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Saturday, May 27, 2006

Different ways to blog: Podcasting

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You may have read more and more about the growth of podcasting today on the internet, however all that technology can seem a little complicating at times, so I will try and break some of it down so you can discover the benefits and disadvantages of podcasting.

Firstly, what is a podcast?
The name podcasting really comes from the Ipod, and focuses around your ability to listen to audio content on your mp3 player, not only on the Ipod. If you get a bit bored of writing content on your site, then there are many programs such as Audacity, which allow you to record your own show, save it as a .mp3 file, then upload it to your webpage so that people can download your show and listen to it on the move.

Most high profile sites such as Engadget now have podcasting, so that readers do not always have to be connected to the internet to take advantage of valuable information. Programs such as iTunes also have pages where you can browse through many popular podcasts. In short, podcasting is becoming an alternative form of giving information to the final user.

So what are the advantages of using podcasting?
Well, as I mentioned, your readers or subscribers to your content can be on the move whilst listening to your show, and this can appeal to readers with short attention spans, or who simply prefer listening rather than reading.

Podcasting can also be fun for you, giving you a break from the constant writing that you have to do to maintain a growing demand for instant information. Visitors to your site will also have a positive reaction to this new type of alternative blogging.

According to Aaron Brazell, podcasting is also great for interviews, as the listener can distinguish the change in speaker, and can really listen to what they are saying, and enjoy a fascinating debate.

Are there any disadvantages to podcasting?
Unfortunately, podcasting and ads do not go well together. Unless you can find a way of integrating spoken ads into your podcast itself, then you are likely to find that your revenue will be less than with textual articles, where readers can navigate away from your page, if an advert looks appealing to them. Whilst listening to a podcast, if a reader attempts to click on an ads, then in most cases the podcast will stop as well.

Another problem is the amount of space a podcast can take up if you host the .mp3 file yourself. Although a few megabytes of space seems minimal, if you produce regular shows, then you may find that your diskspace and your bandwidth when people download the podcasts may get used up more quickly than with a textual article.

I hope this article has given all you Blogtrepreneurs an insight into different methods of blogging, and how adding podcasts to your site, may help a more diverse crowd of visitors come to your site. Please let me know if you have integrated a podcast into your site.

I myself will try podcasting once I have moved to a hosting plan which is only a few weeks away now. Please feel free to donate to help the Blogtrepreneur cause, and so I can continue to provide you with quality information about the business blogging world.

1 Comments:

  • Hey Adnan, lets exchange! I've added your link to my blog.

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 3:50 PM  

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