A few weeks ago, I first heard about podcasting and have been seeing nothing but buzz since. It seems that everyone is talking about it, so I thought I'd join the chorus. So far many of the descriptions are pretty geeky, so I'm going to go for the plain English version.
It all starts with audio- people recording themselves or a conversation and making it into an MP3 file. As an MP3, it can be loaded on an iPod and listened to like any other audio files.
You might think- what's the big deal?
There are a couple of big deals. One is how Podcasting software is making it easy for people with iPods (and other MP3 devices) to load files from the web.
Podcasting software allows you to subscribe to RSS feeds of podcasts. When a new one is posted, you can have it automatically load onto your iPod. This way you can always have the latest podcasts on your iPod.
Second, it builds on the values and processes of the weblog world. Just like weblogs lowered the barriers to publishing, Podcasting lowers the barriers to making audio available to the web. In both cases, the personal voice and conversational tone make it compelling- and audio can take that up a notch.
Plus, many of us have these handy little MP3 devices that we didn't have a few years ago.
I think we're just starting to see the first ripples of a big wave. As podcasting evolves, some bloggers-turned podcasters will act like personal radio stations.
People will be (are) anxious to listen to their favorite podcasts on the way to work every day.
It is wide open- no FCC or radio conglomerates are involved, so podcasters have creative freedom.
Podcasting stars may emerge and garner more attention than they could with a blog.
Check out iPodder for subscriptions, info and more...