What is Podcasting?

Looking for a next generation radio which can create self-published, syndicated radio shows and broadcast it too? Puneet Mehrotra has answers.

Looking for a next generation radio which can create self-published, syndicated radio shows and broadcast it too?

Podcasting is what are probably looking for. If you are a music enthusiast you probably know about it. Or if you a regular on the www news you probably heard about it somewhere. According to Sharon Housley author of an article 'How Podcasting Works' in October of 2004 a Google search returned less than 6,000 results for the term 'podcasting'. Today, a similar search yields more than 857,000 results.  That article was probably written a few months ago as today the term fetches 7,510,000 results on Google. So much for its popularity. So what exactly is podcasting?

What is Podcasting?

Wikipedia describes Podcasting as a method of publishing files to the internet, allowing users to subscribe to a feed and receive new files automatically. It became popular in late 2004, used largely for audio files. The Podcast is the RSS version of the content that can be downloadable on the portable music player. Unlike the popular music, users can now hear text-based information on the move. It can be a school lecture and it can be a recorded telecasted show, it just brings forward limitless possibilities of providing free content to masses.

Listeners may subscribe to feeds using 'podcatching' software (a type of 'aggregator'), which periodically checks for and downloads new content. It can then sync the content to a portable music player. Any digital audio player or computer with audio-playing software can play podcasts. The same technique can deliver video files, and by 2005 some aggregators could play video as well as audio.

According to Sharon 'Podcasting is RSS that is used to syndicate and distribute audio files. Podcasting contains an audio file in the RSS feed's enclosure tag. An enclosure tag is used in RSS feeds to include certain types of files. The file contained in an enclosure tag can be: an image, a data file, a video file, or an audio file. Podcasting specifically refers to RSS feeds that contain audio files in their enclosure tag. The RSS version that currently supports enclosure tags is RSS version 2.0. All podcasts are currently created using this specification.'  I would recommend Sharon's article titled 'How Podcasting Works?'

Apple and Podcasting

Apple seems very optimistic about Podcasting.  It calls Podcasting the 'new generation radio'.  Apple's recent launch of iTunes 4.9 includes a podcast directory listing over 3000 free audio programs and has the ability to automatically send new episodes of podcasts to your PC/laptop.

The move is expected to propel podcasting into the digital media mainstream. Infact convergence of syndication technologies and new file formats with the iPod has been nothing less than historical. In fact it seems like a visionary move made by Steve Jobs.  In the words of Jobs himself 'Podcasting been an emerging phenomenon that has been growing very rapidly. But we're hoping to take it mainstream with the latest version of iTunes, which has everything you need to podcast built right in it.'

According to Gartner, Apple's move will strengthen its competitive position by allowing consumers to better manage podcasts as well as making the on-demand technology more attractive to internet content providers.

Podcasting in the news

Techwack.com says Podcasts are hot. Apple vice president Greg Joswiak calls it 'the next generation of radio'. Some analysts are predicting that by 2010 there would be as many as 12 million households subscribing to podcasting services.  According to Randal Stross of New York Times News Service  'In pre-Web times, marketers counted noses. With the advent of the Web, eyeballs. Mark my words: Eardrums are next.'

Thanks Randal, podcasting sounds like music to my ears, already!

Puneet Mehrotra is a web strategist at www.websitepromotion.in and edits www.MidnightEdition.com you can email him on puneet@cyberzest.com

Looking for a next generation radio which can create self-published, syndicated radio shows and broadcast it too?

Podcasting is what are probably looking for. If you are a music enthusiast you probably know about it. Or if you a regular on the www news you probably heard about it somewhere. According to Sharon Housley author of an article 'How Podcasting Works' in October of 2004 a Google search returned less than 6,000 results for the term 'podcasting'. Today, a similar search yields more than 857,000 results.  That article was probably written a few months ago as today the term fetches 7,510,000 results on Google. So much for its popularity. So what exactly is podcasting?

What is Podcasting?

Wikipedia describes Podcasting as a method of publishing files to the internet, allowing users to subscribe to a feed and receive new files automatically. It became popular in late 2004, used largely for audio files. The Podcast is the RSS version of the content that can be downloadable on the portable music player. Unlike the popular music, users can now hear text-based information on the move. It can be a school lecture and it can be a recorded telecasted show, it just brings forward limitless possibilities of providing free content to masses.

Listeners may subscribe to feeds using 'podcatching' software (a type of 'aggregator'), which periodically checks for and downloads new content. It can then sync the content to a portable music player. Any digital audio player or computer with audio-playing software can play podcasts. The same technique can deliver video files, and by 2005 some aggregators could play video as well as audio.

According to Sharon 'Podcasting is RSS that is used to syndicate and distribute audio files. Podcasting contains an audio file in the RSS feed's enclosure tag. An enclosure tag is used in RSS feeds to include certain types of files. The file contained in an enclosure tag can be: an image, a data file, a video file, or an audio file. Podcasting specifically refers to RSS feeds that contain audio files in their enclosure tag. The RSS version that currently supports enclosure tags is RSS version 2.0. All podcasts are currently created using this specification.'  I would recommend Sharon's article titled 'How Podcasting Works?'

Apple and Podcasting

Apple seems very optimistic about Podcasting.  It calls Podcasting the 'new generation radio'.  Apple's recent launch of iTunes 4.9 includes a podcast directory listing over 3000 free audio programs and has the ability to automatically send new episodes of podcasts to your PC/laptop.

The move is expected to propel podcasting into the digital media mainstream. Infact convergence of syndication technologies and new file formats with the iPod has been nothing less than historical. In fact it seems like a visionary move made by Steve Jobs.  In the words of Jobs himself 'Podcasting been an emerging phenomenon that has been growing very rapidly. But we're hoping to take it mainstream with the latest version of iTunes, which has everything you need to podcast built right in it.'

According to Gartner, Apple's move will strengthen its competitive position by allowing consumers to better manage podcasts as well as making the on-demand technology more attractive to internet content providers.

Podcasting in the news

Techwack.com says Podcasts are hot. Apple vice president Greg Joswiak calls it 'the next generation of radio'. Some analysts are predicting that by 2010 there would be as many as 12 million households subscribing to podcasting services.  According to Randal Stross of New York Times News Service  'In pre-Web times, marketers counted noses. With the advent of the Web, eyeballs. Mark my words: Eardrums are next.'

Thanks Randal, podcasting sounds like music to my ears, already!

Puneet Mehrotra is a web strategist at www.websitepromotion.in and edits www.MidnightEdition.com you can email him on puneet @cyberzest.com