Podcasting: What is That?

Modern technology poses a monumental challenge for many if not most seniors. No doubt we have all had our moments with technology from programming remotes to working with vintage sewing machines. When all goes well, we are pleased. But when something goes awry we are often frustrated, displeased, or worse, disconsolate. These kind of moments of course happen to youngsters as well.

How well I remember our children and grandchildren having a tantrum (or its equivalent) when something went wrong. Like when a crayon broke in half or the lead on a pencil broke. I even remember a younger sibling not only pouting but refusing to eat because the veggies happened to get into the gravy or when the chicken fell off the drumstick. Either they were perfectionists or calamatists, I’m not sure. It happens at all ages.

On the other hand, youngsters, even preschoolers, become whiz kids with a mouse and a computers. Have you ever tried to help a novice senior manipulate a computer mouse? Probably easier to help a 4-yr old than most seniors. So, we sit back and marvel as well as shudder at modern technology combined with affluence. Like teens with computers and cell phones holed up in the near absolute privacy of their bedrooms podcasting.

Podcasting? My computer dictionary doesn’t even recognize that word. Apparently all you need is a computer, a microphone and the Internet. Seems as though the term is derived from Apple’s popular MP3 player used to download (legally and otherwise) music from the Internet. A compressed audio file, such as MP3, is recorded and posted to the Internet using a language known as RSS (Really Simple Syndication).

Users (like the teens in their bedrooms) subscribe to RSS through Apple’s iTunes or a new aggregator. Files are automatically downloaded when updated. You can listen to the tunes through a MP3 player or through the speakers on a computer. The beneficiaries are not only those who download but podcasters and advertisers often at the embarrassment of the media caught off-guard by blogging. Since almost anyone can podcast, its only a matter of time before this explodes (if you think I understand all this, think again).

So much for this. What’s next? Don’t even ask. Most of us will either be hopelessly behind times or even easier, ignorant. After all, isn’t ignorance bliss? Our senior moment intensifies when we try to keep up with the times (or with our grandkids). With all these gadgets at hand, complicated family schedules (remember those soccer moms who now have malls, video arcades and MP3s to contend with?) plus sleep-deprived students struggling with AIMs, graduation and a search for schools with some Frosh sanity codes.

Maybe, just maybe, our senior moment such as this conundrum isn’t the worse thing in the world. Technology increases at a lightning speed and even the techies find it difficult to keep up. Let’s keep using our old remote, watch videos on tape instead of DVDs. Drive our autos with automatic transmissions and not worry if we don’t have turbo, AWD, GPS or Onstar. After all, some day these will all be standard and all we’ll have to worry about is how to use them (providing we are still able to drive by then).

If not, perhaps we can hire our grandkids (or their friends) to be not only chauffeurs but our techies as well. Sobering thought, isn’t it?