Podcast video, and other types of podcasting are thus part of the blogging revolution. Individuals and groups around the world, with a small investment in equipment and time, can become content producers. Because it is so simple to use and cheap to set up, many people are getting involved. They can podcast video around the world, becoming producers and directors for any small niche they want to exploit.

Many of these podcasters have small audiences that download their podcast video, but larger groups are getting involved. News organizations and websites that serve massive audiences are discovering that podcasting and podcast video can distribute their content to millions of people easily. These groups have found that podcasting video is yet another way to distribute their news and information. Since podcasting is so easy to use, it’s likely that even more people will start using podcast video.

Today, however, a podcast feed tends to refer to the use of a feed to share media files. Most podcasts are done with audio files, and the individual files that are created and shared are called episodes. These audio files may contain a variety of things; there are music, comedy, news, technology, even podcasts about wine. Podcasting, because of the low entry cost, especially for audio podcasting allows nearly anyone who believes they have something to say to broadcast it over the internet. Even more established groups have found that audio podcasting works well. Some radio stations podcast portions of their content, sharing it over the internet to allow listeners who missed a specific show to catch up on it later. NPR now does this with its news breaks, and the NPR show “This American Life” offers a podcast of its shows to subscribers who pay a small fee.

One of the newer innovations in podcast feeds is the vlog, or videoblog. These blogs usually contain a feed that distributes a video, rather than an audio file to feed subscribers. Although that would not have been feasible a few years ago, growing numbers of broadband internet subscribers has meant that most users are able to download large files, even video files, relatively quickly. These video podcasts have been readily accepted by mainstream news organizations. They have found that podcasting portions of their content is a way to share their tape and reach a wider audience. The BBC currently does this with parts of its news content. Pieces of the news show that is played over the airwaves is taken and placed online, along with a link to the content placed inside the RSS feed. Those who subscribe to the BBC feed can download the news clip and watch in from the comfort of their home computer.

In the future, podcast feeds may be used for a number of purposes besides simply sharing media files. Some analysts predict that the feed system could also be used to share software updates, or any of a myriad of other file types. For now, however, podcasting is dominated by small audio and video files.

Unlike most search engines, though, a podcast directory rarely searches out and finds content on its own, automatically. All the feeds are either contributed by users who want people to find their podcast, or added by the staff. Nearly anyone can set up a podcast, but gaining visitors can be difficult, and so podcasters can submit their feeds to the directory to gain readers.

Since its so easy to make a podcast, a podcast directory often uses ways to separate the very good feeds from the ones people do not enjoy as much. A directory may have a ranking system, feature certain special feeds on the front page, or even allow visitors to comment with their thoughts on a feed.

Visitors to a podcast directory can thus add their own podcasts, search for feeds on topics or regions that interest them, and even comment on those they like or dislike.

A directory of podcast videos can help anyone find new and interesting podcasts to subscribe to, and it can also help podcasters advertise their feeds. Rather than relying on word of mouth advertising and people stumbling onto the feed, a directory makes it easier for listeners to find the feed. Directories play the role that early search engines did, maintaining a list of a relatively small group of net addresses that otherwise would not be found.

After looking through a directory of podcast videos and finding a feed that is appealing, it can be subscribed to by using a podcast client. A podcast client is a computer program that checks the RSS file that stores the information about the feed and downloads the video files that the video podcast links to. The file can then be watched by the user on their computer whenever and as many times as they wish.

For others, a music podcast may be the chance to become a dj, and the episodes they share will contain mixes of different songs, highlighting obscure yet accomplished artists and taking their listeners on a tour every episode. These amateurs podcast merely because they enjoy the activity, as most independent podcasters do. Yet another type of music podcast, however, involves the online radio station. While some radio stations have taken the leap to the internet by offering streaming connections to their current playlist, others have accepted the podcast as a way of sharing their music. Such a style is very similar to the amateur dj, but brings a level of professionalism that is not found with the amateur podcasters.

A music podcast may also be a way to sample works by more well known artists before purchasing. Some musicians and groups will podcast their new music, or portions of the new pieces, in order to peak interest in the songs before release. Fans get to listen to the music and find out what they might like before purchasing the whole album. A possibility, however, is that music podcasts become subscription based, and musicians begin charging for access to the feed. The online sale of music has proved its popularity, with Apple’s iTunes reaching its one billionth paid download recently. A music group could conceivably offer a feed to its fans that they could pay for, and regularily update it with new songs that would be downloaded directly to the fan’s computers Although this distribution model is not yet in place, it seems to fit with the over all trend. Already, some nonmusic groups have agreed to podcast their files, on the condition that a paid subscription is bought.

The podcast for This American Life misses the point of what a podcast is intended to be, the free distribution of information. The This American Life team is exploiting the term podcasting, and the credibility and hipness that is associated with the term in order to boost their own popularity.

On the other hand, the podcast for This American Life may be where the rest of the industry is headed. Although the technology was first adopted by independent media groups that enjoyed it because of the low cost of distribution and the close possible ties to end users, that may change when podcasting becomes a wider phenomenon. If podcasting is adopted by more mainstream, corporate entities, the face of podcasting is likely to change to one where a profit plan is required. Audible.com’s plan of forcing users to subscribe and pay for the feeds they want may be the way the corporate world decides to latch on to and use podcasting. The advantage of podcasting, direct distribution of the media files to the user’s home computer quickly and easily, is not lost if the system moves to one revolving around profit.

Regretfully, the podcast for This American Life is probably an example of what podcasting will be in a few years. As much as locked media files that restrict distribution may be repugnant to many of the free information activists that curently dominate podcasting, there is little to stop those who want to use the system to make a profit from doing so.

The Howard Stern podcast is probably an example of some of the problems that can arise with podcasting. Its new, and very hyped, so everyone wants to be a part of it. However, the podcast is designed to be free. RSS feeds are designed to easily distribute files, that can then be redistributed and shared by the users who download them. It would be close to impossible for a podcaster to charge for their content. Either the podcaster would have a small circle of people who enjoy the feed, and very few who would want to pay for it, or be very popular, as Stern is, and have the problem of paying customers possibly redistributing the content so others won’t need to pay.

For anyone who wants to find a podcast, Yahoo is certainly a good choice. They have a slick, well done site that is easy to use. Yahoo even includes software at the site so that podcasts can be listened to from within the web browser. After logging in, Yahoo allows users to subscribe to feeds they enjoy, letting them be notified when new episodes are available. Yahoo even has a detailed walkthrough to help visitors create and begin publishing their own podcast.

Podcast Yahoo clearly demonstrates the ability of a corporate group to create a well made site. While it’s very unlikely that Yahoo or a company like it would have been able to come up with podcasting, once they know what to do, they can do it well.

While some podcast software is designed for home user computers, much of it is designed to be used online. There are many packages created so that feed subscribers can view the podcasts they enjoy from within a web browser. These software packages contain both the feed reader like the home user software does, but usually also incorporate a way to view or listen to the podcasts online from inside the browser. Much of this software is used at the podcast directories that maintain listings of podcast feeds.

Another type of online podcast software is the category of feed creators. PHP scripting is usually used to create the RSS file that tells the feed readers where to download the podcasts from. The scripting can either create a hard copy of the RSS file and write it to the server disk when the feed is updated, or it can make it virtually. When the RSS file is generated virtually, it doesn’t actually exist on the host’s server. Instead, the address of the PHP script is distributed as the address of the feed. When the script is accessed, it generates the file by looking at the recent posts at the site and sends the results to the feed subscriber.

The Podcast RSS feeds became a hit, and podcast clients were quickly written to allow people to use the new encoding. Podcasting became a means of quickly and cheaply sharing episodes with subscribers. Rather than requiring subscribers to visit the site that hosted the files everytime they wanted to know if a new episode was released, users could rely on the podcast client to do the work for them, keeping track of numerous podcast rss feeds that interested them and downloading the files to be viewed when they wished.

Podcast RSS feeds are now used to distribute a number of different types of podcasts. Some producers use it as way to share a comedy or news program that they produce, others podcast in order to share music files they create, and some podcast to share video files they have created and to showcase their work. Podcasting allows the producers to become radio or television stars without the large investment in time and money that wuld be required to do that. Because podcasting has such a low entry cost, requiring little more than a server and a domain to host the site and a way to record the media, thousands of people who otherwise would not have a chance to work in a media environment have a chance to do so through their podcast rss feeds.

In this way, podcast RSS feeds allow media publishing over the internet at a fraction of the cost of other forms of media distribution, permitting people with much smaller budgets to compete in some way. However, podcast rss feeds are also attracting more established companies and groups as well, bringing people from NPR radio stations and news organizations like CNN who use podcasting as yet another means to distribute their product to end users.