What is Podcasting?
The word “podcasting” is an amalgam of the word broadcasting and the name of the popular MP3 player from Apple Computer called the “iPod”. It’s a bit of a misnomer in that it implies that an iPod is required to podcast. In fact podcasts can be used with a variety of digital audio formats and play on almost any MP3 player or portable digital audio device - as well as any brand of desktop computer or laptop. To define it: Podcasting is the process of capturing an audio event, song, speech, or mix of sounds and then posting that digital sound object to a Web site or “blog” in a data structure called an RSS 2.0 envelope ( or “feed”). RSS stands for Real Simple Syndication and is an agreed specification of XML tags used to define objects which can be subscribed to through a “RSS news reader” (see glosssary). Using specialized news readers like iPodder or iPodderX, users can subscribe to a Web page containing RSS 2.0 tagged audio files on designated web pages and automatically download these files directly into an audio management program on their personal computer like iTunes, Windows Media Player or MusicMatch. When a user synchronizes their portable audio device with their personal computer the podcasts are automatically transferred to that device to be listened to at the time and location most convenient for the user.
Many have compared podcasting to Tivo® or a DVR (digital video recorder) because of it’s “time-shifting” ability. In some aspects it is similar, but it is also different in that the recorded content is delivered in it’s final format to a portable device that is independent of the recording device.
A Metaphor Podcasts follow a simple publish and subscribe model but with a convenient twist. Imagine the following scenario: You’ve just heard about a great new magazine where each week a number of influential people from your profession are interviewed and share highly personal knowledge and advice - sounds interesting. You fill out the request form for your free 1 month trial and send it in. When the publisher receives your request they notify the distributor, where the latest version of the magazines are stored, and tell them send you the latest copy of their magazine each week. The distributor calls nited Parcel Service (UPS) to schedule regular pickup/deliveries of your magazine. UPS picks up your magazine from the distributor for same day delivery. The UPS courier delivers the magazine to your house and puts it in your mailbox. But (... and here’s the twist) instead of going out to the mailbox to pick up your magazine, Ralph, your trained Rotweiler, goes out to the mailbox grabs your magazine and places it - gently - in your briefcase. The next morning , as you ride the train to work, you open your briefcase to read the magazine you know is waiting for you there. VODcasting (also called “vlogging”) - the “VOD” stands for “video-on-demand” - is almost identical to podcasting. The difference is that the content is video versus audio, and the content is more is video versus audio, and the content is more likely to be played on a laptop than a PMA (personal media assistant) due to their newness and relative expense.
Source:http://edmarketing.apple.com/adcinstitute/wp-content/Missouri_Podcasting_White_Paper.pdf
