"That's a great deal to make one word mean," Alice said in a thoughtful tone. "When I make a word do a lot of work like that," said Humpty Dumpty, "I always pay it extra."

Friday 25 January 2013

Podcast

A podcast is a ‘multimedia digital file made available on the Internet for downloading to a portable media player, computer, etc.’  Err?  OK.  I think I understood that.  But isn’t a blog or an ordinary webpage often multi-media?  And isn’t a blog/webpage also available on the Internet?  And can’t it also be downloaded to a portable media player like a phone or a computer?  I tried to understand the difference by reading the article by the Goddess Wiki but it included phrases like ‘It is very much a horizontal media form’ – so I gave up.  Can anyone give me a clear and easily understood explanation of what a podcast is?

3 comments:

  1. To me as I ' ve come across it, it's (like) a radio program, broadcasted via the internet, and often you can either listen streaming on your computer or mobile OR you can download it as mp3 audio file. Radio stations do it with some previously sent programs but other websites can produce their own podcasts too. Maybe videos can be included in the concept too, and text news updates etc, I' m not sure. Audio is what I' ve come across.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Monica. Why can't others explain so clearly??

      Delete
  2. (iPOD broadCAST) An audio broadcast that has been converted to MP3 or other audio file format for playback in a digital music player. Although many podcasts are played in a computer, the original concept targeted portable devices; hence, the "pod" name from "iPod."

    Podcasts may be offered as downloads from a Web site, or they may be made available via a syndication format. Users install a media aggregator program in their computers such as iTunes or Juice. Also called a "podcatcher," the application captures the audio feeds from the Internet for downloading to the music player. See syndication format.
    http://www.pcmag.com/encyclopedia_term/0,2542,t%3Dpodcast&i%3D49433,00.asp

    ReplyDelete