UF College of Business introduces weekly podcast series

December 12, 2006

“Tuesdays with Tosi,” the first organized iTunes podcast series for the University of Florida Warrington College of Business, premiered Dec. 5.

Hosted by Henry Tosi, McGriff professor of management, the weekly podcast features conversations with some of the business college’s leading researchers, alumni executives and entrepreneurs addressing such topics as management, finance, entrepreneurship and marketing.

In the first podcast, Tosi talks with Mark Lutz, J.C. Penney professor of marketing, on the topic of the “recreational shopper.” Schedules for the next three episodes are currently posted on the Warrington College of Business Web site. Planning for new episodes through April 2007 is under way.

The college has previously posted podcasts on iTunes with its “Business at Florida” account, but “Tuesdays with Tosi” is the first ongoing series for the college.

An earlier podcast – “Why Florida?,” a marketing piece aimed at prospective students – received high ratings from subscribers. But to date, iTunes does not offer a tracking mechanism to distributors, so it is difficult to see how many people downloaded the podcast.

“We are interested in iTunes’ popularity feedback,” said J.C. Marvin, webmaster for the college. “As of today, the first episode of ‘Tuesdays with Tosi’ indicated a very high level of popularity on iTunes. By this measurement, we feel it is already starting out with great success.”

In addition to “Tuesdays with Tosi,” the college plans to create a podcast featuring the dean of the college and guest speakers, who will share stories from their own business experiences.

“It is a great way to showcase the alumni and faculty of the Warrington College of Business,” Tosi said. “We want to get as many of them in front of the world as we can.”