In the simplest terms, it is an mp3 which can be downloaded from a website to your computer or your portable media player, like an iRiver and heard at a later time.

This mp3 sounds a lot like a radio broadcast, but is created by people much like you or your neighbor.

Technology here has gone around in a full circle. In the early days of radio we had HAM radios. Everyone had one and thought they could generate radio-like programs like the big corporate guys did. The governing body at the time put an end to all that by requiring radio broadcasters to get a license.

With podcasting though, the people have the power and not the government. Anyone with any sort of interests can create a podcast, uploaded to a website, and monitor how many downloads the podcast gets. Again, the people have the power. No more worries about FCC regulations or corporate sponsored policies or budgets. All you need is a microphone, a computer (or a laptop), an audio editing & recording program such as Audacity – which is a free download – and a website that hosts podcasts. A few ideas for topics wouldn’t hurt either.

The selection of topics is limitless. Currently, there are topics ranging from the Arts to Education to Movie Reviews to Restaurant Reviews to Technology to the study of Zoology (and ‘yes’ I did find a podcast on Zoology, click here then listen.

Within a very short period of time, podcasting has turned a few heads and is now being carefully observed by traditional broadcaster who are looking for new talent and ideas, as well as by advertisers who are trying to figure out how to gain access to this market of listeners, who happen to be a captive audience.

Educators are now looking at ideas on how to utilize this medium to be able to get students interested in their studies. At first you might think that Podcasters, people who create and broadcast podcasts, would sound like amateurs – and though there are some podcasts that sound less-than-professional there are many out there that sound like true radio personalities. It’s just a matter of spending quality time in search of what sounds good to your ears.

The corporate world is closely looking at Podcasts in order to generate programs for their companies and clients. Of course we all know that once a corporation gets behind something, like a podcaster, so goes a great download, simply due to the constant reminders of branding, advertisements and “This next hour is sponsored by…”

There is plenty out there to go around for everyone. If your choice is to subscribe to a corporate sponsored podcast, so be it, it’s all about the choices that are available to us. I enjoy the commercial-free music downloads. And ‘yes’, there is great music available on the Net that is free. This sort of music is generated by both DJs and musicians. A podcaster writes a well-crafted program that includes giving names and credits were they are due. (There is a little more to it than what I wrote here, though.)

The lengths of podcasts can be virtually of any length. I’ve heard 30-minute podcasts as well as 2 ½ hours of music mixes. The styles of music also vary greatly. Traditional radio needs to conform to the tastes of the general public while podcasts don’t need to worry about “The Top 10”. From the avant-garde to country to electronic to goth to jazz to rave to trance and all the flavors in between - I'm sure there is a podcast with your name on it.

There are programs you can download [for FREE] that are known as Podcatchers. These programs can be set to download podcasts from your favorite podcasting websites. So in the morning you’d have a fresh batch of music for you to take on the go.

The Podcatchers also work well with non-music podcasts. For example, you can download the latest podcast on “Public Relations and Corporate Communications” to your computer, transfer it to your portable media player, play it in the car or in your ear buds.

Now we have kids creating podcasts for their schools. They may podcast the moring announcements on their schools website or generate a weekly newscast of events, sports scores as well as how they did with the bake sale. Classroom projects have also included podcasting by students.

Imagine listening to students in a social studies class conducting interviews with kids from the days of the Battle of Plattsburgh and finding out what life was like growing up during those hard times. (Of course, this is all a reenactment. I haven’t lost my mind...yet.) Or, imagine conducting and interview with someone in another state or another country and listening to this [pre-recorded] podcast.

There are tons of sites and books and now workshops and conferences on Podcasting available. I’ve sorted through many sites and compiled a list of resources I hope you’ll find useful. These lists could literally go on forever, needless to say, I had to draw the line somewhere on how much information to place on this web page.

As you can see, podcasting has become a fun and booming field. It shouldn’t be long before we begin to see courses offering proper techniques for podcasters to be. So be bold and daring. Podcasting allows you to share your thoughts, ideas, opinions, musical tastes, knowledge, recipes, anime reviews, news, etc., with the entire world.

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Related Links:
The NITLE News

Public Radio Fan

ACE Kids

Portable Media Expo & Podcasting Conference

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