Researching Podcasts- Feb. 20- 26, 2013

Researching the Pod casts Feb. 20, 2013

Revised on Feb. 26, 2013:

What is a podcast?

It is a multimedia digital file made as a download on the Internet for a digital media device or a computer. It takes a lot to make one’s own podcast and without knowing the technical basis of it, there’s plenty of self-help guides, like this fantastic one:

http://podcastanswerman.com/learn-how-to-podcast/

In fact, the how-to-guides were so vast, that I found the one that seemed easy to try.

The history of the podcast dates back to the 1980’s, when it was once known as “audioblogging”. However, podcasting didn’t gain momentum until late 2007 with the iPod according to Wikipedia. Since that time there are now more than 11,000-2,000 podcasts and most can be found on iTune. The technology involved with podcasts is vast, but here are a few of things to get started creating your own podcast:

Audio Recorder & Editor such as Audacity.  MP3 Encoder: LAME or iTunes. Media Player: iTunes or Windows Media Player and File Transfer Software like Smart FTP. 

Are there any special subscriptions or website memberships required?

For a pod bean (basic) subscription it is free.

Advanced $4.95

Professional $9.95

Pro Gold $19.95

Business Level I $69.95

Business Level II $199.95

http://www.podbean.com/

Let’s see who else has podcasts….

There are some free ones, but getting away from iTunes seems to be difficult for some users. RSS feeds only seems to allow a download of five podcasts, and to use it, the subscriber would have to pay $17. I found the information here:

http://forums.cnet.com/7723-6138_102-161864/looking-for-a-free-podcast-subscription-manager-not-itunes/

http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/5-podcast-directories-visit-subscribe-download-free-podcasts/   This link provides five podcasts that are free.

http://www.podcastalley.com/  If one prefers podcasts that are geared around various topics/music from around the world.

Here are my examples of some successful podcasts from 2012:

http://www.avclub.com/articles/the-best-podcasts-of-2012,89885/

And this one, which mentions Call Chelsea Peretti at the number ten spot on Daily Dot.com:

http://www.dailydot.com/entertainment/10-best-new-podcasts-2012/

I think podcasting caught on because it was in demand back when the internet was still relatively new for most households as far back as the 90’s. I think that the future of podcasts are like anything else; they’ll continue to be mainstays until something else that’s technologically viable phases out that particular media format like compact discs did to the Long Play (LP) record.

Do I enjoy listening to podcasts already? Yes.

My examples of careers altered by podcasting are:

Kevin Smith, who is a director, screenwriter, actor and podcaster.

Dan Savage, who is a media pundit, author and journalist and podcaster.

And Bill Simmons III, who is an author, sports columnist and podcaster.

How to make your own podcast can be found here:

http://www.apple.com/itunes/inside-itunes/2011/04/create-your-own-podcasts.html iTunes is the common one.

http://radio.about.com/od/createyourownpodcast/ss/How-to-Create-Your-Own-Podcast-Make-Your-Own-Talk-Show-Music  from About.com

http://www.buzzsprout.com/  from Buzzsprout.com

And here are my podcasts that I found interesting and not everybody will agree. One of the stations I used to listen to way back when Realplayer was a pain to let re-buffer was Dismuke’s website, which is located here:

http://www.loudcity.com/stations/radio-dismuke 

Dismuke started out small sometime back in 2007 or so when I discovered them, then expanded their play list later on. However, some Windows missing plug-ins might be required in order to download the music before listening to it on this site. Also, some of the content isn’t free and data plans to apply depending on what mobile device one has according to Loud City.

The late Paul Harvey has some podcasts located here:

http://archive.org/details/TheRestOfTheStory 

However, I remember hearing Paul Harvey on the radio back in the 80’s early in the mornings and he will always remind me of happy times. And here is another:

http://archive.org/details/CalStewartHarryCBrowne

I’ve loved this late vaudeville comedian Cal Stewart when I first heard him on the Victor 78 way back in the early 90’s. However, back then, he was laughing and reciting a far-fetched tales through the wooden louvers of a Victrola Talking Machine.

http://cylinders.library.ucsb.edu/cakewalks.php   This site also streams podcasts of early recorded music, of which is the best source I’ve discovered for a huge library of cylinder records on the Internet. I selected this one because it appeals to the specific music that I like to listen to nowadays.