Links-N-More Favorite Podcasts

By: William McCave

Podcasting is a subject that is near and dear to my heart. I think that podcasting is internet radio at its best. It is not that complicated, and you do not have to own an Apple IPOD to benefit from this great way of getting entertainment and information.

Podcasting consists of an equation that contains a lot of pieces. The first part of the equation is the podcaster and their website. The podcaster produces the content, and posts it to their website. The content is normally posted to the website in MP3 format. You can download the content from the website manually, or you can use the second part of the equation.

The second part of the equation is the podcatcher. With podcatcher software, you can automate the process of downloading content that you like from several different websites. You can subscribe to your favorite shows, and like magic, when your show is updated on its website, the MP3 appears on your computer.

The third part of the podcasting equation is the listener of the content. You can listen to the content in any way, and anytime that is convenient for you. You can play it right on your computer, or you can take it with you. Due to the myriad of MP3 capable devices out there, you have several choices of how you can listen to the content on the go. There are MP3 players, MP3 capable cell phones, palm devices, and many other choices. You can also copy the MP3 file to a pen drive and take it to another computer. If you have a lot of shows that you download, you can burn them to CD, and play them in an MP3 capable CD player, or another computer. There is just no end to the ways that you can listen to this good information source.

By: William McCave

Now, who do you think puts out all of this great content? The beauty of podcasting is that anyone can do it with any type of equipment. You can listen to podcasts from someone famous like Paris Hilton, or you could listen to a show done by your neighbor down the street. There are people who do podcasts with lavish studios and thousands of dollars worth of equipment. Then there are those doing podcasts on an old laptop with some free software, and a $7 microphone.

What kinds of content do you think are available out there? There are podcasts out there on every topic imaginable. If the topic that you are imagining is not available as a podcast, it soon will be. If you find that you don't like the information that is available, then you can do your own podcast on the subject.

There are a myriad of databases online with information about podcasting and podcasts. The podcasting defacto standard database is www.podcastalley.com. You can start your podcasting experience here by doing a keyword search. I found several of the shows that I listen to regularly by searching at this site. I found podcasts on technology, digital photography, and podcast reality shows by searching this database.

Some of the shows that you already like to listen to regularly on the radio, may also be available in podcast form. Check the radio station or show specific websites for more information. You would be surprised at the number of radio shows that are now also doing a podcast version of their show. Sometimes it is a condensed version of the show, but I think that this is a good way to catch a show that you may have missed.

There are also other interesting things happening in the podcasting space. One of them is the creation of the first podcast only radio station in San Francisco (KYOU). I look for these stations to be popping up all over the country soon. These stations exist on a podcast only format. All of the content for the stations will come from independent podcasters who submit their shows to the station. I think that the podcast format will take commercial broadcasting to a new level.

By: William McCave

I think podcasting is internet broadcasting at its best. Anyone can create some audio content, post it on a web site, and build a listener base by getting the word out about their show. Podcast Alley is the site that deals with everything about podcasting. You can search for a show that interests you. You can download podcasts related software, and a myriad of other things that this site offers. Podcast Alley has also become the defacto Nelson Ratings of podcasting. If your show makes it in the top ten in your podcasting genre, then you can consider yourself pretty successful. Go to the site and search for some shows that may interest you. I am sure that once you start listening, you will become hooked just like me.

By: William McCave

Some podcasts have banded together into groups of similar podcasts and have formed there own networks. I discover podcasting and The Tech Podcasts Network while listening to Web Talk Radio on real audio in April of 2005. The show made mention of techpodcasts.com, and I decided to go check it out. I have been hooked ever since. This site has given me access to a lot of tech content in one place. Technology is always changing, and you have to do something to keep up. I think that www.techpodcasts.com is the answer.