If you are not entirely sure what a podcast is or how to listen to podcasts, this post is for you. Podcasts, short for the ever-popular portable iPod and the word “broadcasting,” are revolutionizing how consumers listen to music, continually stay informed, and take media on the go. In short, a podcast is an audio or video file that can be subscribed through an RSS feed (define) and consumed by portable devices, podcatchers, and other forms of multimedia players. Although the difference may seem small, podcasts allow consumers to select and subscribe to their favorite media, which automatically gets delivered every time a new media file becomes available. And the best part about it…the media file can be consumed at the users discretion.
Still confused? Consider this example: Picture an individual that loves to listen to a public radio talk show during the weekends. The radio show is both streamed online and through traditional means. However, due to his busy schedule, he catches some and often loses others. For him, the window of opportunity only exists at the right time and place. Now enter podcasts. Picture the same individual who is able to download his favorite radio show every weekend using a software program located right on his computer (commonly referred to as a podcatcher) that he can either play for immediate consumption or download the last few weekends of shows right to his MP3 player/iPod. Ok, I admit it. That individual above is me, except I forgot to mention that I love to take my iPod and play it in my car on my way through the morning commute. But as you can see, podcasting is all about what you want, and more importantly, when you want it. With podcasting, users no longer have to be constricted to time. As TIVO and DVR are to TV, podcasting is to online audio and video with a touch of portability.
So how do you listen and watch your favorite shows with this great invention?
To organize and subscribe to podcasts you need a little software program called a podcatcher and a RSS feed URL you would like to subscribe to. Please note that I did not say “play” your podcasts because not all podcatchers are designed to play your media. However, most computers are outfitted with the right types a programs that play audio video files like Windows Media Player, QuickTime, RealPlayer, and more. If you don’t have any of those programs, relax. Every single one of those is free to download. Now on to the podcatchers.
- iTunes- by far one of the most popular audio and video file organizers, really has it all. ITunes will organize your music cds, play audio and video files, and organize your podcasts all in one easy application. A common misperception is that you need an iPod to use it. Simply not true. Itunes is for beginners as much as it is for powerusers. If you are new to the scene, I suggest downloading iTunes first.
- Juice- If your all about podcasts and none of the other hoopla, then Juice is a worthy look. With over 2.5 million downloads, Juice has been well recognized as the pro’s choice for managing your podcast feeds.
Other’s for Consideration:
Happyfish
Doppler
Nimiq
Podnova
Podpuppy
RSS RADIO
YamiPod
Ziepod
Great, I have the podcatcher…now what!?! As I mentioned earlier, you will need an RSS feed URL that you whish to subscribe to. Most sites will flag what RSS URL to use if you are interested in subscribing because it’s of their inertest to get more people to tune-in. Typically, RSS feeds are displayed as a simple URL that you can cut and paste into your podcather, or have an orange RSS icon for you to click on. If you were to click on a RSS URL, you will be displayed with what appears to be a simple looking text file. Its really not important how it looks as long as the URL appears to be working. Again, just copy the URL from your browser and add it to your podcatcher. Once subscribed, your podcatcher will be able to download all of the referenced podcasts in the RSS feed. Depending on the number of items in the feed, it may take a while, but most of them typically load within seconds. As you can see, consuming podcasts is fairly easy. As you will find, many podcasts are free to download, while others require you to pay a small premium. However, its safe to say that most of the software programs to organize your media are free. If you haven’t tipped your toe into the ocean of podcasts, I suggest you make 2008 the year!
Filed under Podcasting by Christian Del Monte
No I haven’t fallen off the earth. I’ve been hard at work with revamping our business podcast directory and aggregator so that you can add your podcast to our growing collection of business podcasts. Feel free to drop by and submit your podcast for consideration. Here are just some of great new features: First, our new directory will crawl all of your podcasts every 24 hours. If your podcast is really good, we will feature it on our news-like homepage. We added a new flash player for quick listening and also a new subscribe button that will add your podcast to the most popular podcatchers like iTunes, Podnova, Odeo, and more. Lastly, our new search engine allows you to search our directory of businesses, podcasts, and the last two weeks of podcasts. If you’re still wondering if podcasting is right for your business, check out our business podcasting services and new video. If you should have any questions please don’t hesitate to ask.
