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Shel Holtz
Communicating at the Intersection of Business and Technology
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Will podcasting save BitTorrent?

A bit of a tiff broke out at Gnomedex when Dave Winer challenged Adam Curry to use BitTorrent as a means of distributing his podcast, “Daily Source Code,” and thus solve his bandwidth problems. Curry evidently resisted, noting that BitTorrent is viewed by many as a vehicle for the illegal distribution of large copyrighted files, notably movies. But BitTorrent itself isn’t illegal, and Winer noted that Curry’s use of it would be non-infringing.

Several podcasters already make their podcasts subscribable using BitTorrent. I keep meaning to talk to Neville about offering “For Immediate Release” through BitTorrent. It irks me that this file-sharing approach to rapid content distribution has gotten a bad name because some people have used it to illegal ends. If someone plans a crime over the phone, nobody assumes the phone is an instrument of evil. My primary use of BitTorrent is retrieving live concert recordings from eTree. None of these are being offered illegally—jam bands make their concerts recordings available as a matter of course and the eTree BitTorrent site simply makes it faster to retrieve what the bands are offering.

The more people apply legitimate uses to BitTorrent, the sooner the stigma surrounding it will fade. The next challenge, then, is just figuring out how to seed the file. It’s more fun to write about this stuff than actually do it.

06/26/05 | 4 Comments | Will podcasting save BitTorrent?

Comments

  • 1.In his Gnomedex keynote last night, which he recorded as Daily Source Code #200, Adam announced that he had thought more about it and is going to begin using BitTorrent to distribute his show.

    seth | June 2005 | tacoma, wa

  • 2.BitTorrent could never work for one simple reason. It won't be accepted behind corporate firewalls and thus your download speed will be crippled since BitTorrent penalizes users that don't upload.

    Randy Charles Morin | June 2005 | Brampton, ON, Canada

  • 3.Thanks, Seth -- I left yesterday morning for DC, and won't get to hear the keynote until I get back. Glad to hear it, and can't wait to hear the keynote. (I'm a Curry AND a Winer fan.)

    Randy, I appreciate your observation. Having spent most of my life behind corporate firewalls myself, I know that's true, but I don't think it'll cripple BitTorrent in general. There are more than enough people to take advantage of BitTorrent behind corporate firewalls. Internal podcasts don't need it, and external podcasts can be retrieved from somewhere other than the office, or using non-BitTorrent feeds.

    By the way, Skype presents the same issue, yet many organizations are embracing Skype, trading off bandwidth usage in favor of lower long-distance and international phone bills.

    Shel Holtz | June 2005 | Washington Hilton

  • 4.Even if Curry starts using BitTorrent, the technology will continued to be crippled by poor PR. Yes, people have used it for nefarious purposes vis-a-vis copyright infringement, but try telling the file sharing hypersensitive media companies that it really can be used for legal purposes. Heck, all the major record labels are still scared to death of unprotected MP3s. BitTorrent has great potential for enabling the forthcoming vid-casting revolution. They need a great PR person to help them to dispel all the misconceptions about the use of the technology.

    Rob S | June 2005 | New York

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