Podcasting 101

A Beginner's Guide to Podcasting

iPod

Podcasting

Podcasting 101

A podcast can be regarded as an evolution of blogging and can be considered a type of audioblog.   Podcasts can also be considered radio shows on demand.  A topic for a podcast can range from world politics to travel to a family newsletter.  The host of podcasts are known as Podcasters and they can range from experienced professionals to amateur hobbyists.

The term Podcasting is a combination of the words "iPod" and "broadcasting". Although you don't need an iPod or a radio station to listen to or create a podcast. All you need is a computer, a microphone, the internet and a good idea that you want to share with the world.

Since you will not be broadcasting over the airwaves, podcasts are not regulated by the FCC. This is great for the podcaster because you do not have to worry about your content being regulated, although no one else is being regulated either. This means that you need to be aware of what you are listening to. As with anything on the internet you need to filter through the content and decide for yourself what is good and what's not. Parents should be aware that some podcasts are not suitable for children and need to monitor children's podcasting and internet activies.

A podcast is an audio file, usually an mp3 that is available on the Internet using RSS feeds. iPods support m4a for audio files and m4v for videos as well as the popular mp3 file format.  You don’t need an iPod to listen to podcasts. Podcasts can be played on computers, mp3 players, mp3 capable phones and any player that supports mp3 files.

A podcast subscription can be compared to a DVR or TiVo that you can program to record your favorite programs to be watched when you want, you can subscribe to your favorite podcasts and have them automatically downloaded to your computer using RSS technology.  A podcatcher or a podcast aggregator such as iTunes, iPodder Lemon or iPodderX can be used to automatically download your favorite podcast.

Download iTunes

iTunes

Windows and Mac users can download
iTunes for free

Downloads

Download Juice, the cross-platform podcast receiver

Audacity

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Audacity
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