Sunday, February 17, 2008

Part 4 - Getting Set-Up to Create a Podcast

A disclaimer: there exists more than one way to go about setting up for podcasting. I consulted several sources in the creation and understanding of my podcasting, but there may be better or easier ways to go about this. The following is what I discovered during my inquiry.

There is a certain order of software and skills required in order to successfully create a podcast. These include:

1) an audio recorder and editor
* I used Audacity, which is a free download. Audacity allows you to: record live audio; convert tapes and records into digital recordings or CDs; edit various sound files; cut, copy, splice or mix sounds together; and change the speed or pitch of a recording.

2) an MP3 encoder
* I used LAME, another free download, which works in conjunction with Audacity. LAME allows you to save your recordings as MP3 files, (the preferred format for podcasts). iTunes is another MP3 encoder, and a free download, as well.

3) an Internet storage site
* I used The Internet Archive, which is a digital library of Internet sites and other cultural artifacts in digital form. It is like regular library and provides free access to researchers, historians, scholars, and the general public. This is the place where your podcast gets “stored” so people can access it. It also provides the HTML needed to embed a sound file on a web site.

4) a file transfer program
* I took a look at Feedburner. It is a leading provider of media distribution services for blogs and RSS feeds which allows for content to be promoted and delivered on the web. FeedBurner's contribution to the world of podcasting can best be described as the missing link or the feed, which makes distribution possible.

5) a web site or blog
* I already have a Blogger account, which was also free to create. Amongst other features, it allows for posting links to podcasts or adding html to post a podcast.

(In the end, I did not need to use Feedburner to create a link from my podcast to my blog. This was because Internet Archive provided that service for me. It was easy to retrieve the HTML code after uploading my podcast, then, I cut and paste the code into my blog!)

1 comment:

Arlene said...

Ah! I never realized Internet Archive provided an RSS feed! Had I read more carefully, I would have saved myself some anguish. However, I did learn a lot in the process!