What is Podcasting?

These days many bloggers want to get in on the podcasting craze. What is a podcast? A podcast is the distribution of multimedia content via RSS 2.0 protocol which means you can share the contents of your blog to an even broader audience of subscribers by sending your content in audio format directly to their computer or MP3 player without the use of transmitters or receivers. This allows your fans to listen to your new content at their leisure without even stopping by your site.

Before you get excited think about how practical this is for you. Do you offer audio content to your audience on a regular basis? Think before you answer that. Occasionally adding a link to an interesting interview or favorite song doesn't count as a regular basis. If you have some audio content to share every time you post to your blog then you might want to consider podcasting.

Also, and possibly most importantly, think about what information you are hoping to share. Some people are excited by the lack of restrictions on podcasting along with the ability to have a more selective audience. While radio airwaves are regulated by the FCC and are accessible to anyone within broadcast range podcasting does not share either of those qualities with radio broadcasts.

Currently neither the FCC nor any other regulatory commission has any jurisdiction over podcasts and the information found in podcasts is only made available to those who chose to subscribe to it. This might make some who want to share information that might be considered controversial or unacceptable to some mainstream audiences eager to try out podcasting but keep in mind you are not exempt from the law. Those who run a podcast are responsible for making sure they do not violate any copyrights regarding music, intellectual property, or anything else. Also they must remember that while their subscribers chose to hear their podcasts the podcaster is still vulnerable to lawsuits just like anyone else. Don't let this information sour you towards podcasting as it is still a wonderful way to share information with your audience just keep this knowledge in mind before you make your podcast available over the internet.