Podcast?

What is a podcast?

A podcast is a series of digital media files (either audio or video ) that are released episodically and downloaded through web syndication. The mode of delivery is what differentiates podcasts from other ways of accessing media files over the Internet, such as simple download or streamed webcasts: special client software applications known as podcatchers (like iTunes, Zune, Juice, and Winamp) are used to automatically identify and download new files in the series when they are released by accessing a centrally-maintained web feed that lists all files associated with the series. New files can thus be downloaded automatically by the podcatcher and stored locally on the user's computer or other device for offline use, giving simpler access to episodic content.

The term podcast refers to an ongoing series or episodes of a particular program.A podcaster is the person who creates the content.

The term "Podcasting" was first mentioned by Ben Hammersley in The Guardian It is a portmanteau of the words "Pod" - derived from iPod - and "broadcasting". To avoid a term similar to "iPod", some use the term Netcast instead of Podcast. newspaper in a February 2004 article, along with other proposed names for the new medium.

It has never been necessary, despite the source of the name, to use an iPod or any other form of portable media player to use podcasts; the content can be accessed using any computer capable of playing media files.A backronym has been posited where podcast stands for "Personal On Demand broadCAST"

How to create it?

First Things First

Why is the Radio Guide writing about Podcasting? Because it's very clear to me the Internet coupled with pesonal technology like iPods and MP3 players have empowered everyone with a new voice while redefining what "Radio" is in the 2000s from both a technical and distribution sense. Although I love traditional Radio, I'm also willing to embrace new paradigms. If you're reading this, then apparently you are, too.

A Podcast is:

1. An audio file you create in .mp3 format...
2. Which contains your own radio show or any audio you wish others to have...
3. That you upload along with an RSS (Really Simple Syndication) file to a server
4. That your intended listeners download using one of several programs that have been created to retrieve your audio file automatically...
5. So they can listen to it at their convenience on their own iPod or .mp3 player. (your website for instance)...

That’s it. Now, don’t let things like “RSS file”, “server” or “.mp3 format” scare you.

I’m going to show you exactly how to do all of this in the simplest of terms. By the time we’re done, you’ll be podcasting to the world. Kind of exciting, huh?

Before we get into the mechanics of podcasting, let’s think about just some of the reasons you might want to create your own podcast:

1. You always wanted your own talk show but you don’t own a radio station or work at one.
2. You’re a musician and you want to build up a fan base by providing some of your music to potential fans.
3. You’re a speaker and you want to sell a multi-part audio seminar but don’t want to create CDs, labels, mail them, etc. (Yes, you can use podcasting for profit, too.)
4. You already have a radio show but you want to make certain segments available to the world to increase your reputation and reach.
5. You’re a book author and you want to interest people in buying it by offering a few spoken pages each week to entice them.
6. You’re a school Principal and you want to create your own weekly message to the students.
7. You’re a raving lunatic and you want to rant to the world about conspiracies, UFOs and Men in Black.

Podcasting is for anyone for any reason. It empowers you with a voice that can literally reach around the world.

In order to podcast you will need to learn a few skills in this order:

1. How to record your audio and save it to an .mp3 file.
2. How to create an RSS file which holds the “directions” for sending your file when a user’s program like iPodder requests it
3. How to write the “directions” that are inside the RSS file
4. How to upload the RSS “feed” and your .mp3 file
5. How to validate that the file is written correctly and will send the file correctly.