Abstract
“The Voice of the People,” “Democratization of the Media,” and “Radio on Demand,” are some of the titles podcasting has earned since emerging on the public technology scene in 2004. The original podcast movement started with Adam Curry, a former host on cable television’s MYV, and much of the movement was focused on music. Podcasts enabled people to be “instant disc jockeys” and create their own radio shows, albeit Web-based, RSS feed, and mobile.
Key Terms in this Chapter
Rssfeed: RSS is a group of Web feed formats, specified in XML and used for syndication of Web-based information. This content can be broken down into individual items which can be syndicated and is used by (among other things) news Web sites, Weblogs and podcasting. Once information about each item is in RSS format, an RSS-aware program can check the feed for changes and react to the changes in an appropriate way by making them available to subscribers.
Podsafemusic: Music which is available to be played on podcasts, that is, it can be downloaded, copied and distributed along with the broadcast. Often found in podsafemusic directories such as Podsafe Music Network, Music Directory at Podcasting news.com, and Garageband.
XML Scripting Language: XML Script allows for the creation, storage and manipulation of variables and data during processing. XML is a markup language for documents containing both content (words, pictures, etc.) and some indication of what role that content plays (for example, whether it is in a section heading or a footnote, etc.). The XML specification defines a standard way to add markup structure to documents.
Podcasts: Combination of the words iPod and broadcast to represent the technology of distributing an audio file over the Internet via an RSSfeed.
Feed: The URL address which “pushes” the most recent digital publication of a podcast or other enclosure on an XML script. For instance The Teachers' Podcast feed is http://www.teacherspodcast.org/feed.xml . (This is the second generation of the Podcast for Teachers series).
Enclosure: A section of information used in an XML file to refer to a media file’s name, size, location and media type.
Podcatcher: A specialized RSS reader which indexes, allows searching, polls, and collects podcasts. Examples include iTunes ( http://www.itunes.com ), Doppler Radio ( http://www.dopplerradio.net ), and Odeo.com ( http://www.odeo.com ).
Timeshifting: To watch or listen to a video or audio program at a later time by having recorded it when it was broadcast.