podcasting 

The terms derives from the union of the words “i-Pod” with “Brodcasting” (Radio Spread). It indicates the route of a resource again sound/video from the download, directly from the site that publishes it and makes it available without reductions of time of the day, to the saving on a device of listening. Remember that we can talk about Podcasting also outside from the rents of Apple and the-Pod. 

The mp3 format and the development of the Podcasting

The tipical audio-format of the Podcasting is the mp3, a digitalization of sound into number with dimensions reduced and acceptable quality. Its little weight make it comfortably download and we can have a lot of mp3 files in little space. 

The luck of the programs of file sharing, is probably made by this format. This software allows to share file between users, using the net “peer-to-peer” (the first one was, in 1999, Napster). The success of the sharing carried short-term results: the record houses started a strong fight to the piracy and was itself beneficiary to the revolutionary application of the memories flash to create mp3 portable. 

In 2001, Apple produced the first i-Pod, provided with a the rich manager application for mp3 i-Tunes (from 2003 available for Windows users). From this moment the phenomenon became irreversible and not even the protections of copyright (DRM) was able to block the development of mp3 and of the Podcasting. 

Infact, joining the success of the standard mp3 and the aggregators of contents (Feed RSS) which where born with the Web 2.0, we can assisted to the evolution of the Audioblog (personal diaries in track sound) into Podcast, with a true and actual planning. 

The podcast

After the plan and the recording, the soundtrack is placed at somebody’s disposal by the author. He could be a professional, a DJ or a fan of technology (in full style Web 2.0 followed the UGC). The file is then published on the site, or blog, and from that moment we can define it as a Podcast. The aggregators are programs that can help the user to be always up-to-date about the adding of new Podcast and facilitated in the download.

The Podcasting is based on these parts and includes, besides the transmission of sound, video, presentations and pdf documents. The final step is the reproduction in portable supports. 

Choose an ideal Podcast

The Podcasts which proliferate in the web are a lot and are interested in many subjects. The quality, among those with an argument interesting for us, should be individualized for the credentials of the author, his popularity and the Page Rank of his web products (blog and multimedia contents).