If you are still boggled by this term, podcasting is a digital recording of a radio broadcast or similar programme made available on the internet for downloading to a personal audio player. To understand its mechanics and how you can make use of it, here is a general guideline.

1. A podcast is a media file that is distributed by subscription (paid or unpaid) over the internet through syndication feeds for playback on mobile devices and personal computers.
2. Although many websites offer direct downloads, a podcast is distinguished from other digital audio formats by its ability to be downloaded automatically using special software packages capable of reading web feed formats including digital content and data.
3. Podcasting's initial appeal was that it allowed individuals to distribute their own "radio shows" but the system is now used in a variety of other ways, including distribution of school lessons, official and unofficial audio tours of museums, conferences etc.
4. The term podcasting derives its name from iPod, but to create a podcast or listen to one, an iPod is not a requirement.
5. Podcasting involves producing your own audio files and then publishing them online somewhere, indexed for subscription and reception by an RSS (Really Simple Syndication) reader. They are then downloaded to the subscriber's iPods, cell phones or other locations to listen to whenever they want.
6. Although podcasting is catching on fast, predictions are that podcasting will not replace old-fashioned broadcasting, just as FM didn't replace AM, and TV didn't replace radio.
7. Podcasting is simply a shift from an old medium where you had to wait for your favourite shows to a new medium where you choose what you want to hear, when you want to hear it, and how you want to give everybody else the option to listen to it as well.
   

(By Sana Siddiqui)
Source : Dawn