What is a podcast?
Who listens to podcast?
How can I make a regular podcast?
How do I listen/subscribe to a podcast?

Traditional media outlets like television, radio, magazines and newspapers have dictated content to people for decades. The Internet, on the other hand, gives control of content to the consumers, allowing them to read, listen to, and watch anything they want, anytime they want.

They’re not limited to what’s playing on TV or the radio at the moment, or what magazines and newspapers are within reach. The Internet is an infinite well of news, knowledge, and entertainment controlled by the end user, and that well just got a little deeper with the invention of podcasting.

Podcasting lets consumers download fresh audio shows on topics they’re interested in, and listen to them whenever and wherever. Podcasts gives consumers the freedom to avoid the constant bombardment of traditional media.

A podcast is audio, typically in mp3 format, distributed over the Internet by an RSS, or Really Simple Syndication. A TiVo-like experience is created by integrating mp3, which compresses audio files to shortened download times, with RSS, which syndicates content.

Listeners can subscribe to shows and, whenever new shows are posted, they automatically get saved to their computers. They don’t have to remember to check if there is a new show, and they listen when they want to, not when someone has scheduled them to.

Best of all, the new podcast show can automatically be sync’ed onto an mp3 player, which will make commuting to work, exercising, or walking the dog all the more enjoyable… and provide news and entertainment customized to your audiences interests.

Considering the exponential growth and interest in podcast communication, the following are those who should immediately start considering the use of podcast technology.

• Companies interested in communicating regularly with customers
• Corporations interested in evolving the way they communicate news
• Companies interested in communicating new product information
• Politicians interested in communicating with their constituents
• Media interested in providing new cutting-edge content to readers/listeners/viewers
• Industry associations interested in updating their members on the latest news and information
• Individuals interested in being a “talk show host” and having their own show about their favorite topics

1) Thanks to palegroove Studios, you can now become a podcaster without having to make expensive equipment purchases or time commitments. Whether you’re a corporation, politician, industry association, or just an average individual with something to talk about, you can contact palegroove Studios to kick-start your professional podcast show. palegroove Studios will provide a free initial consultation to determine the quickest and easiest way to develop your podcast.

Contact palegroove Studios today for your free initial consultation and you’ll learn just how easy and affordable it is to develop your own online radio show. Within no time, you’ll be creating podcasts and building an online listenership.

2) Or, you can become a do-it-yourself podcaster by purchasing a computer, microphone, audio recording/mixing software and creating a Really Simple Syndication, or RSS, feed that allows listeners to subscribe to your show. This option can get expensive, especially if you’re keeping in mind that subscribers are listening for quality programming. And if you’re not familiar with recording/mixing software or creating a RSS, you might get tangled up in the technology.

At this point, you have an empty subscriptions window, so your next step will be to subscribe to shows that interest you, such as Croncast. Click on the “subscribe from directory” button and scroll to find a show. Next, click “add to subscriptions.”

You can subscribe to as many shows as you like, and you can also subscribe to shows that are not listed in the directory, assuming you know where the show’s RSS (Really Simple Syndication) feed is located.

Typically RSS information can be found on a show’s website via an RSS button or link. When you find an RSS button for a show that isn’t listed in the ipodder directory, simply click on the RSS button, copy the resulting URL in the address bar, paste it into the address bar in ipodder, and click “add.”

For instance, try adding this URL to subscribe to the Croncast show: http://www.croncast.com/wp-rss2.php. Now you have some subscriptions, but you still don’t have any podcast shows.

Click “check for new podcasts” and ipodder will check your subscriptions for any new podcast shows. At that point, ipodder will search and download new podcast shows for you to listen to. If you only want to listen to new podcast shows on your computer, you’re all set.

Now, if you’re interested in making you’re podcast shows portable, it’s easy. Click the “preferences” tab and look at what folder ipodder is placing your newly downloaded podcast shows into.

Then, just launch iTunes, or any other mp3-playing software, and add that folder to your library. Remember, you don’t need iTunes or an iPod to listen to podcasts. Any software that will play mp3s and any mp3 player you can copy stuff onto will work.

Fresh shows from podcasts you subscribe to are now on iTunes. Sync’ your iPod, Dell DJ, Rio or any other mp3 player and you’re done!