Podcasts & Videocasts: Managing Mobile Communication Content in the Web 2.0 Era

ATLANTA – NOVEMBER 15, 2006 – At the start of the Web 2.0 era where podcasts and videocasts are top of mind to corporate marketers as Google acquires YouTube for $1.65 billion, Hannon Hill, makers of web content management (WCM) solutions, advises organizations using new rich-media technologies to implement a systematic approach for managing the content in order for their websites and related audio or video files to be accessible and downloadable.

“The best websites are those that are easy to find, access and navigate,” said Hannon Hill President David Cummings. “With the advent of Web 2.0 and the explosion of rich-media content, organizations are facing a new challenge: how to successfully enhance their established online presence with podcasts and videocasts.”

Higher education, in particular, is expanding the ways in which online information is made available to students, faculty and website visitors. Datamonitor, a leading provider of online data, analytic and forecasting platforms for key vertical sectors, recently documented in a study on education technology that “As student demands for ‘any time, any where’ computing grow, higher education institutions will increasingly shift from a simply mobile to a truly ubiquitous model for delivering computing resources.”¹

Several types of rich-media content mediums, including podcasts and videocasts, are now considered standard vehicles for delivering training, news and marketing materials to audiences that access their websites. Earlier this year, research firm Gartner called podcasting “a new, low-cost, high-impact form of audio content delivery that's ready to be exploited for training and general information delivery.” And, advised that “enterprises should review their communication and training strategies to find places where podcasting would be valuable.”²

“The message we give to our clients is that if they’re not already incorporating podcasts, videocasts or even blogs in their websites, they’d better start,” said Cummings. “And, as any good adviser does, we sip our own champagne in practicing what we preach. We’re using our own product, Cascade Server, to manage our new online rich-media content.”

The company website, www.hannonhill.com, now provides podcasts from the company’s library of white papers, training videocasts for customers and inter-client blogs where customers share ideas on how the company’s technology can evolve to continue meeting their needs. Hannon Hill also expands its outreach by uploading its podcasts and making the content available on Apple’s iTunes website.

Hannon Hill’s Cascade Server WCM solution provides users of rich media content the following key benefits:

• Easy uploading and versioning of audio, video, Flash, and other files;

• Automatic RSS feeds with metadata for iTunes; and

• Access rights, workflow, and auditing of all activities.

For more information on utilizing Cascade Server for rich media content, please contact Hannon Hill at 800.407.3540 or visit us at www.hannonhill.com.

1“Education Technology – Expanding Accessibility to Technology in High Education,” Datamonitor, October 4, 2006.

2“Podcasting Is a New Medium for Training and Communication,” Lou Latham and James Lundy, Gartner, March 8, 2006.

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