What do you get when you mix the Internet with iPods? Podcasts! Podcasts have been referred to as the radio for the twenty-first century. It allows anyone to create his or her own podcast and to have a voice. For those who do not know what a Podcast is, it is an mp3 format file that can contain your own radio show. These Podcasts can easily be uploaded to a server, like a website, from a Really Simple Syndication (RSS). After uploading, people are then able to download your Podcast and listen to it on their own iPod or any other mp3 player.



Before you get started, think about some reasons why you might want to create your own Podcast. Maybe you would like to have your own show and do not have the ability to do so otherwise, you might be a musically talented person and want to recruit some fans by letting them listen to your music. Maybe you want to sell a multi-part speech but do not feel like going through all the hassle of making CDs, or labels. Perhaps you already have your own show and want to have an added extra to people who download your podcast. Another reason might be that you might be an author and want to sell more books, so you read a few pages to get a following. Or, you are an educator and want to send messages to students. Maybe you want a Podcast for any other reason you feel the need to get your voice out to the world.

Now that you know what your Podcast will be about, you now need to learn how to podcast. First, you must learn how to record an audio or video file and save or convert it to an .mp3 file. Secondly, you need to learn how to make an RSS file that will tell how to use your podcast when a persons program wants it. Third, you should now how to write the RSS file and then upload that and your .mp3 file. Lastly, you will want to know how to make sure everything is correct and that it will play when someone requests it.

A popular program, like Audacity, can help you with your podcast. Now that you have done all that, a microphone is required so that you can record your voice. Now you can record your audio for your podcast. Afterwards, you need to save it and remember what you titled it as. Now is the time to create an RSS file, which is basically a text file with the .rss extension. After you create an RSS file, you need to have a server to upload it to. For many people, their websites are an ideal server.

Now, after all of that is completed, you have to make sure that you correctly wrote your RSS file. Do not worry because this is the easy part. Go to any rss scripting site. There, you will type in the exact address where you uploaded your podcast (your server). Then, you simply push the Validate button and it will come back saying if you correctly wrote your RSS file or not. If it comes back saying it was correct, you can now send your podcast out to anyone who wants it.

Podcasts have become popular because it allows anyone to run their own radio station, or something similar, without the hassle of expensive hardware. Many like podcasts because it gives them a certain intimacy with people that otherwise could not have been achieved. The iTunes Music Store offers thousands of podcasts on many subjects. With the number of people who own iPods or any other mp3 player for that matter, your podcast has the chance of reaching hundreds of thousands of people. And with podcasts, you are not constricted by the FCC regulations. There is really no limit to what you can say!

Its easy to get your podcast out into other peoples view. Websites online list many podcasts available. There, people can easily browse through the different categories of podcasts and select which ones they would like to listen to; hopefully yours will be one of them. Now that you have successfully created your podcast and put it out for everyone to see, you can now sit back and relax while people are listening and/or watching what you have created.