#8 Podcasts Aren't Just for Kids

But I dont' have an iPod you say. No worries, the word podcast is used to refer to a non-musical audio or video broadcast that is distributed over the Internet. What differentiates a podcast from regular streaming audio or video is that the delivery method for podcasts is often done automatically through RSS.

In 2005, "podcast" was named the "word of the year" by New Oxford American Dictionary and with the growth of podcasting it's easy to see why.

Podcasts take many forms, from short 1-10 minutes commentaries to much longer in person interviews or panel group discussions. There’s a podcast out there for just about every interest area and the best part about this technology is that you don’t have to have an iPod or a MP3 player to access them. Since podcasts use the MP3 file format, a popular compressed format for audio files, you really just need a PC (or portal device) with headphones or a speaker.

iTunes, the free downloadable application created by Apple is the directory finding service most associated with podcasts, but if you don’t have iTunes installed there are still plenty of options. iTunes is loaded on all of the computers in the training lab if you want to try it out.

For this discovery exercise participants are asked to take a look at some popular podcast directory tools. Do some exploring on your own and locate a podcast that is of interest to you.
Discovery Resources:

• In the spirit of the ongoing evolution of the internet, the nice tutorial we have been using from Yahoo is gone. (As of October 31st) Yahoo Podcasts has been discontinued so we will make use of Wikipedia for an overview of podcasting.
  
  
• There are many, many podcast directories and finding tools out there. Here are just three of the more popular ones that, unlike iTunes, don't require a software download:
  • Podcast.net
    
  • Podcastalley.com
    

Discovery Exercise:

1. Take a look at one or two of the podcast directories listed and see if you can find a podcast that interests you. See if you can find some interesting library related podcasts here like book review podcasts or library news.
   
   
2. Create a blog post about your discovery process. Did you find anything useful here?

OPTIONAL

• What? You want to learn how to be a podcaster too?
  (Optional Resources for those who want to learn create podcasts)
  
  
  • Odeo’s Studio – online recording studio.
    
  • Beginner's guide to Podcasts & Creating Podcasts
    
  • How to podcast tutorial