OT: Help me understand "Podcasts"

[MRB]

Does anyone know what a "Podcast" is? A gather they are basically an audio recording of someone speaking (mp3 file) How is it different from a "Webinar"
Can a person subscribe to podcasts (with RSS) like you can a Blog?
Inquiring minds want to know.

Thanks in advance.

JA

[rwsaunders]

You'll get hooked on them especially if you find a subject(s) that interests you. Any subject, any time, any place. Not too different from a blog in terms of people speaking their mind or sharing their knowledge, but not interactive.

Do you have an IPod? You don't need one to subscribe, but I find it handy to download the podscasts to the IPod and to listen to the podcasts at my convenience when I work out or when I travel. Most are free and are broadcast on a regular basis. Try surfing the ITunes website for an introduction to many varied podcasts.

[drewjensen]

Increasingly, they seem to me like "radio shows" of an infinite variety that you can order up ala carte or subscribe to sort of like tivo for your ipod.

Itunes is the best place I've found for finding ones that are interesting to you. In my current rotation are This American Life and Planet Money which are both done by NPR; First Draft (about the nfl draft) and Bill Simmons from ESPN; the Adam Carolla show (he started doing the podcast once his radio station changed formats); and Stuff you should know and Things you missed from History Class.

[palincss]

Does anyone know what a "Podcast" is? A gather they are basically an audio recording of someone speaking (mp3 file) How is it different from a "Webinar"
JA

It's voice only, basically just an audio file you download and play at your leisure.

Every webinar I've seen involved dialing in to a phone number for the audio, and running special "my desktop is your desktop" software to provide the video component, usually a powerpoint. Many webinars also offer a way for you to type in questions that go to the presenter in real time.

It's very dissimilar.

[false_Aest]

a backronym developed where podcast stood for "Personal On Demand broadCAST.


Podcast do not have to be VOICE ONLY. There are many many podcasts that are just like downloadable mix-tapes and many DJs have started podcasting their live sets --- no, not streaming but actually recording then converting to a MP3 for people to download---and they update them frequently.


Personally, I think the backronym is perfect. You like "Wait Wait Don't Tell Me" but miss it one weekend, you download the episode and listen to it (no more ordering tapes or CDs from NPR). You think today's "Fresh Air" is so rad' your 6 year old would want to listen, you can forward the link to her and let her listen to it while she frags mofos on Call of Duty. You go to a club, totally dig a DJ and love the set, you check out his website and subscribe to his podcast.

[1centaur]

A 6-year-old girl fragging mofos on Call of Duty...now that's a rarity.

BTW, no wonder prime time audiences are down 50% over the last few years. There is so much entertainment potential out there on the Net. Will an EMP attack blow out the circuits on my Kindle if it's powered down when the blast occurs?

More seriously, the country's collective experience became a lot more collective thanks to nationwide media, particularly TV. The Net seems to be sending it in the other direction - we could end up in 25 years with a populace that has experienced the world very differently across regions or even states. That has implications for many things, including politics and the statistical significance of marketing surveys.

[false_Aest]

A 6-year-old girl fragging mofos on Call of Duty...now that's a rarity.



It's probably more common than a parent listening to NPR with kids or reading to them.

Call of Duty is the new babysitter atmo.

[rwsaunders]

It's probably more common than a parent listening to NPR with kids or reading to them.

Call of Duty is the new babysitter atmo.

In quite a few households, I'm afraid that you are correct.

[MRB]

Thanks for answering my questions. Now I kinda get it.

[Bob Ross]

a backronym developed where podcast stood for "Personal On Demand broadCAST.

Wow, I had no idea that "podcast" was not derived from iPod

I also had no idea that there was a word "Backronym".

I learned two things from one post and it's only 8:45AM!



(edit: wait a minute, if "podcast" is a "backronym" does that mean that it actually was derived from "iPod" and only later ascribed its backronymic meaning?)

[false_Aest]

(edit: wait a minute, if "podcast" is a "backronym" does that mean that it actually was derived from "iPod" and only later ascribed its backronymic meaning?)

yes.

good use of backronymic

I'll buy you a beer for that one.

[Big-d]

here's an example of a music podcast http://casbah.podomatic.com/