iPod Pointers for Podcasting
Podcasting is the sharing of audio or video files. For example, radio programs or music videos broadcasting over the Internet using specific web feed formats such as RSS or Atom syndication. This has become one of the new hottest trends to hit the Internet right now and its popularity is growing steadily.
To create audio content should be very easy. It could be music, audio books, or radio shows. There is no set method on how to compose audio content but whatever the individual likes is what these shows should be in reference to. Depending on if you have a Mac or a PC, you will want to consider using GarageBand for the Mac user, or if you are a PC user, you will want to use Audacity. Both are excellent choices since they are powerful and are very popular. The best part about both these programs is that they are both free. We love free stuff!
When you are finished with your audio file you will want to save it at the highest quality in the original format of audio application. This way if you need to go back and do some editing, you will have a good version to work from. Once audio subject matter is finished, it should be saved in MP3 format. This is for all intents and purposes the standard format for podcasts. MP3 format seems to be the best format to stick with. It seems to be universal and user friendly. The downside of using any other format is that some users may not be able to listen to your podcast. You want to make it available to as many people as possible don’t you?
Some suggested settings to use that offer superior outcomes that have minimum bit rate are as follows:
- 48 – 56k Mono – sermons, audio books, talk radio
- 64k + stereo – music, music & talk combinations
- 128k stereo – good quality music
- .mp3 file extension is how all these files should be saved.
In order to publish an MP3 file, you will need to save it to your web server. It can then be tested on any MP3 player. It is easy to manage and find your files that you may want to put them all into a directory. These file can go anywhere on the site, but for convenience keeping them in the same directory seems to be the best in the long run.
Podcast feeds are RSS files that explain your podcast. They also contain information for each show. An RSS file is a text file that associates to MP3 files and a simple text editor can be used to generate RSS news feeds. Blogs really seem to be popular with the majority of podcasters because this automatically generates news feeds for you.
If you are have a blogging tool that lets you position enclosures, produce an item for each MP3 file that is available and use the URL of an audio content as an enclosure. If blogging tool does not maintain enclosures, do not worry. With the growing recognition of podcasts, there for sure soon will be one day.
For the time being, all of your editing of your RSS file can be done with any type of text editor to insert the enclosure tag. And you always want to make sure to save RSS file with the .rss or .xml extension. Generally, you will be looking for a news feed that holds all of your podcasts in the order from the newest to the oldest.
To publish your podcast news feed you will need to pass on your RSS file to your web server. Validate it using an RSS validator. If it is valid, it is ready to be published on the Internet. The last thing you will really need to do is check your podcast and publish it. There are several great podcasting logos out there so you will want to make sure you can find yours easily enough. With all of this said and done do not forget to ad your website to a podcast directory.
With the growing popularity of podcasting it seems to be catching on everywhere. It is becoming more common. No matter what it is for whether it is audio books, sermons or for educational purposes. Whatever the reason may be it seems to be one of the easiest forms of distributing information over the Internet so far.
Some Blog Related Links
WordPress: To get started with WordPress, set it up on a web host for the most flexibility or get a free blog on WordPress.com.
Blogger: A blog is your easy-to-use web site, where you can quickly post thoughts, interact with people, and more. All for FREE.
TypePad: TypePad is the premier blogging service for professionals, hosting many of the world’s most popular blogs and small business websites.
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