Podcasts are video or audio digital files that can be downloaded to your computer or other device for viewing or listening. The one thing that differentiates a podcast from other digital media is the client software that manages your subscriptions. Whenever there are new releases of the podcast, the latest audio or video files will be downloaded automatically. You dont’ have to manually look for and retrieve any files. You just set your iTunes (or other client software) to subscribe to a podcast series. As soon as a new podcast is released, it will download to your computer automatically when you log into iTunes.
As with any new media, the early adopters were people in the technology industry. This is my main area of interest. I listen to podcasts focused on web development, interactive media and technology in general. I am a big fan of Paul Boag at Boagworld.com (a podcoast on web design and development) and Leo Laporte at This Week in Tech (a technology call-in show). Both are fantastic ways of keeping up with the newest trends and information related to the web and technology.
If you are not interested in technology, don’t worry, there is a podcast for you. There is a wide variety of podcasts that you can listen to. One of my favorites, outside of technology, is Planet Money, a podcast devoted to making sense of the current economic turmoil. And the other podcast that I really enjoy is This American Life, a weekly hour-long podcast of stories of regular and not so regular people. “There’s a theme to each episode, and a variety of stories on that theme. It’s mostly true stories of everyday people, though not always.”
Another benefit is that you can listen to podcasts anywhere and at anytime. I listen on my commute to and from work, when I jog and while doing work around the house. And podcasts deliver an immense amout of substance. Where the mainstream media is trying to cast a wide net for eyes and ears, podcasts can target a narrow audience. Podcasts can devote enough time in a podcast to deliver high quality information on any topic
I highly recommend buying an iPod and finding a podcast for you. It helps me keep up with the trends in my industry, make sense of the world around me, and excercise my brain as I excersie my body.
