Podcasting [Thing #24]

Podcasts another part of the amateur/professional self-publishing fad. Instead of being able to publish photos like on Flickr, or videos on YouTube, Podcasts are the radio of publishing.

Podcasts come in all shapes and sizes, so to speak. Some subjects are book reviews, movie reviews, TV Shows, Test Prep, Vocabulary, Learning a Language, Information, Entertainment, audiobooks, etc, etc. They also range in length from only a couple minutes to over half an hour in some cases.

The way it often works is that you have a program or website that allows you to subscribe to a podcast, much like subscribing to a satellite radio serivce, only podcasts are free.

My personal preference is to get my Podcasts via iTunes. I have it set up that anytime I open iTunes it will download and store all the episodes of whatever podcast I tell it I want. This is really convenient for me because then I can also get them loaded onto my iPod just easily.

In my collection right now I have both podcasts and video podcasts. Some the casts that I subscribe to are Grammar Girl, Ask a Ninja, AC 360, Learn Japanese, Dracula Audiobook, Book Review, Barnes & Noble Writer Interviews. So the types I have are learning, news, language, and books.

One of the reasons I really like podcasts are that they are like radio shows that I can control. If I miss a part I just rewind. If I want to see one again I can just watch it over again. The file doesn't leave me until I delete it.

Another thing that I really like about podcasts is that anyone can host one. If you can record sound files you can host your very own podcast. Thus it is a part of the self-publishing tradition. You don't have to have any type of degree just a little know how. Some of the best podcasts are from amateurs simply doing movie reviews like Seen and Unseen, a pair of friends where one sees the movie and the other doesn't [Run time: at least 20min].

My personal favorite is Ask A Ninja. It originally began as just a fun short online TV show but episodes are now available via podcast download. The way the show works is that people ask questions and the ninja answers, often giving ridiculous answers. Someone once asked why he was getting the feeling that he was being followed, the ninja explained that a very deadly ninja was stalking him. It's a hilarious show and I highly recommend it, unless you have a weak constitution.