Being a bit behind, I just got done reading John’s last two columns in PC Magazine. This week’s is on podcasting. Last week’s was on IP6 and the implications of being able to track everything about what you are doing on the web.

Reading them together made me realize there is a Big Brother problem looming. If we eventually get to a point where, say, all books-on-tape are made into podcasts, then anyone who downloads them can be tracked. Remind anyone of the privacy issues surrounding Homeland Security requesting lists of books checked out from libraries and bought at bookstores? With web monitoring equipment they won’t need court orders to learn what you are reading/listening to.

Aside from the current uses, podcasting will be an excellent way to take certain classes and lectures and even businesses will use it. The only thing is, what happens if your business podcasts a corporate meeting to employees all over the world, only to learn a competitor was able to skim it off the net and learn your about your business plan for the next year?

What safeguards should be put into place to prevent the “wrong people” from knowing too much about what you are listening to? Will the government allow it? They have already tried to force a backdoor into every ISP, phone line and computer. Without protection capabilities added to podcast transmissions, a very useful system beyond current entertainment uses may be crippled. Look what’s happened to P2P for other uses. And then there’s the whole issue of copyrighting podcasts…

Remember the good old days when podcasting was so simple?