These days I am talking less and less about podcasting and more about new media. It is a superficial change, but one that I think reflects changes in the online media space. Of course, just as am in the middle of this transition, a better term has appeared that more accurately reflects the work I do for myself and others. — many-to-many media (m3). Many-to-many media encompasses all the current aspects of new media, which I believe should be parts of a whole, not something where you use only one part.

For me, many-to-many media includes (1) podcasting, (2) online video sharing sites like YouTube et al, (3) live video streaming sites like uStream et al, and (4) social media sites like Facebook, Twitter, FriendFeed, etc. All of these areas involve many people creating media for many people, hence many-to-many media (m3).

When talking with people who are interested in many-to-many media, I make a point of explaining the need for using all aspects of this model. Podcasting provides am automatic subscription model that brings content directly to a viewers PC, television or portable player so they can enjoy that media whenever and wherever they wish. Video sharing sites provide easy-to-access “one touch” video players which can be easily shared and embedded on your site and others. Live video streaming allows anyone to set up a LIVE show whenever and wherever it serves them best. Finally, social media sites provide a way to showcase your content while also raising the level of conversation and interaction between you and your audience.

Taken as a whole, many-to-many media takes us far beyond the traditional media environment.

Taken as a whole, many-to-many media takes us far beyond the traditional media environment. For little cost, we can create content in a variety of formats and share that content with tens of thousands of viewers with little more than a computer and and Internet connection.

I am seeing now that, for me, the term many-to-many media is going to start supplanting both podcasting and new media as my descriptive term for the new media world we live in.