Attack of the PODCAST People….

In the true spirit of stepping outside of the resource and research box. I decided to try a totally different search engine and stick to it to maybe get some hidden information.  I used a search engine called Beaucoup. Of course Beaucoup is not as aesthetically pleasing to the eye as Google, but it does do the job. 

Now I know the basic idea of a podcast, record your audio/video and put on the web for others to watch if they want. However, I really was curious about the makeup of the podcast. I wondered, what happens after making the video and before others watch it. I was really curious about the guts of the process. 

My new found search engine led me to various sites, some of which I will mention in this post. Boucoup led me to an article that it found in another search engine called About.com.  he site I found to answer my first question was a web site ( more like another search engine I guess) called About.com. If you feel podcast naive , such as I do, then I would suggest at least looking over this article  by Corey Deitz.

In my opinion he has written an informative overview of podcast’s and its abilities. He also outlines and tutors on basic podcast construction. Deitz touches on the following steps in his article; “how to record your audio and save it to an .mp3 file, how to create an RSS file which holds the “directions” for sending your file when a user’s program like iPodder requests it, how to write the “directions” that are inside the RSS file, how to upload the RSS “feed” and your .mp3 file and how to validate that the file is written correctly and will send the file correctly.”

On top of all this great instruction, Deitz also links the reader to great programs that they can download to help with the podcast process for PC and MAC users. He also gives insightful and honest opinions of the suggested web links.

Well, what about Vodcasting. I , rather my trusty new search engine, have you covered. XML is another great instructional website. XML instructs those who are interested in vodcasting on ; ” How to set up podcasting and vodcasting, Preparing your media files, Publishing your podcast and Distribution, licensing and legal concerns. Now, let me say , this article is a little over my head, but I get lost in my own bedroom sometimes. 

So what else is out there. How about the ability to create tutorials and demonstrations  on your computer and share it as a video. That is what screencasting is. According to the Digital Inspiration website, “screencasting is a process of creating interactive demonstrations and software simulations. You take a series of screenshots of a running application. The software records your actions and instantly create a simulation or Screencast. The movies can be in a variety of formats like Standalone EXE, Macromedia Flash SWF, AVI format or the Windows Media Video (WMV) format or as streaming presentations from a website.”

A couple of weeks ago I was researching Photoshop tutorials on youtube. There were some vodcast of Photoshop users creating whole pieces of artwork in compressed time and the viewing of the progress was seamless. I was perplexed with this. I had never seen anything like it before. AHH HAAA!!! Now I get how they did it. 

I believe that podcast can give a website a certain professional feel, if used correctly. I also think that podcast/vodcast combo would really hold the audience attention. I have a friend of mine that has a showroom at the World Trade Center here in Dallas called Codarus. He is a wholesale distributor for high end bedding and interior design. While his website has great color and looks really nice, I think there is room for improvement. I would really like to upgrade it by inserting podcast in the website. These podcast will be recorded by the employees of Codarus. These recordings will offer suggestive sales to any customer who visits the web site. The fact that they will be recorded by the employees of Codarus will bring a personal touch to the audience. I also had ideas to add vodcast also with the employee’s as the actors, who will offer the visiting customer helpful buying hints, introduce new products, and tutor the audience on basic interior design.  Can you imagine throwing a feed out there from your business website that pulls from your video and audio tutorials? At least I think its possible to do that,