Even though I’ve done similar before, it’s not because I’m a compulsive liar. I promise. It’s because situations change and they can change quickly.

About the time we switched hosting providers, Soupgiant became responsible for hosting the Boxcutters podcast. Each week Boxcutters releases an MP3 between 35 and 45 MB which is, in turn, downloaded at least 1000 times.

The maths is pretty simple, each week Boxcutters, alone, uses 35 GB or more of bandwidth. With our current host, Linode, we’re paying a little under $US60 for a VPS and 600 GB of bandwidth. To get the equivalent bandwidth in Australia, we would be charged at least ten times that amount.

It’s not entirely the fault of Australian hosts that they’re pricing themselves out of an international market. According to the OECD, retail bandwidth in Australia is 50% more expensive than in the US. It’s safe to conclude this is a reflection of wholesale pricing.

To state the obvious, hosting pricing has to follow the lead of bandwidth pricing. So if Australian web hosting providers are gouged, gouging of their customer must follow.

I’d love to host the Soupgiant websites in Australia, partly due to home-town pride but mostly because the 25,000 km (15,500 mi) round trip to California is pointless.

The simple fact is: Soupgiant can’t afford to host our sites locally, given that most of the bandwidth is used for a loss-making podcast.

Hosting the sites in the USA means we may break even some months but locally there’s no chance.

Update: Since writing this post I’ve relocated Soupgiant’s hosting to Media Temple‘s dv service. A managed service is a better fit for Soupgiant.

I firmly believe that it’s only in a podcast such an interview is possible

Neighbours, in Australia to this day, twenty [odd] years down the track, for me, poses the odd problem. The old guard of casting agents in Australia still don’t take you seriously.

Post Neighbours [a] small role in [My Husband, My Killer] had people [saying] “Crikey, Craig, who knew” We think the boy may be able to act.

Craig McLachlan

On traditional media, it’s possible the guest would have been more guarded. I don’t know if that’s the case for McLachlan but certainly other guests have worried that they’ve caused trouble following a podcast interview.

As the interview went past its allotted time, Josh looked over the running sheet and started bumping other segments. 33 minutes later, all other segments had been bumped and it was time to finish the show. Having worked around the edges of mainstream media previously, I know this couldn’t happen; while a schedule isn’t set in concrete, it’s beginning to dry.

The key to this flexibility is a niche audience. While, by definition, the audience is small, it’s loyal and it’s interested. Without the boundaries of broadcast media, niche can take on a new meaning. Leo Laporte’s TWiT Network claims 2.6 million downloads a month — small compared to network television, but nothing to be sneezed at.

Advertising to a Niche

Advertising on traditional broadcast media, such as TV, is advertising with a scatter gun. Anyone could be watching: from a 34 year-old man to a 62 year-old grandmother. One will be more interested in the next generation iPhone than the other. Ratings will indicate which programme the 34 year-old is more likely to be watching but there will be a few grandmothers watching too and the network will charge for their eyes. How the television is being watched needs to be considered too: Are they watching while eating dinner? Reading with the sound down? Or have they left the room to make a coffee?

On a single subject podcast, every member of the audience is interested in the subject — so interested they’ve actively sought out a podcast. Using Boxcutters as an example, the audience may or may not be interested in the next generation iPhone, but they’d be interested in box sets of the Wire, the West Wing, Deadwood, and Six Feet Under.

If you need assistance setting up a podcast for your business, event, or group, Josh and Peter at Soupgiant can help.

Boxcutters is presented by Josh Kinal, John Richards, and, Brett Cropley.