Podcast it!!!!!!!!!

Session 7

The term "podcast" is a portmanteau of the name of Apple's portable music player, the iPod, and broadcast; a pod refers to a container of some sort and the idea of broadcasting to a container or pod correctly describe smart brain behind that nomenclature.

But what does it mean and of what value is it? do I look baffled….I indeed am…..till I read up a bit more and become more well versed with the idea. Lets get technical and see what our ever green friend the Wikipedia has to say:

“A podcast is a media file which is distributed over the Internet using syndication feeds, for playback on portable media players and personal computers. Like 'radio', it can mean both the content and the method of syndication. The latter may also be termed podcasting. The host or author of a podcast is often called a podcaster”

Hmm…that seems to make a lot of sense. So now I know what a podcast is, its something like a media file.But then wat differentiates it. Confused again? Not really, this time round I have the answer to that question. Its a media file that can be used on portable media players. Its useful to a user as it accords to the user a platform to broadcast at a cheap cost. This garnishes this technology with not only an overwhelming customer response but a unique and fresh business appeal.

Podcasting is an automatic mechanism whereby multimedia computer files are transferred from a server to a client, which pulls down XML files containing the Internet addresses of the media files. In general, these files contain audio or video, but also could be images, text, PDF, or any file type.So how does podcasting really work? Podcasting automatically transfers multimedia computer files from a server to a client, which pulls down XML files containing the Internet addresses of the media files. In general, these files contain audio or video, but also could be images, text, PDF, or any file type.

Individuals love to have things which they can claim as “my own”…..well podcasting catered to that as people used it to distribute their own "radio shows".

But there are some other uses I can think of for instance distribution of school lessons. Maybe NTU could switch to this, an added value to the video recording that is already existent. If a student is absent, she can download the podcast of the recorded lesson. Teachers can record book talks, vocabulary or foreign language lessons, international pen pal letters (podcast pals!), music performance, interviews, debates. Podcasting can be a publishing tool for student oral presentations. Video podcasts can be used in all these ways as well. ….time to adopt new technologies don’t you think….after all we are Nanayang “Technlogical university”…..our podcast could replace edventure as well….

Where else have I seen podcasting….hmm now that I think of it…when I took a tour of the Lourve in Paris, I took an official radio tour of the museum and now that I think of the underlying technology which had elicited an “aweome!” from me, was nothing more than a podcast. Experience and knowledge are inseparable!

The other applications that I can think of are conference meeting alerts and updates and security alerts by policemen. In fact our much loved wikipedia uses the Pediaphon project provides dynamically generated podcasts of all English and German language Wikipedia articles.(yes wikipedia gave me this information).

Hmm...I think I could incorporate podcasting into my business proposal. My interface could providean option whereby a user could request for a podcast or a media file which would give them detailed commentary on any aspect say the tourism of a place. Voila! podcasting could make escort communicative. A talking e-traveler mate, what more could you want in a foreign country?