Reasoning Theorems of Success

My daughter has just lost her IPod!

Why… Because I have finally figured a way to listen to:
…..MP3’s
…. Podcasts
…. Vlogs
…. and stay productive

For a while now, I have been living a life of quiet desperation.
I have just not had the time to listen to all the recordings of
live meetings, information, shows, training, live calls…….

I have been longing for the days of scripts, PDF files, that I
can download, quickly scan to find what I need, or nuggets of
wisdom, new information or methods. I have been feeling very sorry
for myself, because I have been missing out on a whole new segment
of new information.

The problem that I have with these podcasts is that in most cases
one has to listen to around 40 minutes or more of audio to find
that “gem” of information, that new method, that new way of doing
things. Problem is that there is also a lot of useless nonsense
that one has to listen to. The end result of this is that I have
downloaded numerous live discussions, numerous marketing calls,
numerous training sessions…. and they have all been collecting
dust on my hard drive.

Until now… because I have become tired of being screeched at by
the “pod people” and have finally joined their ranks. I am now
also “hearing voices from the alien mothership.

If you’ve seen the classic camp remake “Invasion of
the Body Snatchers,” you know what “pod people” do when they
find a human who has not been replaced with an identical alien
born of a pod: point and screech open-mouthed at the non-pod
person.

See Christine Boese’s article on CNN headline News for
information on the “pod” people
http://www.cnn.com/2004/TECH/12/08/podcasting/

So what is this podcasting, anyway? The word “podcast” is a
concatenation of the words IPod and broadcast. Podcasting is
online audio content that is delivered via an RSS feed. The
underlying technology used for podcasts, called
RSS (Really Simple Syndication) is capable of containing any
type of media including audio, video, graphics, and more.

Many people liken podcasting to radio on demand. However, in
reality, podcasting gives far more options in terms of content and
programming than radio does. In addition, with Podcasting,
listeners can determine the time and the place, meaning they
decide what programming they want to receive and when they want
to listen to it.

Listeners can retain audio archives to listen to at their
leisure. While blogs have turned many bloggers into journalists,
podcasting has the potential to turn podcasters into radio
personalities… unfortunately not all of them are good and in
many cases not well prepared either.

Vlogs are just like blogs or podcasts, except that content is
recorded as video instead of text or audio.

All you need to get started is podcasting software. Once you
download and install the software, simply add one of the feeds
you may want to listen to, e.g. CNN’s podcast feeds. The podcasting
software will automatically check for updates and download the
files to your computer so you can load them onto your MP3 player.
I personally like ITunes, for reasons pointed out a little way
down, but are many others. Some desktop options are:
• iTunes (Windows/OS X)
• Juice (Windows/OS X/Linux)
• jPodder (Windows)
• iPodderX (OS X)

Some web-based options are:
Audioblog.com(http://www.audioblog.com) - phone your podcast in!
ClickCaster.com(http://www.clickcaster.com) - excellent audio.
Odeo.com(http://odeo.com) - most popular.
Podomatic.com(http://www.podomatic.com) - fun light-hearted approach.

Some other podcasting resources:
Podcasting Tools - http://www.podcasting-tools.com
Podcast Alley - http://www.podcastalley.com
PodcastBunker - http://www.podcastbunker.com
Podcasting News - http://www.podcastingnews.com

Podcasting does have a number of market opportunities though:
Apple is advocating the use of podcasts for education.
See:
http://www.apple.com/education/solutions/podcasting/server.html
Of course it does involve the purchase of IPods and servers
though!. It’s a free market, I think.

What about:

1. Self-Guided Walking Tours - Informational content.

2. Music - Band promotional clips and interviews.

3. Talk Shows - Industry or organizational news, investor news,
sportscasts, news coverage and commentaries.

4. Training - Instructional informational materials.

5. Story - Story telling for children or the visually-impaired.

I am very curious to see how this market evolves and whether
this publishing medium will evolve into daily use. Currently,
only the technical crowd has endorsed podcasting as a new
audio medium, but the potential is real and the process is
not overly complex.

However, back to my life of quiet desperation and why did
I join the pod people?

I was watching my daughter adding a number of songs to her IPod
the other day. Suddenly something clicked in my mind. You see,
I spend a number of hours weekly on the highways and byways on my
way to clients. During this travel time, I used to listen to my
favourite radio stations. Then I got clever and cut some CD’s of
downloaded podcasts to listen to, whilst wending my way to clients.
But cutting CD’s also take time.

When I looked at my daughter’s IPod…. I am sure you know what
happened. Now I am one of the “pod people”, whilst traveling to
client meetings. Traffic has now become one of my productive
times as well.

Leon Williams
Copywriter
http://leonwcopywriting.com

Everywhere you turn online these days you hear
the word “podcast” or “podcasting.” No, it’s not
some broadcasting method used by Martians, even
though it might sound like it. A Podcast is just
an audio file that is syndicated via an RSS feed,
that you download and listen to with your computer
or a portable device such as an iPod.

What makes it different from an ordinary RSS
feed is the audio component included in the
“enclosure field.” Think of it as a feed that
talks to you.

Podcasting is increasing in popularity. According
to Forrester Research, by 2010 podcasting should
have about 12.3 million listeners. That’s a pretty
big audience. For more info see
http://tinyurl.com/84tyo

Similar to a talk radio show, podcasts can also take
the format of an interview. Topics range from
business to hobbies; even rants and obsessions.
Lengths vary, but a typical podcast will run
anywhere from 10 to 30 minutes, but I have seen
some longer. So far, there are not many music
podcasts due to the red tape and cost of music
licensing — although musicians and/or small
record labels bypass that issue by utilizing their
own recordings.

Before you think you need some special device to
listen to a podcast, let me assure you that you
don’t. Most RSS readers have the capability
built in to play podcasts. Any software that
can play a sound file can play a podcast. If you
want to take them with you to listen to while on
the road you’ll want to invest in a portable MP3
device like an iPod.

Like other RSS feeds, you decide which ones you
want to subscribe to and you can unsubscribe at
any time.

Online business owners should think of podcasting
as yet another avenue for promoting your products
and services. Like an ezine or the RSS feeds you
already use, it’s a simple inexpensive method of
syndicating your audio files online. It would appear
that a podcast is a bit more personal. Instead of
just reading, like an ezine, people can listen to
the sound of your voice and make a more personal
connection.

Now that I have your attention you may be
wondering “How do I create a podcast?”
Well, it’s really pretty simple if you follow
the easy steps below:

1) First you’ll need to use software to
record your own audio file. A good free
one is Audacity which you can download
at http://audacity.sourceforge.net/
While there, you’ll also need to download the
Lame MP3 Encoder which allows MP3 exportation.

2) Once your audio is recorded you’ll need
to create an RSS feed file which is simply
a special text file with an RSS extension
that also includes a particular enclosure tag.
For step by step directions on making a feed
file see this site:

http://make-rss-feeds.com/making-an-rss-feed.htm

There’s also a great tutorial on RSS here:

http://www.mnot.net/rss/tutorial/

3) Once your audio and RSS files are completed
you’ll need to upload both of them to your
server/website.

If you’d like to read more here are some more
online sites to help guide you.

Make Your First Podcast
http://tinyurl.com/757fx

Create Podcasts Using Your PC
http://tinyurl.com/9jfcb

If you don’t want to do all this work manually
there are software tools specific to podcast
creation.

ePodCast Creator
http://tinyurl.com/do7sq

Pod Producer
http://tinyurl.com/9dwrh

That’s it. Wasn’t that simple? Remember, you
can’t get subscribers if people don’t know
about your feed, so make sure you add it in
a prominent place of your site. You want to
make it easy for them to subscribe and add
your feed to their news reader.

Audio files are rather large and can take up
a lot of space on your server, so make sure
you won’t run out of bandwidth. If you’re
tight on space you can always farm it out
to a third party service such as
http://www.PodLot.com . For only $5.00 they’ll
give you 150 MB of storage space with no
bandwidth limitations. Your domain will
look like this: nameofyourshow.podlot.com

If you think you’re going to have a hit
on your hands and want to try to generate
cash from your podcast, check out
http://www.PremiumPodcasting.com . They
provide a system that allows you to charge
for your shows and also include private
access to them, track who is listening
and more. You can try them out for a four
day trial for only one dollar.

Once your podcast is live you’ll want to make
sure you list it with the various directories
that exist for just this purpose. You’ll find
a nice list here:

http://tinyurl.com/create.php

Podcast Bunker
http://tinyurl.com/9qayk

Open Media Network
http://omn.org/submitfeeds.htm

Podcasting Station
http://tinyurl.com/7qlzq

Robin Good has a huge list at
http://tinyurl.com/9rusq

So now that you see how easy it is to create
a podcast, what’s stopping you? Remember, this
is a great tool to add to your marketing mix
and if you’re a bit on the creative side this
might be just the ticket. Have fun with it,
experiment and you’ll become an expert podcaster
in no time.

By Merle- Want to Know the SECRETS of Article
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Podcasting has come a long way from its birth in 2003. In a little less than a year after that, Podcasting had become very popular around the world, with more and more information available to everyone. Now, you can hardly find a single person who hasn’t at least heard of the word podcast.

More than just looking for podcasts and listening to them, the interesting thing to do for many is to create their own podcasts. There is definitely no lack for information on how to make your own podcast. Podcasting is really quite simple - all you need is you and your material and the right podcasting software. There is a plethora of podcasting software to be found on the internet. Here are some important tips to remember when choosing the one for you.

First you have to get an audio recorder. There are a lot of audio recorders out there. What you need to look for is software that records quality audio. Of course, you have to make sure it runs with your operating system.

Then find a good audio editor. Recordings always need to be edited in order to present the best quality podcast. Some software combine recording and editing features. These kinds of software will make it easier for you.

In choosing your recording and editing software, take note of its output format. Generally, the MP3 format gives you the best compatibility for audio while MPEG is best for video. If the software you choose does not create these types of files, you can make use of conversion software. It is important for your conversion software to be able to compress your file to a manageable size. Smaller file sizes are easier to upload and download.

Before you publish your podcast, make use of playback software. You will be able to listen to your podcast just as subscribers will. This will ensure the quality of your final product.

In choosing podcasting software, you should also check if it creates RSS feeds. Podcasts are found and downloaded by users through RSS feeds. Without this capability, you would have to find your own RSS feed creator.

Perhaps one of the best ways to promote your podcast would be through iTunes. Thus it would be a great plus if your podcasting software created valid iTunes feeds. This way, your podcast would have maximum exposure. More listeners will be able to access your podcast. More potential listeners will find out about your podcast.

In order to upload your podcast, you need a file transfer program. There are certain podcasting software that automatically include this feature. It is beneficial for you to use software offering such functionality.

Without promotion, you might as well publish your podcast. Software that allows listing in podcast directories gives you an edge. Most podcast listeners look for new podcasts in the numerous directories online. Do not allow your podcast to remain unnoticed by missing out on the directories.

The idea of podcasts is to create a series. Updates to your series are part of podcasting. Choose software that will alert multiple directories for updates. This way, you won’t have to manually alert each directory you are listed in.

Podcastblaster.com supplies podcasting software and provides information all about podcasting including tips on creating podcasts.