Podcasts

[stantheman1976]

Hopefully I'm in the right section since I think podcasts are usually audio.

What exactly is a podcast? I looked on Wikipedia and it looks like you just make an audio or video file and use a RSS feed. Am I right? THe problem is that I know squat about RSS. Recording and converting audio/video I can do with my eyes closed, but I'm clueless about RSS. So if you guys could clue me in on this issue I'd be grateful.

[nwo]

Hopefully I'm in the right section since I think podcasts are usually audio.

What exactly is a podcast? I looked on Wikipedia and it looks like you just make an audio or video file and use a RSS feed. Am I right? THe problem is that I know squat about RSS. Recording and converting audio/video I can do with my eyes closed, but I'm clueless about RSS. So if you guys could clue me in on this issue I'd be grateful.

if am right (which am not most of the time) RSS just points you to the Audio file (mp3, mp4 etc).

[stantheman1976]

I think the RSS file points to the MP3 and the XML is a subscription. So would creating an MP3 with ID3 tag done correctly and offering it for manual download be THAT much diferent. Wouldn't that be easier for people who check a single website and have no clue about podcasts but are able to play MP3 files?

I'm interested in doing something at my church. Have a sort of round table thing with the pastor and worhip lead and discus whatever we choose. Then have it available for download in MP3. We have the space and bandwidth to do it either way. I just want it to be easily accessible for people who know nothing about podcasts, but know how to listen to an MP3 file.

[jsmithepa]

For people to get it is EZ. The hard part is for you to author it. Some learning curve there.

[ozymango]

I think the RSS file points to the MP3 and the XML is a subscription. So would creating an MP3 with ID3 tag done correctly and offering it for manual download be THAT much diferent. Wouldn't that be easier for people who check a single website and have no clue about podcasts but are able to play MP3 files?

That's pretty darn close -- all a "podcast" does is enable an "automatic download" of whatever audio file you've got, to a person's PC/listening device. That's contained in the RSS, and yup it's a "subscription" so instead of having to go to a certain site to download whatever this week's show is, the RSS does it for you. Or close enough.

It all starts with having some kind of audio to listen to in the first place, and certainly anybody who's into podcasting would have no trouble just going to your site and downloading the file directly, so I'd just make links on your site for your recordings, for starters, and see how that goes.

If you find this is really popular and people suggest some automatic way of getting your next show without having to visit the site, then you can worry about "podcasting" and all the fun (not!) RSS stuff.