What is now called a podcast traces its orgins to the
first ipod podcasts, the creation of distributed mp3 files
that could be downloaded and played on Apple's music
player, the iPod. When the iPod came out, and users
discovered what a wonderful thing it was for holding
music, some people had the idea of loading things that
weren't necessarily songs. Some of the people that got
their hands on the iPod took the route of reverse
engineering the iPod and loading on different firmware,
or operating system, but others had the idea of sharing
small sound files that could be played on the iPod. The
technology for distributing the files already existed,
with RSS feeds. RSS feeds were a means of generating
machine readable files that could share information
between a server and a user. Many blogs already used
them to keep readers up to date with the latest posts, but
some hopeful podcasters had the idea of enclosing links
to sound files within the RSS feed and downloading the
file to the computer.
With the change in RSS feeds, ipod podcast took off,
and podcasting became a popular way to share files.
Users saw podcasting as a way to become radio hosts,
or dj's, and a variety of podcasts began popping up.
Software was written to automatically check the RSS
feeds, extract the links to the podcast episodes, and
download the files. These programs became known as
podcast clients.
By this time, podcasting had moved beyond the ipod,
and they were not simply making an ipod podcast
anymore. Some people had figured out how to use even
the PlayStation Portable gaming console as a podcast
player. It was more difficult that downloading podcasts
to the ipod, since the PSP used a different format for it's
files, but PSP podcasts began popping up. In addition,
podcasting made inroads to the wider audience of
people without iPods, who simply saw podcasting as an
extremely convenient way to receive news, music, and
entertainment over the internet.
Today, while the iPod podcast type still exists, fewer
people subscribe to podcasts as a way of gaining
portable media files they can listen to anywhere.
Although that is still an attractive part of podcasting, it
seems to be eclipsed by the ease with which podcasting
has become a content delivery system. Now, podcasting
has become tied up with the rising number of audio and
video blogs, where blogging is done not by post, but
through media files uploaded to the blog. These blogs,
and podcasting in general, take advantage of the
shrinking cost of broadband internet connections, and
the rising number of people with high speed access to
offer a picture of the internet rich with multimedia files.
Wednesday, July 9, 2008
How to Make a Podcast
A podcast is an easy way of distributing media files
over the internet, and this article will tell how to make a
podcast. The first thing necessary is a domain, and a
host on which to store the media files for the podcast.
Getting a domain is simple and easy, there are many
domain registrars that can register a domain for
someone for a small fee. Some of these domain
registrars are GoDaddy.com, Dotster, or Network
Solutions are some that provide domains. The domain
registrar will, for a small fee, enter the chosen domain,
provided it is not being used, into the computers that
form the backbone of the internet. These computers will
be told where the domain is located on the internet;
what host it is that holds the domain's information. In
order to give them that information, the name servers
that are held by the host need to be associated with the
domain. Once the domain is in place, a good host
should be found. The host that is chosen should offer a
large amount of both disk space and a much larger
amount bandwidth. Disk space is neccessary because
the site which holds the podcast will be storing large
media files; audio or video files that take up a lot of
space and are difficult to compress. The large
bandwidth is necessary because transferring these large
files many times to many different people will use up
the quota quickly. A good amount of diskspace would
be several GigaBytes, bandwidth should be in the tens
or hundreds of Gigabytes. Once the host is set up, it
should offer you a couple of addresses called
nameservers. Inputting these server addresses into the
site where the domain was registered will complete the
domain setup and allow the site to be found on the
internet.
The next step for people who want to know how to
make a podcast is installing the software necessary to
maintain the podcast. A small piece of coding called
dircaster.php can be used to set up a basic level of
podcast. Dircaster.php can be found easily by searching
for it in any search engine. Once it is located, it should
be edited to reflect the particulars of the domain and
uploaded to the site. Dircaster.php will generate an RSS
file, or feed, that tells the subscriber about the new files
available for downloading. To begin podcasting, create
the audio files that should be podcast, fill in the
information about the file such as date, author, etc, and
upload them to the same directory that contains
dircaster.php. You now have a podcast, and all that is
needed is to publicise the address of the file
dircaster.php. To update the podcast with new
information, just upload the new files. Other things to
make the podcast better might be a site that contains
information about the podcast, but it isn't necessary.
over the internet, and this article will tell how to make a
podcast. The first thing necessary is a domain, and a
host on which to store the media files for the podcast.
Getting a domain is simple and easy, there are many
domain registrars that can register a domain for
someone for a small fee. Some of these domain
registrars are GoDaddy.com, Dotster, or Network
Solutions are some that provide domains. The domain
registrar will, for a small fee, enter the chosen domain,
provided it is not being used, into the computers that
form the backbone of the internet. These computers will
be told where the domain is located on the internet;
what host it is that holds the domain's information. In
order to give them that information, the name servers
that are held by the host need to be associated with the
domain. Once the domain is in place, a good host
should be found. The host that is chosen should offer a
large amount of both disk space and a much larger
amount bandwidth. Disk space is neccessary because
the site which holds the podcast will be storing large
media files; audio or video files that take up a lot of
space and are difficult to compress. The large
bandwidth is necessary because transferring these large
files many times to many different people will use up
the quota quickly. A good amount of diskspace would
be several GigaBytes, bandwidth should be in the tens
or hundreds of Gigabytes. Once the host is set up, it
should offer you a couple of addresses called
nameservers. Inputting these server addresses into the
site where the domain was registered will complete the
domain setup and allow the site to be found on the
internet.
The next step for people who want to know how to
make a podcast is installing the software necessary to
maintain the podcast. A small piece of coding called
dircaster.php can be used to set up a basic level of
podcast. Dircaster.php can be found easily by searching
for it in any search engine. Once it is located, it should
be edited to reflect the particulars of the domain and
uploaded to the site. Dircaster.php will generate an RSS
file, or feed, that tells the subscriber about the new files
available for downloading. To begin podcasting, create
the audio files that should be podcast, fill in the
information about the file such as date, author, etc, and
upload them to the same directory that contains
dircaster.php. You now have a podcast, and all that is
needed is to publicise the address of the file
dircaster.php. To update the podcast with new
information, just upload the new files. Other things to
make the podcast better might be a site that contains
information about the podcast, but it isn't necessary.
Podcast Yahoo, a Podcast Directory
Podcast Yahoo, is an example of a very full featured
podcast directory. Yahoo's beta offering presents
podcasts from many professional organizations
including NPR, Slate Magazine, and others. They also
organize their listing by categories, offer a list of the
most popular series and episodes currently available,
and let users search through the entire database.
Yahoo's site is professionally done, and likely has
people permanently assigned to work on it, and so it
differs from many of the other podcasting directories
available. Many directories are little more than listings
of amateur podcasters, but Yahoo's site brings out a
number of feeds done by mainstream organization,
raising the level of quality available.
For anyone who wants to find a podcast, Yahoo is
certainly a good choice. They have a slick, well done
site that is easy to use. Yahoo even includes software at
the site so that podcasts can be listened to from within
the web browser. After logging in, Yahoo allows users
to subscribe to feeds they enjoy, letting them be notified
when new episodes are available. Yahoo even has a
detailed walkthrough to help visitors create and begin
publishing their own podcast.
Podcast Yahoo clearly demonstrates the ability of a
corporate group to create a well made site. While it's
very unlikely that Yahoo or a company like it would
have been able to come up with podcasting, once they
know what to do, they can do it well.
podcast directory. Yahoo's beta offering presents
podcasts from many professional organizations
including NPR, Slate Magazine, and others. They also
organize their listing by categories, offer a list of the
most popular series and episodes currently available,
and let users search through the entire database.
Yahoo's site is professionally done, and likely has
people permanently assigned to work on it, and so it
differs from many of the other podcasting directories
available. Many directories are little more than listings
of amateur podcasters, but Yahoo's site brings out a
number of feeds done by mainstream organization,
raising the level of quality available.
For anyone who wants to find a podcast, Yahoo is
certainly a good choice. They have a slick, well done
site that is easy to use. Yahoo even includes software at
the site so that podcasts can be listened to from within
the web browser. After logging in, Yahoo allows users
to subscribe to feeds they enjoy, letting them be notified
when new episodes are available. Yahoo even has a
detailed walkthrough to help visitors create and begin
publishing their own podcast.
Podcast Yahoo clearly demonstrates the ability of a
corporate group to create a well made site. While it's
very unlikely that Yahoo or a company like it would
have been able to come up with podcasting, once they
know what to do, they can do it well.
Finding Podcast Hosting
For anyone who wants to begin creating a podcast,
podcast hosting is the most important part. Before
anyone can begin distributing a podcast, they need a
place to store the files and keep the feed file that will
tell their subscribers about the new episodes available.
The first thing required is a domain name where the site
will be located. Many domain registrars are available
who will help one register a domain name for a small
fee. Once the domain is registered, hosting is required,
and again there are many different companies willing to
do the hosting for a small fee. One of those is
bluehost.com, but many others are available. When
looking for a host, the most important thing is to make
sure that a lot bandwidth and storage space is available
and cheap. Since podcasting deals with large media
files, a lot of disk space will be taken up storing the
files and bandwidth will be eaten quickly when they are
downloaded by the subscribers.
After podcast hosting has been acquired, it needs to be
used and the site needs to be set up. The DNS addresses
of the site need to be set to the addresses that the host
provides you so that the servers that underlie the
internet will know where your site is. DNS addresses
can be set by going to the domain registrar that was
used to acquire the domain and inputting the addresses
provided by the host. After that is done, it will take a
few days before the master list the domain registar
updates will be shared throughout the internet and all
name servers know where to find your specific domain.
You can then go about setting up your own podcast.
Using the podcast hosting you now have, you will need
to look at the disk space allocated to the site using
something called and FTP browser. The host may
provide one as part of their hosting plan, but if not there
are many available free to choose from. Using the FTP
browser, log on to the host and upload a file called
dircaster.php after editing it to fit the specifics of the
site. Dircaster.php is an easy to find piece of coding that
generates a feed file by looking at the contents of its
directory or folder. The individual episodes to be
podcasted can then be uploaded to the same folder as
dircaster.php for cataloging. Make sure that all the meta
data, or information about the mp3 file is correct before
doing so.
The podcast hosting you now have will allow you to
distribute a podcast. It would be best to upload more to
the site, such as an index page that tells visitors about
the podcast and provides the address of the file
dircaster.php on your site. When they subscribe to that
file, the podcast client thy use will access it and recieve
information about the latest podcasts available.
podcast hosting is the most important part. Before
anyone can begin distributing a podcast, they need a
place to store the files and keep the feed file that will
tell their subscribers about the new episodes available.
The first thing required is a domain name where the site
will be located. Many domain registrars are available
who will help one register a domain name for a small
fee. Once the domain is registered, hosting is required,
and again there are many different companies willing to
do the hosting for a small fee. One of those is
bluehost.com, but many others are available. When
looking for a host, the most important thing is to make
sure that a lot bandwidth and storage space is available
and cheap. Since podcasting deals with large media
files, a lot of disk space will be taken up storing the
files and bandwidth will be eaten quickly when they are
downloaded by the subscribers.
After podcast hosting has been acquired, it needs to be
used and the site needs to be set up. The DNS addresses
of the site need to be set to the addresses that the host
provides you so that the servers that underlie the
internet will know where your site is. DNS addresses
can be set by going to the domain registrar that was
used to acquire the domain and inputting the addresses
provided by the host. After that is done, it will take a
few days before the master list the domain registar
updates will be shared throughout the internet and all
name servers know where to find your specific domain.
You can then go about setting up your own podcast.
Using the podcast hosting you now have, you will need
to look at the disk space allocated to the site using
something called and FTP browser. The host may
provide one as part of their hosting plan, but if not there
are many available free to choose from. Using the FTP
browser, log on to the host and upload a file called
dircaster.php after editing it to fit the specifics of the
site. Dircaster.php is an easy to find piece of coding that
generates a feed file by looking at the contents of its
directory or folder. The individual episodes to be
podcasted can then be uploaded to the same folder as
dircaster.php for cataloging. Make sure that all the meta
data, or information about the mp3 file is correct before
doing so.
The podcast hosting you now have will allow you to
distribute a podcast. It would be best to upload more to
the site, such as an index page that tells visitors about
the podcast and provides the address of the file
dircaster.php on your site. When they subscribe to that
file, the podcast client thy use will access it and recieve
information about the latest podcasts available.
Finding Hip Hop Mix Podcasts
Many music podcasts are available online for
downloading; if one wanted to find, for instance, a hip
hop mix podcast, there are a few sites available to help.
The first possibility would be to go directly to a site
which creates one and subscribe to it using a podcast
client which automatically checks the feed for new
episodes and downloads them for the user. If, however,
one did not know of any hip hop mix podcast sites, or
simply wanted to find new podcast sites, the best
possibility would be to check a podcast directory, a list
of podcasts that can be browsed.
Hip hop mix podcasts could easily be found at one of
these podcast directories. A podcast directory stores
lists of podcasts which have been submitted to the site,
and categorizes them by genre, type of podcast, region,
and other meta data. To find a hip hop mix podcast,
visiting a podcast directory and checking under music
podcasts, and then under hip hop music would find
many podcasts which play that type of music.
The hip hop mix podcast could then be subscribed to by
inputting the feed address listed into one of the many
podcast clients. The music will come in episodes, the
name for each downloadable portion of a podcast. Some
of these podcasts may feature independent artists,
musicians trying to break into the music industry who
have chosen podcasting as a way of sharing their music
and gaining a following. Others may be remixes of
popular songs that have been changed in some way to
give a different feel to the music. Often, the artists may
already be established, though, and they still see
podcasting as a way to introduce themselves to a larger
audience. They may grant rights to pay certain hip hip
songs to a podcaster, letting them play the music as part
of their mix distribution while requesting a link to a site
where more information can be learned about the artists
and music can be purchased. Artists that have done this
include alias, edan, outerspace, RA the rugged man,
roots manuva, and outer space.
A large number of podcasts featuring hip hop mix
podcasts are actually radio stations, however. These
broadcasters have found that podcasting their shows
and selections is an easy way to reach more listeners
and gain a greater audience. These podcasters can reach
more people easier and cheaper than they can by
playing hip hop mix music over the airwaves in their
local areas. Playing hip hop music over the internet is
probably the way many future artists will do their work,
and there are many ways available even now that they
can do so and make a profit. For instance, some
podcasts are designed to work on a payment basis. A
hip hop artist who wished to share his music could
charge for addition to the feed list, then issue a unique
feed address to the user, allowing them to hear new
pieces of hip hop music released. The hip hop music
file could even be designed so it could not be copied
and used by another user at a different computer, to
ensure that the artist could maintain control over his
work.
downloading; if one wanted to find, for instance, a hip
hop mix podcast, there are a few sites available to help.
The first possibility would be to go directly to a site
which creates one and subscribe to it using a podcast
client which automatically checks the feed for new
episodes and downloads them for the user. If, however,
one did not know of any hip hop mix podcast sites, or
simply wanted to find new podcast sites, the best
possibility would be to check a podcast directory, a list
of podcasts that can be browsed.
Hip hop mix podcasts could easily be found at one of
these podcast directories. A podcast directory stores
lists of podcasts which have been submitted to the site,
and categorizes them by genre, type of podcast, region,
and other meta data. To find a hip hop mix podcast,
visiting a podcast directory and checking under music
podcasts, and then under hip hop music would find
many podcasts which play that type of music.
The hip hop mix podcast could then be subscribed to by
inputting the feed address listed into one of the many
podcast clients. The music will come in episodes, the
name for each downloadable portion of a podcast. Some
of these podcasts may feature independent artists,
musicians trying to break into the music industry who
have chosen podcasting as a way of sharing their music
and gaining a following. Others may be remixes of
popular songs that have been changed in some way to
give a different feel to the music. Often, the artists may
already be established, though, and they still see
podcasting as a way to introduce themselves to a larger
audience. They may grant rights to pay certain hip hip
songs to a podcaster, letting them play the music as part
of their mix distribution while requesting a link to a site
where more information can be learned about the artists
and music can be purchased. Artists that have done this
include alias, edan, outerspace, RA the rugged man,
roots manuva, and outer space.
A large number of podcasts featuring hip hop mix
podcasts are actually radio stations, however. These
broadcasters have found that podcasting their shows
and selections is an easy way to reach more listeners
and gain a greater audience. These podcasters can reach
more people easier and cheaper than they can by
playing hip hop mix music over the airwaves in their
local areas. Playing hip hop music over the internet is
probably the way many future artists will do their work,
and there are many ways available even now that they
can do so and make a profit. For instance, some
podcasts are designed to work on a payment basis. A
hip hop artist who wished to share his music could
charge for addition to the feed list, then issue a unique
feed address to the user, allowing them to hear new
pieces of hip hop music released. The hip hop music
file could even be designed so it could not be copied
and used by another user at a different computer, to
ensure that the artist could maintain control over his
work.
Podcast RSS Feeds
A Podcast RSS feed is what allows the entire system to
function. To begin at the beginning, a podcast is a
regular distribution of audio or visual files, called
episodes, to a users podcast client. The people who use
a podcast are called subscribers, and the podcast client
is what allows them to subscribe to a feed. The podcast
client is a program that connects to the internet, looking
for a specific file the user has subscribed to, or told it to
look for. That file is an RSS feed, a machine readable
piece of coding that sends information back to the
podcast client. RSS feeds can be used to distribute
many kinds of information, and were originally used for
blogging and distributing blog posts to subscribers. As
time went on, however, a few people had the idea of
enclosing information about media files within the RSS
feed so that software could be written to find that
information and download the files described.
The Podcast RSS feeds became a hit, and podcast
clients were quickly written to allow people to use the
new encoding. Podcasting became a means of quickly
and cheaply sharing episodes with subscribers. Rather
than requiring subscribers to visit the site that hosted
the files everytime they wanted to know if a new
episode was released, users could rely on the podcast
client to do the work for them, keeping track of
numerous podcast rss feeds that interested them and
downloading the files to be viewed when they wished.
Podcast RSS feeds are now used to distribute a number
of different types of podcasts. Some producers use it as
way to share a comedy or news program that they
produce, others podcast in order to share music files
they create, and some podcast to share video files they
have created and to showcase their work. Podcasting
allows the producers to become radio or television stars
without the large investment in time and money that
wuld be required to do that. Because podcasting has
such a low entry cost, requiring little more than a server
and a domain to host the site and a way to record the
media, thousands of people who otherwise would not
have a chance to work in a media environment have a
chance to do so through their podcast rss feeds.
In this way, podcast RSS feeds allow media publishing
over the internet at a fraction of the cost of other forms
of media distribution, permitting people with much
smaller budgets to compete in some way. However,
podcast rss feeds are also attracting more established
companies and groups as well, bringing people from
NPR radio stations and news organizations like CNN
who use podcasting as yet another means to distribute
their product to end users.
function. To begin at the beginning, a podcast is a
regular distribution of audio or visual files, called
episodes, to a users podcast client. The people who use
a podcast are called subscribers, and the podcast client
is what allows them to subscribe to a feed. The podcast
client is a program that connects to the internet, looking
for a specific file the user has subscribed to, or told it to
look for. That file is an RSS feed, a machine readable
piece of coding that sends information back to the
podcast client. RSS feeds can be used to distribute
many kinds of information, and were originally used for
blogging and distributing blog posts to subscribers. As
time went on, however, a few people had the idea of
enclosing information about media files within the RSS
feed so that software could be written to find that
information and download the files described.
The Podcast RSS feeds became a hit, and podcast
clients were quickly written to allow people to use the
new encoding. Podcasting became a means of quickly
and cheaply sharing episodes with subscribers. Rather
than requiring subscribers to visit the site that hosted
the files everytime they wanted to know if a new
episode was released, users could rely on the podcast
client to do the work for them, keeping track of
numerous podcast rss feeds that interested them and
downloading the files to be viewed when they wished.
Podcast RSS feeds are now used to distribute a number
of different types of podcasts. Some producers use it as
way to share a comedy or news program that they
produce, others podcast in order to share music files
they create, and some podcast to share video files they
have created and to showcase their work. Podcasting
allows the producers to become radio or television stars
without the large investment in time and money that
wuld be required to do that. Because podcasting has
such a low entry cost, requiring little more than a server
and a domain to host the site and a way to record the
media, thousands of people who otherwise would not
have a chance to work in a media environment have a
chance to do so through their podcast rss feeds.
In this way, podcast RSS feeds allow media publishing
over the internet at a fraction of the cost of other forms
of media distribution, permitting people with much
smaller budgets to compete in some way. However,
podcast rss feeds are also attracting more established
companies and groups as well, bringing people from
NPR radio stations and news organizations like CNN
who use podcasting as yet another means to distribute
their product to end users.
Downloading a Free Podcast
Its easy to find and download a free podcast. The best
way to find free podcasts is probably to check a podcast
directory. A podcast directory is a listing of many,
sometimes thousands of different podcasts. The podcast
directory will usually organize the podcasts by topic and
genre, making it easy to find the type of podcast that is
sought. In addition, podcast directories often allow the
visitors to comment on the podcasts listed, and provide
a list of the favorite podcasts on the site, making it easy
for users to find the best podcasts available. These
podcast directories can be used to browse through,
introducing users to many different podcasts they
otherwise would not have found.
Once a podcast has been found that interests the user, it
is necessary to download the free podcast. The vast
majority of podcasts will be free, but there will be a few
that may cost a small amount of money. The process to
subscribe to and download the podcasts is the same in
either case. First, a podcast client needs to be found and
installed. There are many free podast clients available,
all providing a slightly different user interface and range
of options. They come with many different names, such
as Podscape, or Nimiq, and searching for 'free podcast
client' or something like it will turn up many
possibilities. When the podcast client has been
installed, inputting the feed address will allow the
podcast to be downloaded. The podcast client will
check the address given for a small, machine readable
file called an RSS file. This file will contain
information about the podcasts, perhaps some text
about the individual episodes, as well as the location of
the episode file. Once the podcast client has been
located the file referred to in the RSS feed, it will be
downloaded and stored on the users computer until the
want to view it.
Sometimes, of course, access to a personal computer is
not available, but it is still necessary to check a certain
podcast. Fortunately, many podcast directories offer
built in podcast readers in the site. Not only do they
often show each recent episode that is available, they
may also offer a way to view or listen to those podcast
episodes from within the site. By using the viewer
contained within the site, it is no longer necessary to
even download the podcast episodes. However, the
ability to move and share the episodes after
downloading is one of the wonderful things about
podcasting. The files can be placed on almost and
media player, ranging from iPods to the new Play
Station Portable. This flexibility is one of the reasons
podcasts have succeeded, despite other technologies
like streaming music and video. The desire of
consumers to have control over technology cannot be
over estimated.
way to find free podcasts is probably to check a podcast
directory. A podcast directory is a listing of many,
sometimes thousands of different podcasts. The podcast
directory will usually organize the podcasts by topic and
genre, making it easy to find the type of podcast that is
sought. In addition, podcast directories often allow the
visitors to comment on the podcasts listed, and provide
a list of the favorite podcasts on the site, making it easy
for users to find the best podcasts available. These
podcast directories can be used to browse through,
introducing users to many different podcasts they
otherwise would not have found.
Once a podcast has been found that interests the user, it
is necessary to download the free podcast. The vast
majority of podcasts will be free, but there will be a few
that may cost a small amount of money. The process to
subscribe to and download the podcasts is the same in
either case. First, a podcast client needs to be found and
installed. There are many free podast clients available,
all providing a slightly different user interface and range
of options. They come with many different names, such
as Podscape, or Nimiq, and searching for 'free podcast
client' or something like it will turn up many
possibilities. When the podcast client has been
installed, inputting the feed address will allow the
podcast to be downloaded. The podcast client will
check the address given for a small, machine readable
file called an RSS file. This file will contain
information about the podcasts, perhaps some text
about the individual episodes, as well as the location of
the episode file. Once the podcast client has been
located the file referred to in the RSS feed, it will be
downloaded and stored on the users computer until the
want to view it.
Sometimes, of course, access to a personal computer is
not available, but it is still necessary to check a certain
podcast. Fortunately, many podcast directories offer
built in podcast readers in the site. Not only do they
often show each recent episode that is available, they
may also offer a way to view or listen to those podcast
episodes from within the site. By using the viewer
contained within the site, it is no longer necessary to
even download the podcast episodes. However, the
ability to move and share the episodes after
downloading is one of the wonderful things about
podcasting. The files can be placed on almost and
media player, ranging from iPods to the new Play
Station Portable. This flexibility is one of the reasons
podcasts have succeeded, despite other technologies
like streaming music and video. The desire of
consumers to have control over technology cannot be
over estimated.
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