What is Podcasting?

Podcast vs. Vodcast  Podcast-the recording of an audio or video file to share with others  Vodcast-video podcasts are sometimes called this These files can be shared over the Internet and downloaded onto computers They can be listened to on a computer, mp3 player, iPod, or burned to a CD

Popular Podcast  Grammar Girls Quick & Dirty Guide To Better Writing Grammar Girls Quick & Dirty Guide To Better Writing Remember Podcasts can be downloaded and played using your computer. Sample Podcast

A podcast is simply a writing piece that users record using audio equipment. An enhanced podcast would included pictures to go along with the video.

Podcast Ideas  Make a commercial  Discuss your favorite book  Weather report  Public Service Announcement (PSA)  News show  Interview friends, relatives, or experts  Pretend you’re a journalist from the past reporting on a historical event

Planning a Podcast  Topic  Purpose  Audience  Brainstorm/Outline  Lead or Hook  Rough Draft  Edit & Revise  Final Product (script)  Publish/Record

Step 1  The writing process

Step 2  Create your audio content. The content can be anything you like, including audio books, music, "radio" type shows, interviews, or even sermon. There's no formula for creating the audio content. In fact, one of the beauties of podcasting is that your shows can be anything that you want them to be. There are already podcasts of all sorts.  It also doesn't matter what platform or application you use to record the audio. One option to consider is Audacity. It's open source, cross-platform, free and let's you mix together multiple audio files. On the Macintosh, GarageBand is a popular choice, because it is free and powerful.  Save your finished audio show at maximum quality in the native format of your audio application. That way you can go back and edit it or reuse it and you'll have a good version.

Step 3  Convert the file to MP3 format. Once you have your audio content, you need to save it in MP3 format. MP3 is the defacto standard format for podcasts. Stick with MP3 unless you've got a very good reason for using another format. Using anything but MP3 will mean that some users may not be able to use your podcast.  Use the minimum bit rate that provide good results. Here are some suggested settings: k Mono - sermons, audio books, talk radio 64k+ Stereo - music, music & talk combinations 128k Stereo - good quality music  Make sure you save it with a.mp3 file extension  The article Saving MP3 Files for Podcasting has more detailed information.