What Are Podcasts?
What is a Podcast?
If you have spent any considerable time on the internet you have no doubt ran across the term “Podcast”. I see it daily, but like a building I walk by every morning on my way to the office I rarely actually take the time to appreciate it and marvel at its design and many uses. That’s what we are going to do with Podcasting. A Podcast is a digital audio or video file available for download to either a computer or digital audio/video player. Video Podcasts are sometimes called Vodcasts or Vidcasts. Some say that the term itself is a combination of iPod + Broadcast. Others say that while broadcast is certainly a part of the term that POD refers to “Publishing On Demand”, “Programming On Demand”, or even “Personal On Demand” rather than relating to an iPod. I don’t think that it really matters where the name came from except when people see Podcast and directly relate it to an iPod. You can indeed enjoy your Podcasts using an iPod, but it is by no means the only device that supports them, nor are they made specifically for iPods.
How do Podcasts work?
A Podcast works very much the same way as any audio or video media file would. You find one you want, download it, and listen to or watch it at your leisure as many times as you want. The big difference with a Podcast is the ability to subscribe to them and receive them with no effort on your part. Most websites that offer Podcasts also offer you the option to subscribe. These subscriptions are free the majority of the time. To subscribe to a Podcast you use what is called an RSS (Really Simple Syndication) Feed. You have seen RSS icons on your favorite blogs and most likely have subscribed to some of them. It’s a very efficient and effective way to receive information from desired sources without having to seek it out. You subscribe to an RSS feed and it supplies you with new updates and content via an aggregator or “feed reader”. Podcasts work very much the same way. When you are dealing with Podcasts the aggregator is called a “Podcatcher”. There are several different programs out there that can function as a Podcatcher. The most widely used would be iTunes. If for any reason you are anti-iTunes you can use Juice, Doppler, Media Go, News Fire, or any of the other dozens available. Some Podcatchers are built specifically for certain operating environments, including Microsoft Windows, Apple Macintosh, Linux/Unix, Android, and Palm OS. What these Podcatchers essentially do is scan the RSS feeds you’ve subscribed to and when a Podcast is published, they download it to the specified device. They do the work for you. Each morning you can wake up to a computer or digital audio/video player full of your favorite Podcasts and play them during your commute to work or at the office.
Where Can I find Podcasts?
Podcasts are all over the web and do not take a great degree of effort to find. If you have iTunes then you have access to thousands of them. And they are free! There are no FCC regulations on Podcasting as it is not a live radio transmission so you can find them on any number of topics that may be out of the scope of traditional media. Anyone can make them so you’re likely to find them anywhere. If you have specific interests, a simple Google search will most likely give you multiple results for Podcasts that pertain. Just for giggles I did a Google search for “frog gigging podcast”. The search returned results and a Podcast. Since you have the luxury to access them whenever you want, they can be especially useful for talk radio episodes or news programs that air during a time that conflicts with your schedule. You never have to miss out on the latest news or Buzz because your bedtime or personal obligations kept you from the radio or T.V. You simply go to the company’s website, subscribe to their Podcast RSS Feed, and have them basically delivered to you.
