Podcasts

Podcasting was something that I was introduced to when I was a freshman in high school. I remember seeing the little tab for podcasts on the sidebar of iTunes so I took a look at and lo and behold I found some free downloads from my favorite television show (at the time), Pardon the Interruption or PTI. I downloaded 4 or 5 shows onto my iPod and listened to them as I went skiing. I found some memorable quotes and such, but I found that they got old pretty quickly. I was able to listen to them once or twice (more if they talked about something really interesting) then that's all I could take of it. Thank God they were free downloads. It allowed me to catch up on whatever I missed that week while I was doing my homework instead of watching TV. I've stopped downloading the PTI podcast so much now because I see it almost everyday now when I don't have close, but every day before the end of the show Mike Wilbon (or whoever is filling in for him) says "Don't forget to check out the PTI podcast on iTunes." Podcasting has become very prevalent with shows like PTI where visual aids are not a major part of the show and you can get all the information you need from the audio debate on the podcast.

The next time that I came in touch with podcasting was when I heard one of my friends was applying to Duke University, he said that they actually give all students iPods where they can download their professor's lectures off of iTunes because nearly all classes were podcasted. I never really checked into the truth of that, but I would very much imagine it's true. Recording seminars in a podcast is an excellent way for students to learn because it allows them to listen to the lecture multiple times if they need to.

Podcast

I have only listened to a few podcasts before reading Dr. Levinson’s chapter, but they seemed more appealing after the reading.  The first podcast I ever listened to was actually created by a co-worker.  The podcast contained his NFL playoff predictions, and was pretty entertaining.  The format of his podcast was similar to a radio show, but I was able to tune in whenever I wanted and even pause it.   Another great feature about podcasts is the ability to transfer them to your ipod, and listen to them on the go. 

            I can’t imagine podcasts entirely replacing radio, because people like to listen to live shows; but I believe they will increase in popularity.  Similar to the way some people became famous after being discovered on YouTube, I think certain people who frequently “podcast” could get discovered and get offered positions at radio stations.

According to the “podcast” Wikipedia entry, the first community podcast was hosted at Fordham University in 2005.  

The Gang Makes a Podcast

The word podcast has significant meaning in the lives of the internet savvy today. "Pod" comes from Apple's IPod and "casting" comes from broadcasting, however it can be used on a various forms of media players. A podcast is a series of digital media files that are released like episodes and downloaded on the internet; you can find podcasts to download on ITunes. The current podcasts I download are: Jake & Amir, Summer Heights High and a collection of random podcasts from some of my favorite music artists. I think podcasts are a very interesting and useful idea, however I don't find myself personally listening to podcasts very often. Almost everyday I chose to listen to my own music library or other forms of media rather than a podcast. Although, I did find the "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia" episode where Dee and Denis make a podcast extremely hilarious, if only they really podcasted.

Listen Up

As I mentioned in a previous post, I got together with a few friends and we started our own podcast and blog back in high school. In this post I'll focus on the podcast. We began talking about the idea of a podcast about 5 and a half years ago, and possible topics. After discussing some options, we decided to focus on games and technology. Today if you want to record a podcast it is incredibly easy since nearly every computer has a built in microphone and even camera. At that time, while it wasn't exactly difficult, it wasn't as easy as today. None of us had out own laptops, and we had to rely on external microphones which we plugged into a desktop computer (remember those?).

We had our equipment, a place to record, and plenty of Hi-C to give us energy, but the biggest issue we faced was hosting. Once we recorded the podcast, how did we get it out there? We had the title, logo, blog, and an originally arranged intro theme, but getting it onto iTunes was another matter. We asked other podcast hosts for information about how to get started, and where to upload each episode to. Our most helpful acquaintance was the then-fledgling creator of a blog/podcast called GoNintendo. At that time, GoNintendo was only a few months old, but had a very strong following. Fast forward to 2011 and it is now approaching its 300th podcast episode, and the blog receives a strong influx of traffic each day.

Once every 2 weeks we compiled an outline and recorded an episode either in Garage Band or with Audacity. After recording we edited in some background music, edited mistakes or pauses, and compressed it to a manageable size. Based on the tips from those we spoke with, the most tech-savvy member of our group (not me) would spend time uploading the podcast to MediaFire, and then made it available on iTunes. After writing a brief description of the episode, it was available for the world (or at least a few hundred) people to download, listen to, and enjoy.


We often spoke about news, upcoming events, and gave reviews of games and products. It was more about the process, and having fun than anything else, and as I said in my last post about the corresponding blog, it never really got too serious. It was a way for us to tinker around with fun editing software, learn about iTunes and hosting, and talk about something we had a lot of interest in. Along the way we interacted with listeners, as well as other podcasts, and we even made "guest appearances" in a podcast hosted by some teens living in Britain.


The best thing about podcasts is that they are free, easily accessible, and can offer a range of opinions from people who share your same interests. As someone who loves talk radio, I enjoy listening to podcasts, and think that they are a great source of entertainment. The news isn't the important thing when listening to a podcast, but instead the discussion, the personalities, and just being something fun to listen to. I get my news from plenty of other sources, but I love hearing certain personalities that I've grown close to talk about it.