Of all the buzzwords doing the rounds at the moment, Podcasting has got to be the most zeitgeisty by a long chalk. With just a little bit of free software you can download radio programmes straight onto your MP3 player, to listen to while you travel, go to the gym or laze around the house dodging all responsibility. And better than that, this software also gives you the option to automatically receive new shows from the various channels you subscribe to keeping you constantly updated on a number of subjects, ranging from the technical to the frankly bizarre.
A solid place to start your journey is
ipodder.org, a site that can bring you up to speed on the topic and point you in the right direction of the correct software for your computer. It even has quite a healthy directory of programmes and subjects of interest. As does rival directory podcast.net.What youll notice at this early stage of the technology is that all these individuals doing their Podcasts shouldnt include copyrighted music in their shows, which leaves things wide open to the larger companies with bigger wallets to come in at a later point. But that rule isnt hard and fast, as a little exploration will discover.
One of the most popular programmes at present, with something in the region of 25,000 subscribers, is
dawnanddrew.com, a comedy talk show thats both entertaining and rather professionally put together. Or perhaps youre interested in wine? If so, then theres graperadio.com. The options are endlessOnce youve listened to a few shows you might feel the need to get up and do something yourself. After all, a lot are pretty lo-fi and short on content at the moment.
howtopodcast.org is a good place to start. Its basic, practical and you can be up and running in four hours, according to those in the know.
Richard Hector-Jones 01 April 05
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