What is RSS?

RSS is a format for syndicating the content of a web site that changes frequently, like a news site or blog, and updating subscribers automatically. An RSS-aware program, called an RSS “reader,” or “aggregator,” can check the feed for changes and display the changes in an appropriate way. Many weblogs make content available in RSS. An RSS aggregator can help you keep up with all your favorite weblogs by checking their RSS feeds and displaying new items from each of them.

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What is Video Podcasting?

There is a lot of excitement about podcasting, but also some confusion about what exactly it is. Simply put, a podcast is an audio or video file that you can download and listen to or watch on your computer. It’s called “podcasting” because once the program is on your computer, you can transfer it to an mp3 listening device like an iPod and listen to the program whenever and where ever you want. Traditionally (if you can use such a word with a technology barely a year old) podcasts were almost exclusively audio programs- like a radio show. However, recently- especially with the release of the new video iPod- these programs are starting to include videos as well. Most podcasts are updated regularly- just like a radio news program, and are built into a “blog” structure- that way they can be updated easily and frequently. The only difference between a “podcast” blog and a regular blog is the that the content of a podcast blog is exclusively video and audio files, rather than just text and pictures.

How to listen to or watch a Podcast

Technically, the easiest way to see the contents of a particular podcast is to go the blog where they are created. This involves simply visiting the blog in your favorite web browser, and scrolling through the contents. You may need to download additional software to watch videos, but otherwise browsers will allow you to listen and watch podcasts just fine. The only problem with this is that you have to check back to the blog every time you want to check for new content. Not a huge hassle, but this problem can be solved with “newsreader” software. Newsreader software checks the blog for you, and if it’s been updated, will automatically download the update to your computer. These newsreader programs require special links that will not work in a traditional web browser. These special links have various confusing names including “RSS” and “XML”, but the overall concept is that these special links connect to something called a “feed”- that is the updated content from the blog.

How to choose and use a newsreader for podcasting

Podcasting requires a particular kind of newsreader that will understand how to properly handle audio and video files (some newsreaders are just for text and pictures), and the program we recommend for podcasting is Apple’s iTunes. While iTunes will not work for traditional text-and-picture blog “feeds”, it is the best software available for podcast feeds. iTunes is free, available for mac and windows, supports both video and audio podcasting, and now with the video iPod, allows you to transfer both kinds of files to a portable device. Also, the iTunes software catalogs thousands of other podcasts and allows you to easily search for all sorts of interesting programs. The big caveat with iTunes is that if you want to take your podcasts out on the road with you, iTunes is only compatible with the iPod brand of mp3 player.

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