Listening and subscribing to Podcasts.

Listening and Subscribing to Podcasts

By Michael Clark

Are all of your friends talking about the awesome new unreleased track they heard on a Podcast? Or perhaps rambling on about the amazing undiscovered talent they have accumulated through the art of Podcasting? Maybe they’ve even told you to subscribe to their Podcast, telling you how many subscribers they have gotten in the last few days, and how much of an impact it has made on their website? If so, then you and I were in the same boat until about 2 weeks ago.

I was tired of hearing all the hype and not knowing what it was all about when I finally decided to create my very own podcast, and to write about my experiences. Podcasting can be very beneficial to the website owner, and I wanted to see these benefits first hand . To really get into Podcasting, the best place to start would be to learn how to subscribe to a Podcast, so let’s start there.

Subscribing to a Podcast can be done in several different ways, depending on which podcast application (also called podcast retriever, news aggregator, or podcasting client) you decide to use. There are several programs to choose from, and below is a list of available Podcast applications that you can use to subscribe to and manage Podcasts.

1. iPodder (http://ipodder.sourceforge.net/index.php)

– “iPodder is the premier Podcasting application, allowing users to capture and listen to Internet audio programs anytime, anywhere.

It allows users to select and download shows and music and to play whenever they want on their iPods, portable digital media players, or computers automatically, after specifying which music or shows they want to listen to.”

IPodder 2.1 is available as a free download on the iPodder home page.(http://ipodder.sourceforge.net/index.php)

2. CITA RSS Aggregator (http://www.seeita.com/RSSA/RSSA.html) - “Constructive IT Advice is pleased to be able to provide you with a free copy of its RSS Aggregator. A tool that brings news, journals, broadcasts and information from all around the world direct to your desktop - and all for free!

There's more. When you install the Aggregator you will also get a free copy of the CITA RSS Builder. A utility that allows you to build your own RSS feeds and load them to your web site. Just run the utility from your Start button and press F1 to see extensive help text about building RSS feeds and the using the Builder.”

Learn more about RSS and get a free download of the CITA RSS Aggregator from their home page. (http://www.seeita.com/RSSA/RSSA.html)

3. BlogMatrix Sparxx! (http://www.blogmatrix.com/sparks_main/) - “BlogMatrix Sparks! 2.0 – The easy “one-stop” solution for recording, sharing and listening to podcasts. Sparks! 2.0 removes the technical and financial barriers to podcasting. Now everyone can easily share their views, experiences and interests in the classless podcasting community.”

BlogMatrix Sparxx! has several different programs, starting with a free plan that gives you a full-fledged weblog reader, podcatcher,and a radio recorder to a 10-dollar program that comes with a podcast recorder and other features. Learn more about BlogMatrix Sparxx on their home page. (http://www.blogmatrix.com/sparks_pricing/)

4. Doppler (http://www.dopplerradio.net/) - “Doppler is a podcast aggregator. It’s a tool to subscribe to RSS feeds which supply downloadable files. Doppler will go out and fetch the files enclosed in the RSS feed and will automatically add them to your preferred media player.”

Doppler 2.0 is available as a free download on the Doppler radio home page. (http://www.dopplerradio.net/)

5. Newzie (http://www.newzie.com/) - “A feed reader that allows you to create your own news catalog from your preferred sources, that is automatically kept up to date with the latest headlines that are sent from the sources. Newzie features system tray notification (on feed updates), feed statistics, color coding, filtering, search, and support for enclosure (podcast) files”

Newzie focuses on 3 main elements:

How to gather (aggregate) information, how to improve the way you process information, and how you place or store information. Newzie is available as a free download on the Newzie home page. (http://www.newzie.com/)

6. iTunes (http://www.apple.com/podcasting/) - “Now you can easily find and subscribe to free podcasts from one of the largest directories on the web — the iTunes Podcast Directory. Featuring over 6,000 free podcasts from favorites such as ABC News, Adam Curry, ESPN, KCRW and more, the Podcast Directory puts all the best podcasts in one place. Once you subscribe to a podcast, iTunes automatically checks for updates and downloads new episodes to your computer. When you sync your iPod, all your podcasts come along for the ride. You get on-demand radio, delivered automatically. All from the world’s best digital jukebox.”

ITunes 4.9 now has podcasting features, downloads for both Mac and PC found on the iTunes main page. (http://www.apple.com/itunes/)

7. Prime Time Podcast (http://www.primetimepodcast.com/blog/default.aspx) - “Features all in the same application an embedded media player, WMP/iTunes playlist support, Automatic AAC bookmarkable conversion for iTunes/iPod users, podcast directory browsing and media list browsing.”

Prime Time Podcast offers several features not available anywhere else, making organization of your podcasts very simple. You can download a free version from the Prime Time Podcast download page.(http://www.primetimepodcast.com/blog/Default.aspx?tabid=39)

8. RSS Radio (http://www.dorada.co.uk/) - “RSS Radio builds on the functionality of first generation Podcast Clients to provide a sophisticated yet easy to use application with many advanced features:

• easy to use yet powerful Graphical User Interface with context sensitive help
• built in BitTorrent client
• comprehensive control over playlists and podcast metadata
• Integration with iTunes, Windows Media Player and jRiver Media Center
• Right-Click subscribe from Internet Explorer and Firefox
• Advanced plug-in object model architecture allows developers to expand and even replace parts of RSSRadio's functionality.
• Multiple integrated Podcast Directories
• Advanced iPod features - show notes transferred and podcasts made bookmarkable
• Interrupted downloads begin where they left off

RSS Radio requires the .NET framework 1.1 and runs on Windows 98,ME,2000 and XP.”

Much more than just a Podcast client, visit the RSS Radio home page (http://www.dorada.co.uk/) for more information.

All of the listed Podcast applications above have different features, but all work in the same basic way as they will allow you to subscribe to a Podcast by plugging in the Podcast feed URL. There are a few ways to find the feed URL, the first being to look for the XML button for the podcast. These buttons are a link to the Podcast feed URL, and you can copy this URL by placing your mouse over the XML button, clicking your right mouse button, and choosing “copy shortcut” if you use internet explorer, or “copy link location” if you use Mozilla Firefox. Once you have the URL copied, you can go to your podcast application, and when it asks you for the feed URL, place your mouse in the appropriate field and click your right mouse button, and choose paste. It will paste the copied URL and you will then be a subscriber to that Podcast. You may also find other buttons besides an XML button. Yahoo! has their own news reader, and when you see a button link that says “My Yahoo!” this will work just the same, it will contain a link you can copy and paste to your Podcast application. Newsgator, My MSN, and several other readers provide their own buttons with their logo on it.

Another way to subscribe to a Podcast is to use the drag-and-drop method. Instead of copying the link location of the button, you can click and hold your mouse on the button, drag the button into your Podcast application, and release. This will act the same way as copying and pasting the feed URL into the application.

You may be asking yourself “Well I know how to subscribe to a Podcast now, but where do I find a Podcast to subscribe to?” I asked myself that question. How are people going to find my Podcast, and subscribe to it? Through some research, I found three main ways to find Podcast feeds and subscribe to them.

The first way I found to locate Podcast feeds is through Podcast directories. These are like search engines specifically for Podcasts. These Podcast directories serve 2 main purposes: providing a searchable directory of Podcast feeds to subscribe to, and allowing the submission of Podcast feeds for Podcast producers. Depending on which directory you use, some will even allow the ranking of Podcasts, and also give Podcast reviews.

Here is a list of Podcast directories:

Singing Fish (http://search.singingfish.com/sfw/home.jsp)

Podcast Alley (http://www.podcastalley.com/index.php)

Podcast.net (http://www.podcast.net/)

Blog Universe (http://www.bloguniverse.com/radlinks/)

Digital Podcast (http://www.digitalpodcast.com/)

Syndic8 (http://www.syndic8.com/podcasts/)

All Podcasts (http://www.allpodcasts.com/)

Podcast Bunker (http://www.podcastbunker.com/)

Podcasting Station (http://www.podcasting-station.com/index.php)

Penguin Radio (http://www.penguinradio.com/podcasting/#version)

Podcast Host (http://podcasthost.com/component/option,com_frontpage/Itemid,1/)

GigaDial (http://www.gigadial.net/)

OpenPodcast.net (http://www.openpodcast.org/)

Podsites.com (http://podsites.com/index.cfm)

PocketCasting (http://www.pocketcasting.com/)

RSS Network (http://www.rss-network.com/index.php)

Podcast Pickle (http://www.podcastpickle.com/?p=home)

Podcasting News (http://www.podcastingnews.com/)

Podcasting Tools (http://www.podcasting-tools.com/)

Podcast Directory (http://www.podcastdirectory.com/)

Podfeeder (http://www.podfeeder.com/)

Podfeed.net (http://www.podfeed.net/)

Podscope (http://www.podscope.com/)

Open Media Network (http://www.omn.org/)

IPodderX (http://ipodderx.com/directory)

Podcatch (http://www.podcatch.com/)

Podcast Shuffle (http://www.podcastshuffle.com/)

IdiotVox (http://www.idiotvox.com/)

BlogExplosion (http://www.blogexplosion.com/podcast/)

The second way to find Podcast feeds is through the use of regular search engines such as Yahoo! Or Google. You can search generally for podcasts by typing searches like “podcasts” or “podcast feeds” You can also search more specifically by typing “Music Podcasts” , “Comedy Podcast” ,“Small Business Podcasts” or “Seattle Rock Music Podcast” to find Podcasts that meet your specific interests.

The third way to search for Podcast feeds is through the Podcast application itself like iTunes or iPodder. These Podcast applications and others like them will allow you to search through a library of Podcast feeds simply by clicking a “Podcast directory” link, or may even link up automatically to the feeds listed on an outside Podcast directory. You can search, browse, or subscribe to the feed right from the Podcast Application.

Once you have a Podcast Application downloaded and installed, and you have subscribed to a Podcast, you can then use your Podcast application to mange your subscribed Podcasts. You can listen, organize, rate, and label your Podcasts the way you would like them. As one of your subscribed Podcasts releases new content, your Podcast application will automatically receive the content and download it for you. How often your Podcast Application updates is up to you, you will be able to choose if they are updated hourly, daily, weekly, or monthly through the settings of the application. All of the episodes for a Podcast will display below the Podcast name, and you can listen to them from your computer, or transfer them to your iPod or other MP3 player.

-Michael Clark
Free techno downloads, and electronic music articles at www.dj5150.com
Techno Music and DJing Podcast at www.5150podcast.blogspot.com