Knowing I was going to spend more than 10 hours in the air over two days, I decided to dive deep into the podcasting pool. Using iPodder, I grabbed about a half dozen podcasts and listened to them between San Francisco and Philadelphia, and on the return flight. With one exception, I’ll remove all of them from iPodder so I never have to listen to them again. Despite the use of music tracks to emulate professional broadcast, these were (I can think of no better word) lame. Individuals with no expertise spoke semi-literately on subjects about which they evidently believed they had great expertise. There are, no doubt, many good podcasts out there. I’m waiting for personal recommendations. I just can’t imagine sampling every one in order to find a few worth listening to.

But listening to these amateur attempts to produce professional radio-like shows, it occurred to me that organizations can begin producing their own brand-focused radio shows targeting loyal customers. Consider the iPod itself. Why shouldn’t Apple produce a weekly half-hour show that showcases new uses of the iPod, the latest releases on iTunes and interviews with musical artists who have cut exclusive iTunes tracks? How many iPod owners would subscribe to that feed?

From there, it’s easy to imagine podcasts that reinforce a brand among customers and fans of a product. GM could produce a Hummer podcast. PeopleSoft could have one aimed at users of its software. (They could also produce one for shareholders to promote its position against Oracle in the current takeover effort.) How about a Nintendo podcast for gamers? Or podcast from Carlson Wagonlit offering travel tips?

It seems like a no-brainer. The cost is low, the technology exists a viral marketing can spread the word among the faithful. I just wonder how long it will take before an organization figures it out and kicks off the trend.