Category: General, Podcasting Networks 
Podcasting startup PodShow has laid off one-third of its staff, according to a report Valleywag:
PodShow, the San Francisco-based online-video network best known for launching the career of CNET’s Natali Del Conte, is laying off about 20 employees, or as much as 30 percent of its staff.
“There are no secrets, only information you don’t yet have,” is the slogan for former MTV VJ Adam Curry’s podcast. Curry, a PodShow cofounder, didn’t show up to deliver information about the firings; we’re told he left that to middle managers.
This looks like the end of the podcasting hype.
None of the heavily hyped podcasting startups have delivered on their promise, despite a one-year jump on the mainstream competition and inexorable trends driving people to podcasts and other Internet media.
Expect more podcast hype backlash in the next year, while forward-thinking organizations and early-adopters push podcasting technology to mainstream adoption.
More: Our take on the podcasting hype cycle.
I think that it’s still too hard for the average person to setup Podcasts and download them regularly. Even in iTunes. I think the focus in the industry should be on building online apps that stream content. Get your Podcast on a niche blog or forum, myspace, facebook, google apps, etc. This introduces the non-techies to your content and once their hooked they may have the desire to go through the process of setting up a subscription.
Real mainstream acceptance won’t happen until we receive Podcasts effortlessly through phones over 3G networks. And beyond that through Internet connected cable boxes, TV’s and car radios.
[…] Well this post isn’t as much of a post about THIS podcast as much as it is about podcasting in general. I just read that Podshow report-ably laid off one third of its staff. For those of us in this ‘biz’ such as myself, this comes as a bit of a shock I have to say. […]
Mr. Curry may have come up with a fine invention back when, but neither he nor anyone else can be the king of podcasting. His laughable attempt to become the Clear Channel of the new medium defies the basic premise of podcasting: it’s so easy, so democratic, almost anyone, anywhere can do it alone; no need to hand your brains, wallet or gonads over to an aspiring media baron.
Hopefully, this will be a strong signal to many other guru wannabes to stop the posturing and butt-kissing, shut up, sit down, and allow for wonderful, diverse content, not the enrichment of their own bank accounts and egos at the expense of others.
Those companies with VC money are doomed to fail, thankfully there are other companies doing what podshow has failed to deliver.
Hey Mike. What companies are those?
I do a music podcast and radio show called The Rock and Roll Report and I can tell you for a fact that when I am talking to music fans not into the podcasting “scene” (and that’s the majority of them) they have no idea what a podcast is but understand and react to the radio show with no problem.
Podcasters have to stop addressing other podcasters and go after their intended audience using a combination of “new media” and old school methods. Podcasting is just not that well known yet and it is still too hard to set up for most people. It is undeniably though the future of media.
Agreed that delivery needs to be idiot proof. It’s just so cryptic for most people to have to subscribe to podcasts. Other than iPod users I’m sure most of my audience just listen from my site.
They dig it that way, too.
As for big companies trying to monetize podcasting, let’s keep it real and personal and democratic – then it is something special.
The question I have is if this is an indicator of anything larger than Podshow & PodTech, or just a reflection on the two companies.
It’s not just two companies. See my comments above.
Evan Stone,
I see your comments above but I don’t see what your point is. Stop trying to make money and just make content? I’m not trying to make a fortune, but I need to make some money because it takes up a lot of my time.
PodShow is a dying dog. I got a sponsor for my show because I did the work and turned them over to podshow who gave me 1/3 of what they were collecting from the sponsor then dumped the sponsor because they only want sponsors who’ll pay $35k for a 3-6 month contract. I even showed the contract they gave to my sponsor and this guy works remotely for PodShow and he even said the contract made no sense.
They’ve fired their talent relations person with Adam taking over the job and everyone I’ve talked to said that writing to Adam is like sending email to a black hole. Adam usually sends me a kind of “why are you bothering me?” response a week later if I’m lucky and he never answers any questions.