Podcasting - a Little More Detail
1 – Podcasting a little more in detail
2 – Brief history
3 – How can I listen to a podcast?
4 – How do I subscribe?
1 - Podcasting a little more in detail
Think of a podcast as a radio show on demand. But listeners don't need a radio, and podcasters don't need a transmitter. What exactly is it and how does it work?
The word "podcast" originates from the words iPOD and broadCAST: Podcasts can be broadcasted onto any MP3-player (or computer). The difference between broadcasting on the radio and podcasting is that a podcast comes in a audio file (usually MP3). Instead of tuning in to a radio station, a podcast is downloaded from the internet, and put on an MP3 player (for example an iPod). The advantage of a podcast is that you can easily choose your favourite shows, and listen to them wherever and whenever you please!
Every podcast show consists of a series of several episodes you can listen to. You can listen to these episodes one at a time (say using your web browser) or you can subscribe to the entire podcast series using software on your computer. With subscribing to a podcast, all new shows will be downloaded onto your computer automatically as they are published. And if you have an MP3 player, the next time you sync your device, your podcasts will be downloaded automatically for listening on the go.
2 - Brief history
Since the evolvement of the Internet, communication got much easier through time. Just a couple of years ago weblogs became popular. It made it possible for everyone to be a journalist. Blogging has become a popular way for people to share their thoughts on the internet.
It became a lot easier reading blogs through RSS (Really Simply Syndication): This is a news reading technology. By subscribing to a certain news 'feed', content can automatically be updated regularly through a subscription. All you need is a news reader (or aggregator) to be able to check updates.
After written blogs, people started audio-blogging: weblogs in spoken words. This added a little personal touch to the blogs. These audio-blogs are now referred to as amateurish podcasts.
Audio-blogs needed to be downloaded manually. There was yet no possibility to subscribe to audio-blogs. Adam Curry wanted to change that and automate the delivery of content through RSS to portable audio players, such as iPod. Adam started writing the first podcatcher software (news feed aggregator or collector for podcasts.) So now it's possible to distribute your recorded podcast through RSS.
The podcast distributor, in other words, the host of the show or program, is responsible for releasing the most current podcasts and make sure he/she gets a lot of listeners of course. By submitting to as many podcast directories as possible, you increase your chances of expanding your audience. Getting into the iTunes Music Store Podcast Directory is a high priority for any podcast marketer.
And this is by far not the end of the story! After just a week weeks of podcasting, this was easily expanded by switching to video: vodcasting was born.
New podcasting technologies continue to emerge. New markets are being created. New ideas are being formed. Podcasting is on the move!
3 - How can I listen to a podcast?
You can listen to most podcasts by clicking on the link to the MP3 file. Double click on one of those links should start playing the selected episode, automatically activating the mp3-payer on your computer. (Depending on your internet connection, this sometimes takes some time to start. But it should take less than a few minutes!) However, some podcasts are only available by subscription.
4 - How do I subscribe?
Subscribing to a show enables you to automatically download the most recent episodes of a show. (And saves you the hassle to check for updates manually on the websites of your favourite shows.) Using free software like Apple iTunes, Juice or Yahoo! Music Engine you can subscribe to our own podcast www.podcastplatform.com and many more!
In the section Podcast Listening you can read how to start enjoying all those great podcasts out there!