Podcasting Explained : Simple and Sweet

"Tuning into Podcasting"
By Tim 'Gonzo' Gordon
www.digitalaudioworld.com

What is Podcasting?

Since last fall I've heard the word 'podcasting' in various elements through the wild space in cyberville. What the  heck is podcasting and is it something you should learn more about?

More importantly, is it something you should do for your website?

Let's take a look at podcasting and find out what it is first.

Wikipedia defines this new web phenonmenon like this:"Podcasting is similar in nature to RSS, which allows subscribers to subscribe to a set of feeds to view syndicated Web site content.

With podcasting however, you have a set of subscriptions that are checked regularly for updates and instead of reading the feeds on your computer screen, you listen to the new content on your iPod (or like device)."

The format used for podcasting is RSS 2.0 with enclosures. The podcasting enclosures refer to all binary non-text downloads. You can read the text description of the enclosure before downloading the item to view.

How Podcasting Works

Essentially, according to 49-year old software pioneer Dave Winer, podcasting allows your computer to automatically download audio programs (or other files) for listening at your future convenience.

The downloadable file is referred to as a podcast.

Once you set up your computer to receive a podcast, you can listen anywhere at anytime.

About The Author:
Tim 'Gonzo' Gordon shows you how to create professional, high-quality audio on your home computer. With 25+ years of radio production, writing and voice talent, Tim can show you how to set up a small pro studio and create audio for fun and profit. Subscribe to his free newsletter Digital Audio Bits at http://www.digitalaudioworld.com

© 2005 by Tim Gordon