iPod + Broadcast = ???
Friday, November 7, 2008 // 11:47 PM
"We lie the loudest when we lie to ourselves." - Eric Hoffer
To start things off, let's look at the technical definition of a podcast from dictionary.com, shall we?
podcast. (n.d.). Webster's New Millennium™ Dictionary of English, Preview Edition (v 0.9.7). Retrieved November 07, 2008, from Dictionary.com website: http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/podcast| Main Entry: | podcast |
| Part of Speech: | n |
| Definition: | a Web-based audio broadcast via an RSS feed, accessed by subscription over the Internet |
| Example: | There is a podcast directory of offerings. |
| Etymology: | 2004; iPod + broadcast |
| Usage: | computing |
Looking at the definition and roots of the word, you see that podcast originated from iPod and broadcast. Although podcasts are compatible with iPods, it also works with almost anything else so let's pay more attention to broadcast. A broadcast is the transmition of signals or programs from radio or TV stations. However as our world has become so technogically advanced that we now are able to transmit these signals or programs from the internet as well.
So a podcast in the most primitive form, is a great way to spread, share and alert people of new information through a periodically updated broadcast. They are made for the people of the 21st century as they are very accessible and basically hand you the information on a silver platter. You don't need to do much work to have access to a regularly updated podcast other than to subscribe.
First thing that really confused me about the definition was what in the world was an RSS feed? I've heard little bits about it but never got to fully grasp the meaning. Which brought me to do a little research.
RSS stands for
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RSS_(file_format)- Rich Site Summary (RSS 0.91)
- RDF Site Summary (RSS 0.9 y 1.0)
- Really Simple Syndication (RSS 2.0)
Since the bottom one seems to be the most recent, I'm going to go with
Really Simple Syndication. RSS, to put it simply, syndicates your computer to the web to achieve the podcasts that you wish to be downloaded. You could also subscribe to a podcast and receive the podcast automatically through the internet onto your computer everytime a new podcast is put up, as long as you possess the necessary software (e.g. iTunes) that can read the .XML files (extensible markup language). Of course, you could always just stream the podcast online and not be required to download anything if you do not wish to do so.
There are even search engines for podcasts of which you can discover thousands of different topics from cricket to movies to video games and many more. Initially, podcasts were invented so that people at home were able to express themselves in their own mini radio show and users could interact. However, uses for podcasts has expanded immensely and people have really taken advantage of this handy tool. They can now be used to subsitute a lesson (students can download a lesson & learn it on their own time), tutorials on a broad range of topics that need detailed analysis, comedy, politics, tours, relgion, opinions on nearly everything and many more! A little word that originated from iPod and broadcast which was originally meant for interaction has now become a staple in Web life.
Information was acquired from
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RSS_(file_format) & more importantly, my brain & Mr. Case's lecture :)
Another post will be posted later regarding the Wiki project as well as me rambling. Look out for it as I will be needing people to help for an extensive project since I've noticed nobody has yet touched on the areas of Blogging in the wiki which is shocking :O
I've also decided to now put a quote at the end BEGINNING of each post to reflect my mood that day. That being said, it probably won't last as I am a lazy piece of poop and probably will have Alzheimer's and completely forget about it. But whatever, I prefer road less taken 8) Until next time my darling stalkers!
- Serena
Labels: Podcasts, Rambling