Podcasting, all you wanted to know. The term comes from a combination of the words iPod (a personal digital audio player made by Apple) and broadcasting. Even though the term is derived from the iPod, it is not limited to iPods.

As blogging has enabled almost anyone with a computer to become an author or a reporter, Podcasting allows virtually anyone with a computer to become a radio disc jockey, talk show host or recording artist. Podcasting is an extension of blogging using the digital audio technology, not to mention its counterpart, video podcasting. Most of the content on the internet is offered free and users need to pull the audio files from a source and consume it through their computers, iPods, MP3 players etc.

Contrast to a radio source,Podcasts are not required to be ‘tuned into’. Instead, they can be downloaded on demand or even subscribed to via an RSS (Really Simple Syndication) feed, which automatically downloads the podcast to the computer. The technology is similar to that used by a personal video recorder that lets users set which programs they’d like to record and then automatically records those programs for later viewing.

Podcast Essentials

Tools:

Being very cost-effective, you only need a PC with soundcard, Microphone, speaker / head phone & audio recording software free or open-source ( e.g. audacity or PodProducer)

Topic:

Decide on a topic, can focus on professional issues, industry or a product

Capture:

Record or capture the podcast on the chosen topic, keeping in sight the length, professionalism and content.

Podcast:

Host them on your website or on the internet and test them. (ensuring accurate naming), and create your newsfeed for your podcasts, which are RSS files describing the podcast that contains information and are linked to the MP3 files so created.

Invite:

Invite your audience to tune into-it, using various methods as RSS etc.

Forrester podcasting report says just over 1% use podcasts. Podcasts have hit the mainstream consciousness but have not yet seen widespread use, with most interested in existing radio and other Internet radio channels.

Companies and individuals that are interested in using podcasting as a medium for their audio should focus not only on downloads but also on streaming audio as a means to get their content and ads to consumers / users. Podcasting has brought millions of music lovers nearer to the promising community of singers & musicians. The day may not be far when your daily scoop of Gita, Ramayan, Quran etc. is podcast to you!

Image Credit: Graham Stanley

Popularity: 12%

Media coverage of events across the world has grown manifold in the past decade or so. With the advent of newer forums that use the Web2.0 infrastructure – blogs, twitter, podcast, etc – there are more than enough avenues for folks to get their daily share of news from.

The traditional print news media is caught blinded by this explosion of sorts. Not worrying about traditional competition anymore, they are just looking for ways and means to keep their current customer base in place and not lose market share to the new media outlets.

No matter what the level of news reach the online publication options provide, there’s still bound to be a time and place for traditional print: be it on an airplane, be it fulfilling the morning ritual of a quick glance at the newspaper with a cup of coffee, or lying down by the pool side on a quiet Saturday afternoon with a newspaper in hand.

So, as an editor to a leading news publication, the biggest challenge is to capture and retain the attention of the reader. Does one go the mass market way and provide a tabloid, or does one focus on providing enriched content that adds cerebral value to the reader? The answers to these questions determine the critical choice of whether to put certain events’ coverage on page-1 or page-3 of the newspaper.

If someone were to pick up a USA-Today and Wall Street Journal in Boston today, there’s a marked difference in the Page-1 content between the newspapers. The same difference is obviously visible when one looks at The Hindu & Times Of India in Bangalore, which is on the other side of the world.

While these newspapers cover the same little urban village, that is the world, and the content is from the same events worldwide, there’s a marked difference on what the focus of these newspapers is, especially when it comes to deciding what goes on Page-1!

As the executive editor, or whatever he or she is now called, what goes into them making these choices? Does their role move beyond just the coverage; do they owe something to the world at large i.e. the customers, by virtue of their bi-partisan positions? Is there a moral side to it? It must be hard to strike a balance between being a self-righteous moral police and being seen as enticing audience with sensationalism.

Essentially, there’s a simple answer to this seemingly complex conundrum and the solution is equally applicable to an individual or entity. The clues lie in answering one question:

Are you a false positive or a false negative?

Stripping all the jargon around it, would you rather be seen as doing the right thing, or would you rather do the right thing and not care about the perception or the end results?

What would you do??

Image Credit: Neogabox, Quarter Mae

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