Okay, so while it's not news to anyone who's likely to read a blog, podcasting is a revolutionary innovation. I don't mean it in the way that Starbucks "revolutionized" the coffee business or even in the sense that radio "revolutionized" commmunication. Rather, podcasting will change not only the means by which we communicate or get our caffeine, it will change the very essense of what it means to interact with others. In other words, values, institutions, law and commerce will all face fundamental change.
Today, we stil talk about "going to school." Podcasting makes the idea of spending large sums of money on the bricks and mortar of the educational universe seem foolishly wasteful. A combination of podcast-based lectures, instructions, demonstrationns and occasional gatherings could easily beat the low efficiency of our current system. Think of the money spent on transporting all those millions of young people to school each day accross this nation. Think of the hours spent by the youngsters on those big yellow busses that could be much better spent actually learning something or on the dying art of play.
The wrench in the works will be the baby-sitting aspect of our current system. Whatever would families do if the state were no longer prepared to take care of their kids everyday of the week? Hmm . . . perhaps this would force our economy to reinvigorate the idea that children should spend time with their parents. That, however, is a subject for another day.
