Podcasting

Preparing the MP3 File

Creating an RSS Feed

Validating and Publishing the Feed

Podcasting Defined

Podcasting is the distribution of specially encoded multimedia content (normally MP3 files with ID3 tags) to subscribed personal computers via the RSS 2.0 protocol.

It is a form of narrowcasting, which sends content to people who have decided to listen, as opposed to broadcasting, which goes to everyone within a certain radius of the signal.

Podcasters versus Podcatchers

Podcasters are the people who create the content.

Podcatchers are those who listen to the content.

Potcatching Clients

The first podcatching client was iPodder, created by Adam Curry, the former MTV VJ.

iPodder is now called Juice Receiver and is freely downloadable from juicereceiver.sourceforge.net.

Juice Receiver is a so-called aggregator that accesses the podcasts to which you have subscribed, retrieves any enclosed multimedia content, manages files for iTunes and iPhoto, and deletes old podcasts from your hard drive after they have expired.

iTunes

The most popular podcasting client is iTunes, which is available for both Macintosh and Windows.

You download iTunes from www.apple.com/itunes.

Recording the MP3 File

You can use any audio recording software you prefer to record the MP3 file.

Audacity is a free, cross-platform (i.e., Mac and Windows) audio editor available from audacity.sourceforge.net.

iTunes can convert a wide range of audio formats into the MP3 format.

ID3 Tags

ID3 tags enable MP3 players to display information about the file, such as:

NameArtistAlbum

Track NumberYear

ComposerGenre

Comments

Creating ID3 Tags with iTunes

Open the MP3 file with iTunes.

Pull down the File menu and choose Get Info.

Fill in the fields.

Adding Artwork with iTunes

To associate artwork with your MP3 file, click the Artwork tab and use the controls to select your artwork.

Rss Podcast Example

RSS templates for making podcasts are at www.udel.edu/fth/podcasting.

There you will find a simple example called simple.xml and a more complex example called complete.xml.

The simple example contains the minumum RSS for creating a podcast.

The complete example contains optional tags used by iTunes.

Simple RSS Example

<?xml version="1.0"?><rss version="2.0">

<channel> <title>Introduction to Podcasting</title> <link>http://www.udel.edu/fth/podcasting/simple.xml</link> <description>How to create a podcast</description> <language>en-us</language> <managingEditor>fth@udel.edu (Fred Hofstetter)</managingEditor> <lastBuildDate>Fri, 03 Mar 2006 19:13:45 GMT</lastBuildDate>

<item> <title>Introduction</title> <description>What is podcasting? </description> <pubDate>Fri, 03 Mar 2006 01:15:00 GMT</pubDate> <author>fth@udel.edu (Fred Hofstetter)</author> <enclosure url="http://www.udel.edu/fth/podcasting/intro.mp3" type="audio/x-mp3" length="114688"/> <guid>http://www.udel.edu/fth/2006/03/03/podcasting/intro</guid> </item>

</channel></rss>

Validating a Feed

After you create an RSS file, you should validate the feed to make sure it does not contain syntactical errors that may cause the podcast to fail.

You can validate the feed for free at http://feedvalidator.org.

Advertising Your Feed

If you want your feed to be listed at podcast directories and listing sites, you can go to the site’s ping form, fill out the form, and click Submit.

Some ping forms are at:audio.weblogs.com/api.htmlwww.allpodcasts.com/Update.aspxwww.technorati.com/ping.html

Where to Find Podcasts

The directory that started it all was iPodder, owned by and now called Podcast Alley at podcastalley.com.

You can register and create favorites at podcastpickle.com.

Yahoo’s audio search is at audio.search.yahoo.com.

A directory of directories is at podcast411.com.iTunes U; watch the movie about iTunes U at

www.apple.com/education/itunesu_mobilelearning/itunesu.html

Podcasting from a Blog

If you have a blog, you can use FeedBurner to turn your blog into a podcast. This is called “burning your feed.”

FeedBurner automatically creates and hosts the podcast’s RSS feed for you.

FeedBurner is at www.feedburner.com.

About Podcasting

A podcast about podcasting is atpodcast411.com

A PC tutorial is at http://www.windowsdevcenter.com/pub/a/windows/2005/04/05/create_podcasts_with_pc.html

Apple tutorials are in the sidebar at www.apple.com/itunes/podcasts/techspecs.html

iTunes Podcasting Specs

The official iTunes podcasting specifications are online at:

www.apple.com/itunes/podcasts/techspecs.html

Fred’s Podcasting Hardware

Samson CO1U USB Studio Condenser Microphone www.samsontech.com/products/productpage.cfm?prodID=1810.

Spider for CO1U Microphone

Swing arm: Rode PSA1 Studio Arm With 2 Axis Swivel Mount, $89, ordered from www.markertek.com.