The Peculiarities of Podcasting

Podcasting is a new buzzword which has been floating around the internet since 2004. To many, or at least to me, this word may initially sound like a marketing tool for Apple's iPod. While this is not totally false, this use of the word does not aptly describe what podcasting has become. In Wikipedia a podcast is described as a web feed of audio or video files placed on the Internet for anyone to download or subscribe to, and also the content of that feed. (The feed portion generally refers to RSS which is an XML file format which allows computer programs to read sites which change often and synchronize with them accordingly.) A few misconceptions about podcasting are that you can only listen to a podcast on an iPod and podcasting is just a new word for streaming audio. I was duped by the first one until quite recently, but it is true that an iPod is NOT required to listen to podcasts. The other misconception will be addressed below. The popularity of podcasting has grown considerably in the last year which many people attribute to the freedom podcasts offer. One major difference with podcasting and older forms of audio/visual media served on the Internet is that a user is not required to be online while enjoying a podcast. Podcasts in many ways are more dynamic than these other forms which include streaming internet radio and static, prerecorded files. Podcasts fill a niche that lies somewhere between radio, television and the always accessible internet and for this reason a person can listen to content on his schedule or lack thereof. For instance, on a recent three hour trip I decided to listen to a few episodes of the FrenchPodClass which worked out quite well as it was educational during a time I would normally be doing nothing productive. Clearly, podcasts fit quite well into my schedule, as I'm sure they will fit into yours in the future.