In this article, I'll answer 5 of the most frequently asked questions about podcasting.
1. What is podcasting?
Podcasting simply is the automation of time-shifted portable media. Consumers can choose the content they want to get on a regular basis and automate the whole process of checking new content, download them and sync them to portable media players.
2. Do you need an iPod to enjoy podcasting?
Not by all means. Although the name may implies that, you can listen to a podcast just like you consume any other audio files. You can listen it on your desktop computer, or on any portable media player, or even on most modern cellphones.
3. What technologies do you need to start publishing a podcast?
Getting started producing and publishing a podcast can't be easier. All you need is a way to record your voice. You can do it via a mic that is attached to your computer, using a portable recording device, calling a phone recording service, and so on.
To host the podcast, you need web server -- yes it it the same web server that you use to publish any web site, no proprietary technology.
And finally, you also need a platform to publish podcast notes. A blog provides an easy way to manage podcast site.
4. What is a podcast RSS feed?
The only thing that is different between an audio file and a podcast is RSS feed. A podcast file is just another media file, but the podcast feed provides the automation to the file. Podcatching software will grab this podcast feed to check for updates, find reference to the newest podcast file, and download them to the user's computer.
5. How do you create a podcast feed?
Blog software allows you to create podcast feed automatically so you don't have to know any technical detail.
You can type this manually but they are too much work. By using a blog, you may not even know that a feed exists. It saves you a lot of time so you can focus more on the other side of your podcast like content and promotion.