What
Is Podcasting?
Podcasting is a term coined in 2004 when the
use of RSS syndication technologies became
popular for distributing audio content for
listening on mobile devices and personal computers.
A podcast is a web feed of audio or video
files placed on the Internet for anyone to
subscribe to. Podcasters' websites also may
offer direct download of their files, but
the subscription feed of automatically delivered
new content is what distinguishes a podcast
from a simple download or real-time streaming
(see below).
While the name was
primarily associated with audio subscriptions
in 2004, the RSS enclosure syndication technique
had been used with video files since 2001,
before portable video players were widely
available. In fact, any file with a URL,
including still images and text, can be
delivered as an enclosure.
Use of "podcast"
to describe both audio and video feeds seemed
natural to some users, while others preferred
to reserve the word for audio and coin new
terms for video subscriptions. Other "pod-"
derived neologisms include "podcasters"
for individuals or organizations offering
feeds, and "podcatchers" for special
RSS aggregators with the ability to transfer
the files to media player software or hardware.
Podcasting's essence
is about creating content (audio or video)
for an audience that wants to listen when
they want, where they want, and how they
want.
Courtesy
Of Wikipedia.org
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