Video Blogging and Podcasting (page 2)

Video Podcasts: The New Broadcast

Even before Apple Computer blew the roof off podcasting by including it as a feature in its iTunes software, there were thousands of podcasts produced and published. Like broadcasting, podcasting allows the delivery of content to an audience.

A podcast, or vidcast, is audio or video that you can deliver or receive automatically via a special kind of web-code. The code is RSS 2.0 (Really Simple Syndication) that supports enclosures and can publish a work to multiple people all around the world. It's the same technology blogs use to inform readers that new content is available. This is great for forming a community of video-loving people who are interested in your videos! Creating a video podcast is a multi-step process. First, a video file must be uploaded to a web server. Then you can use a service such as FeedBurner to create your own RSS feed. Adding your feed to video podcast directories ensures that your video will be visible to as many potential viewers as possible. Viewers typically download these videos via their preferred RSS feed reader, rather than playing them immediately. This poses some problems for lengthier videos, mainly storage space the viewer needs. Downloading a handful of 200-megabyte videos each week could easily lead to a hard-drive that runneth…