Egocasting

Introduction
toc Egocasing has a strong connection to narrowcasting, in the sense that it focuses on a small audience, rather than trying to reach everyone’s interests, like broadcasting does. But in the case of egocasting, the focus is on you. Advertising agencies, television programs, magazines and just about all products and services we use today are made the way they are to specifically target a group of people; this is narrowcasting. The targeting is done by the companies of the products / services. In egocasting the targeting is done by you.

More Specifically....
Egocasting focus on the ‘I’ by only looking at the specific things which you like. You go to TV channels with the shows that you like, and listen only to certain types of music. TiVo aids you in this process by allowing you to record only the shows you want, so you are able to watch them when you want all together, without even having to scan by any other programs.

But essentially this ends up causing some problems. Because you are just focusing on what you like to hear and see; you end up just tuning out everything else. You are no longer open to other cultures and other opinions.

M-Commerce Egocasting
How does this work in M-Commerce? Consider you have a cellphone from which you tell your Phone Provider (Rogers) that you would like to be informed on the following things- food specials and promotional health offers. Now you are walking down the street and you're wireless network detects a 50% discount on Fish&Chips at "Tony Danza's Fish Factory" and you recieve a SMS. Once done eating you walk to you're car parked at the Eaton Center and your recieve an SMS abouta free vochure for selected soaps at "Rick James Health Parlour," you proceed to the store from the directions recieved in your SMS. Conclusively these are examples of how you're preference to specific things such as food specials and health offers allowed you to be aware of such things when in close proxmity to them. You chose what to be interested in and were thus informed.

Narrowcasting and Egocasting are resulting customized products and services replacing mass production of goods.

Related Link: [|The Age of Egocasting]

“The remote control shifted power to the individual, and the technologies that have embraced this principle in its wake—the Walkman, the Video Cassette Recorder, Digital Video Recorders such as TiVo, and portable music devices like the iPod—have created a world where the individual’s control over the content, style, and timing of what he consumes is nearly absolute… We have created and embraced technologies that enable us to make a fetish of our preferences.”
 * __From Lecture:__**
 * C. Rosen, The New Atlantis (2006)****



**Advantages:**
There are many advantages of egocasting. For example, programs and shows will always be prioritized and displayed according to your likes/dislikes thus eliminating the "There's Nothing Good On TV" line. It can help companies as they can custom tailor their goods and services to meet the needs of their target audience and because of the smaller sizes created by ego casting, the companies can focus and concentrate better. It also largely helps small businesses as egocasting creates small markets and small target audience groups. Thus small business can once again devote all their resources and effort at gaining popularity and success in a small market rather than the big market which are usually created by broadcasting.

Disadvantages:
The disadvantges of egocasting are very evident. As stated earlier, egocasting helps narrow information and the perception of information, but also because of this, the viewer is forever surrounded by his own view and opinions which are constantly reinforced by the media which most of the time support the same views. Also in such conditions, the viewer might develop not gain any exposure to the views, opinions and oulook of other people as egocasting works on the principle of satisfying one's ego and so exposure to other's opinions, views and outlooks would go against that principle. Is this bringing about the Age of Ignorance?

Egocasting Devices:
iPod TiVo MP3 Players Video Recorders