| In this chapter Podcasting Is Radio As You've Always Loved ItOnly Better How Podcasting Works Getting Inside the Listener Experience The Differences Between Radio and Podcasting
Podcasting is an easy and inexpensive method for creating radio-like content that can then be distributed over the Internet. It provides you, as a content creator (that is, podcaster), with capabilities that were previously available only to professional broadcasters and required prohibitively expensive tools. Podcasting also provides your listeners with a listening experience that has several important advantages over what they get with traditional radio. iPods Aren't Necessary The term podcasting is a portmanteau, or a "new word that's formed by joining two others and combining their meanings." (WordNet 2.0, © 2003 Princeton University.) The two words in this case are "iPod," referring to Apple's popular portable music player, and "broadcasting." The term is something of a misnomer, however, insofar as podcasting does not require an iPod. Any portable music player will do quite nicely or, in a pinch, a podcast can be listened to on a computer. In fact, there is a lively, ongoing debate within the podcasting community about whether or not the term is going to stick. In the absence of a good alternative, though, it looks as though it's going to be with us for the foreseeable future. |
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