The basics of Podcasting
Posted in General Business on October 5th, 2007 by TalitaKey concepts Quick definitions
Put simply, ‘Podcasting’ is audio content that is distributed over the Internet. Think of it as radio on demand.
Where does the name come from?
The term ‘podcasting’ derived its name from a combination of Apple’s ‘iPod’ and ‘broadcasting’. Despite it’s name, you don’t need an iPod – any digital media player or audio enabled computer will do.
How does it work?
Podcasting involves the creation of ‘radio’ shows that can be downloaded and enjoyed through access to the Internet. You can listen to podcasts via a media player on your computer (such as RealPlayer or Windows Media Player) or you can upload them directly to your digital media device (such as an iPod) for enjoyment anytime and anywhere.
What’s so exciting about podcasting?
For those who listen to podcasts…
What’s on the radio might not be what you want to hear at any given time, and most digital media devices don’t even have built-in radios. Welcome to podcasting. Listen to what you want, when you want, where you want.
For those who create podcasts…
With little more than a computer, a microphone, and some freeware (or shareware), anyone can produce a podcast on any topic under the sun that could potentially be heard by thousands of people.
Why would I subscribe to a podcast?
The cutting edge of podcasting involves a set of rules known as RSS (Really Simple Syndication). RSS allows a podcast to be syndicated (distributed) instantly on the Internet for download and use by anyone who has an interest in listening to it. People can subscribe to podcasts and have them automatically downloaded to their computer or digital media device. The software that goes out and grabs the podcast for you is known as the aggregator. An aggregator scours the Web for the exact content (podcasts) you have told it to look for.
Although syndication is the most popular way of obtaining podcasts, some podcasts are available as one time downloads or as streaming content from a website.
How do you create a podcast?
For those who are interested, here is a brief overview of the steps involved to help you familiarise yourself with the process:
- Create your audio content
- Convert the file to MP3 format
- Publish your mp3 to your web server
- Create your podcast RSS news feed (Most podcasters use blogging programs to automatically generate news feeds).
- Publish your podcast news feed to your web server
Podcasting Resources
- More information please!
Podcasting Wiki - Podcast Directories
Enter the world of podcasting - find some podcasts you’re interested in!
Podcast Alley - Podcast Aggregators
Tools that will automatically download the podcasts you are interested in
iPodder
Doppler - Podcasting Software
Software to create, edit and publish podcasts to a website
FeedForAll
AudioBlogger
