A brief guide on what a podcast is and how it works

Podcast

The advancements in modern technology brought about several means for people to share information about a wide variety of topics.

Some set up blogs with incredible write-ups or amazing photos, while others venture out into video content or vlogging. There are also those who are keen on podcasting. To dig deeper about what a podcast is about and how it works, below is a brief guide.

Content

The topics that you can find in podcasts greatly vary, from sports, health, and wellness, to news and current events. Some podcasts are dedicated to music, comedy, business, philosophy, and others even feature rants and raves. These topics often depend on the podcaster who can be an individual, a company, radio or TV network. There is no predetermined length, format, style, or production level for these podcasts, rather, anything goes.

Availability

A podcast can be likened to a radio service over the internet. Unlike internet radio, however, you don’t need to tune in to a certain frequency to listen to a particular podcast. Instead, you can manually download the podcast you are interested in. Otherwise, you can also subscribe through an RSS, or really simple syndication feed to automatically download podcasts to your computer. Some of the most common audio file formats used for podcasts include MP3, WinAHX Tracker Module, GarageBand Project, Digital Sound Module, and Audiokoz Music File to name a few. Rest assured that there are over a couple of hundred audio file formats that you will find suitable for you.

Podcasting Tools

Recording

It is relatively easy to record your podcast because all you need is a microphone that is plugged into your computer, as well as an audio recorder installed on your machine as well. After creating an audio file, you can directly go to the podcasting sites to upload and publish your content. Conversely, you can also leverage on publishing tools.

Publishing

The key features of podcasting tools include hosting and publishing services. An unlimited hosting paves the way for an outright recording, while an easy and scheduled publishing service provides an intuitive interface for the podcasters to broadcast their content following a certain timetable. Aside from these key features, the Podbean, along with other integrated podcasting platforms, also offers other front end and back end tools such as domain integration, as well as a professional podcast website. With your domain integration, you can use your brand for your podcast website, which you can design based on several available themes. There are even podcasting tools that will allow you to publish podcast episodes right from your mobile devices.

A podcast is simply a form of digital content that you can listen to. Different podcasts tackle a wide variety of topics and you can download these recordings to be able to listen to them whenever you feel like it, wherever you are. On the other hand, podcasters need to utilize podcasting tools for unlimited hosting services, as well as easy publishing of the podcasts at the very least to make their content available for the consumption of their target audience.