What is a Podcast?
A Podcast, simply put, is a group of episodes of media files you can download or subscribe to with an RSS feed, using an aggregator. Ok, busted. That’s not that simple of a description, but the process is. If you can put up with a smattering of jargon, you’ll get it.
Promise. Even simpler: a Podcast is a show. And there are a lot of them out there, so it’s inconceivable that there isn’t at least one out there that you’ll like
(in addition to the TriCom shows, of course). Most Podcasts are audio, though Video Podcasts are emerging also. Once you find one you like, you download it—whenever you want, or, by subscribing, you can have your computer check for updates automatically. Once you have the show’s episode you can listen to it right there on your computer, or you can take it with you by loading it onto a portable MP3 player or iPod.
If you are wondering what your fellow travelers on the bus, subway, or airplane are doing with earbuds in their ears...or what the person working out on the treadmill next to you at the gym is watching and listening to, this is it...The beauty of podcasts is that they are free audio and video files downloadable over the internet that you can listen to at your leisure. You choose when, where and how you want to listen to your favorite shows. Your time is valuable, and with podcasts you can decide where to fit us into your busy schedule.
Which brings us to some good questions and misconceptions about Podcasts:
Do I need an iPod?
Nope. You can listen to our episodes right on your computer, Mac or PC or Linux, or whatever, as long as it will play an MP3. But you certainly can use Podcasts on your iPod, or just about any other MP3 player.
Pretty flexible, huh?
Subscribe?
The main difference between a Podcast and any other plain ol’ media file on the web is that you can subscribe to Podcasts. You can enter a feed into a special program that checks for new episodes of a Podcast. These programs are technically called “aggregators” but are often called “Podcasting Catchers” or “Feed Readers.” You can also browse a Podcasting directory to find a show you like in one of the many directories out there. In fact,
iTunes has a tremendous directory built right into the music store. With all this talk of “subscribing” and “stores,” don’t forget that most Podcasts
(certainly ours) are free.
Podcast Catcher?
This is the application that you will use to subscribe to, download, and organize your Podcast episodes. Our favorite...iTunes. It is simple, well designed, and is a good way to organize and play your music collection in addition to listening to our Podcasts. We recommend you give it a try. You can find versions for both
Mac and PC. It has a directory built in; it can handle video in addition to audio, and it’s free. But there are other options out there. Check out
iPodder, for instance.
What do Tricom’s Podcasts feature?
Our podcasts feature weekly book news, insightful one on one interviews and exciting monthly bookclub roundtable discussions with the author. We offer both standard MP3 podcasts and special "graphically enchanced" versions of the same shows for those of you with Video ipods or using iTunes on your computer.
TriCom Podcast is dedicated to putting authors and bookclubs in your pocketTM!
Statistics
There are so many statistics on podcasting that they can be quite confusing and overwhelming. Here’s some information that’s been made available as of early 2006. According to
eMarketer, an independent research firm, projections for podcast listeners will top 10 million in 2006, 25 million in 2008 and upwards of 50 million by 2010. So what are you waiting for? Join the podcast revolution!
