Virtually - Podcasting

Welcome back, class, to more of Internet 101 or “Jargon Busting for Beginners”. This month I want to talk about podcasting. Podcasting is one of those neologisms beloved by those at the cutting edge of the internet (think wiki and phishing). My suspicion is that developers invent them as a revenge-of-the-nerds tactic to make us regular folk feel there is a secret we’re not in on because we don’t know the password. Happily, “podcast” is easy. The word is a blend of “broadcast” and “iPod” and it simply refers to a way of making audio and video files available for download on the internet. 

 

An audio podcast is nothing more than an MP3 file that you can listen to online (streaming) or download to your computer and then to your MP3 player so you can listen whenever, wherever you want. You don’t need an iPod – any MP3 player or even the kids’ Sony PSP console will do. You can also burn your podcasts to MP3 disc (finally, a legal use for that burner that came with your computer) and listen to them in the car. For video podcasts, aka vodcasts, you will need a video-capable media player (again, if you don’t have one, the PSP will manage just fine). 

Now the really clever thing about podcasts is something called RSS feed. RSS stands for Really Simple Syndication, which is a clever way of letting you find out what is new on a site you like without having to go to the site and check. The point of podcasts is that – as with TV or radio shows, but not a downloadable audio book – there is always another episode. And, thanks to RSS, once you subscribe (for free), that new episode will download automatically to your computer when it is released. You will need software to do this, of course. The free iTunes (www.iTunes.com) is the most popular, but if you have an Apple allergy just search for podcatcher software and pick something that suits.

But forget all the tech talk. Get listening. Here are some recommendations.

If you are sick to death of never catching the beginning or the end of a National Radio programme, you might find it at radionz.co.nz/podcasts. Wine enthusiasts go to GrapeRadio.com. Whisky aficionados have WhiskyCast.com. Clive James tells the stories of people who have shaped our world, as inspired by his magnum opus Cultural Amnesia, in vodcasts available directly from iTunes.

LearnOutLoud.com has made available free podcasts of some of the greatest speeches in the world, from Winston Churchill to Martin Luther King.

Sesame Street (sesameworkshop.org/podcasts/) has a new, oh-so-cute weekly series designed to enhance listening and vocabulary. Ted Wells Living: Simple (twls.libsyn.com) looks at the work of famous architects and designers. The Naked Scientists (thenakedscientists.com) are academics from Cambridge University who have turned an award-winning BBC radio show into the most entertaining science podcasts I have heard. 

There are podcasts for comedy, cooking, travel, gardening and subjects I can’t mention in a family publication. Some are good, some are great, some are amateurish and some are appalling. You’ll find a good one though and, when you do, get out there, away from the computer and listen!

And now for something completely different. Warehouse Stationery (warehousestationery.co.nz) has a brilliant plan to save you from the horror of the school stationery list. With luck, your school will post its lists on the site, meaning you can select the lot and have it delivered to your door. Now this is why I love the internet!