Monday, August 16, 2010

Thing 16: Find and Listen to a Podcast

The word podcast is used to refer to a non-musical audio or video broadcast that is distributed over the Internet. What differentiates a podcast from regular streaming audio or video is that the delivery method for podcasts is often done automatically through RSS.

In 2005, podcast was named the word of the year by New Oxford American Dictionary and with the growth of podcasting over the last year and a half; it’s easy to see why. Podcasts take many forms, from short 1-10 minutes commentaries to much longer in person interviews or panel group discussions. There’s a podcast out there for just about every interest area and the best part about this technology is that you don’t have to have an iPod or a MP3 player to access them. Since podcasts use the MP3 file format, a popular compressed format for audio files, you really just need a PC (or portal device) with headphones or a speaker.

iTunes, the free downloadable application created by Apple is the directory finding service most associated with podcasts, but if you don’t have iTunes installed there are still plenty of options.

For Thing 13 we're asking you to take a look at some popular podcast directory tools. Do some exploring on your own and locate a podcast that interests you. Once found, you can easily pull the RSS feed into your Google Reader (Thing 4) account as well, so that when new casts become available you’ll be automatically notified of their existence.
Take a look at these directories and find something that interests you. You can find something library-related or not. When you find something tasty, add the RSS feed to your Google Reader. And write a blog post about how it all went. Inquiring minds want to know! Think about how a podcast might be enhance the services your library already provides. Could you create something that parents in your library would be interested in? Maybe your booklists could work in podcast form as well? The possibilities are endless! Here's a compilation of some cool library-related podcasts.

Feeling adventurous? Learn how to make your OWN podcasts! Here's a video tutorial on how:


And here are some additional resources:
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    2 comments:

    1. JoAnnAugust 16, 2010 at 4:44 PM

      I love listening to podcasts! I subscribe to several on topics of interest -- news, politics, baseball, books. I download them to my ipod and listen to them on my way to work and at lunchtime. I have also recorded a couple of podcasts for my Library's website, although I'm not crazy about the sound of my own voice.

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    2. UmaAugust 17, 2010 at 5:20 PM

      I am not a fan of the sound of my own voice. I do listen to the radio- NPR a lot.

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