Podcasting: A New Voice on the Net

If you've ever wanted to speak directly to your audience, here's your chance. While blogs give anyone with something to say a means to publish their views on the Web, podcasting gives those with a computer and Internet access a chance to create and post their own radio broadcasts.

Simply put, podcasts are digital audio files (typically MP3s) posted to the Web for anyone to download and listen to. Often called TiVo for radio, podcasts are different than traditional radio because you can time-shift them -- listen to them when you want to. And when paired with a portable player you can listen to them where you want to, as well.

A quick scan of podcast directories like Podcast Alley shows the breadth of material available: Music shows like "Coverville", which focuses on cover songs; tech talk shows like the "Wizards of Technology"; and more unusual shows like "Beercasting " -- a show that captures the conversations of people that come together in bars across North America.

But it's not just a niche thing. As podcasting has become hotter, larger media corporations are trying it out. WNYC has made its "On the Media" show available, and other NPR affiliates are podcasting their shows, too. SciFi channel offers audio commentary about episodes of "Battlestar Galactica". Politicians are using the medium to get their messages out, too. The Republican National Committee offers podcasts from its site GOP.com To Go, and 2004 Democratic vice-presidential candidate John Edwards offers them from his site, One America ,too.

What place does podcasting have in nonprofit organizations? Think about it as any other media: It's a way to get out a message to an audience. And the message is what matters most.

Of course, you'll need to know some basics before you create your first podcast.

Technically Speaking

What makes podcasts different than standard MP3 files is how you acquire them: By using an RSS (Really Simple Syndication) file with a podcast, listeners can "subscribe" to a podcast through special RSS aggregrators.

(Learn more about the technologies behind podcasts, digital audio and RSS in Sound World and RSS for Nonprofits .)

Once you tell an aggregator what to download, it will check on a regular basis for updated content and download it automatically. Podcast aggregators can even transfer the file into a playlist in your media player, so it's ready to play when you want it.

How to Tune In

Before creating your own podcast, do your research and listen to what's out there. Tune in to some podcasts, learn how to use an aggregator, and get the full experience first, so you'll understand things from the listener's perspective.

Though podcasting got its name from Apple's ubiquitous iPod, you don’t need a portable digital music player to listen to a podcast. Actually, all you really need is a computer with a sound card and software that can play audio files.

But to take advantage of podcasting, you'll want to download a podcast aggregator. Many are available for free, such as iPodder and Doppler . You should pick an aggregator that works with your media player (most work with iTunes or Windows Media Player).

Now that you're equipped with an aggregator, find some podcasts that you want to listen to. Start with a podcast directory, such as the aforementioned Podcast Alley or Podcast Bunker, where you can sample previews of podcasts to see if they're worth downloading.

Once you find podcasts to subscribe to, enter the RSS file address into your aggregator and set how often the software should check for updates. Now, podcasts will download to your computer automatically. If you have a portable digital player, connect regularly and transfer the files to it.

You don't have to dish out hundreds of dollars for a portable player these days, either. Christopher Carfi shows how you can build your own for $30, using a little creativity.

Get more information about listening to and finding podcasts here .

Podcasts for an NPO>World

If you’ve got a message to get out, a podcast can be a great way to connect with your audience. If it’s something that you would have written and posted on your Web site or blog, consider making of podcast of it, too. "The human voice is much better at describing the emotion behind an NPO's mission," Brian Russell of AudioActivism.org said.

"Podcasts should be seen as another way of getting ideas out to their audience," Andy Carvin, of the Digital Divide Network said. "If you worked with homeless advocates and the homeless, you could do an informal radio show about homelessness, interviewing people who are making the transition off the streets."

Podcasts can also expose the world to voices they might never hear. Dave Pentecost has been documenting the collision of culture and history in Chiapas, Mexico. This year, he created podcasts that he believes will help get the word out about Dr. Ed Barnhart's Maya Exploration Center, a non-profit organization dedicated to the study of ancient Maya civilization. He sees potential in podcasting to help raise small amounts of money from many interested listeners. "It's the blog philosophy, I guess -- give it away and you will get it back," he said. (To hear what he's doing, tune in to his JungleCasts .)

Pentecost also works with the Lower Eastside Girls Club , encouraging media skills by making videos -- and now podcasts -- to give girls skills and confidence.

Way Beyond Talk Radio

Paired with the right technologies, podcasts can break new ground in media. Carvin has pioneered an idea called mobcasting, which combines mobile phones, podcasting, and smart mobs. "The idea is to allow a group of people involved in some kind of event to post mobile phone podcasts to the same blog," he said.

Carvin's test case was a mob art criticism of Christo's "The Gates" in New York's Central Park . On his free Blogger site he posted the phone number and access code to allow anyone to post an audio blog. The RSS feed of the blog makes the audio files available to all who subscribe to it.

Taking the idea a step further, Carvin sees how mobcasting could be used by a group of protesters at a political event. "If something dreadful happened -- like police breaking up a protest violently -- they could all post what they were witnessing to a blog in near real-time."

Along the same lines, AudioActivism's Russell champions grassroots journalism (or citizen journalism), which he describes as the "casual action of individuals sharing their perspectives on the human experience." Blogs and podcasts are great examples of this. In his how-to on the subject (Citizen Journalism Tech Kit 001 ), he describes how you can broadcast your point-of-view with a phone, a blog, a free voice mail-to-WAV file account, and some simple MP3 conversion software.

Educators are getting into podcasting, too, as a way to empower students. Mussellburgh Grammar School in East Lothian, Scotland, debuted its first podcast, mgsPodcast ,in May – filled with bits from students and staff.

Podcasts can even help make the Web more accessible to the visually impaired. Carvin says he is beta testing a service called talker.com. It converts blog text to audio podcasts using speech synthesizer software.

How to Podcast

If you're ready to experiment with podcasts, you can do it relatively inexpensively. Creating simple podcasts is easy; generating good podcasts is hard.

The key to a good podcast is compelling content. Before you begin, ask yourself what you want your podcast to be about. How can it serve your organization's mission? Then create an outline of what you want to cover in your podcast: It will greatly improve the quality of your content.

Once you know what you want to say, record the audio. You can do this in many ways. The simplest way is to use a free voicemail-to-WAV file service like K7.net that delivers an audio file to your e-mail inbox. Or use free AudioBlogger, where your phoned-in message is posted to a blog, though the sound quality won't compare to professional radio.

If you've got a computer with a sound card and a microphone, you can record good-quality audio with little effort. However, working with audio requires processing power and memory -- the more, the better. Most podcasters use G4 or G5 Macs or Pentium 4-type PCs.

While Macs and some PCs include internal microphones, you'll get better quality with an external mic. Don't spend more than $100 on your first mic, though -- the sound quality should be good enough with an inexpensive one and, besides, you should be sure this is something you want to continue. Another option is using a digital video camera that includes a microphone.

An ideal set-up also requires a pair of headphones. While you’re using your mic to record, feedback could plague you if you listen through speakers. Headphones let you hear your voice without that problem.

To turn sound into a digital file, you need software. If you have a Mac with iLife '04 or '05, you can use GarageBand. Another option is Audacity , Open Source software for Mac, Windows, and Linux that can record audio and let you edit what you've captured.

Once you've recorded what you have to say, you can get fancy: Try editing out any "ers" or add some theme music (make sure you're not violating any copyrights with your music choice). But you don't need to make your podcast perfect. If you have an interesting message, people will listen.

Encode It

The audio file you've created will likely be in WAV for Windows or AIFF format on Mac -- whatever the format, it will be an uncompressed and large file. To make it ready for podcasting, you'll need to encode the file into a more Internet-friendly format. Most podcasts use the MP3 format, because that means most everyone can listen to it.

To encode your podcast, use a free application like iTunes or LAME . The process for encoding will differ slightly from application to application. Before you encode the file, pay attention to the bit rate. The lower the bit rate, the smaller the file size, and you trade off sound quality as the file size decreases. Experiment to see what you find acceptable. If your podcast is voice-only, you could try a 32-kilobit-per-second bit rate. Of course, you'll want to keep files as small as possible to make your podcasts easily accessible to people connecting with dial-up.

Remember to enter ID3 information for your file, too. The ID3 "tags" the file with details like the artist (that's you) and the title of the podcast. This will help your listeners find your podcast on their portable player after they download it.

Post It

Now you're ready to share your podcast with the world. To do this, upload your file to a Web server so that others can access it. If you don't have your own server, you can pay to have the file hosted through companies like the1host.com . You'll want to mind your bandwidth fees -- if your podcast becomes popular, you could end up with a hefty bill for all those downloads.

After the file is available on a server, create an RSS file so that people can subscribe to your podcast. This simple podcast RSS creator will create one for you. Make sure to fill out the enclosure information with the Web address of your podcast file.

To make your podcast accessible to the hearing impaired and those without a means of listening to it, you should transcribe the contents of your show and post it along with your podcast. Otherwise, you're limiting your impact on the Web.

Publicize Yourself

Now that you’re a podcaster, how do you get listeners? One suggestion: Wait until your second or third show before you put out the word. This gives you an opportunity to polish your style and make sure you're committed to broadcasting.

Once you're ready, you can submit your podcast to one of the many podcasts directories. Also, tell other podcasters whose shows you enjoy about your show. They may plug it on their podcast -- viral marketing at its best.

Consider approaching other podcasters you respect about including a short public service announcement ( PSA) from your organization in their podcasts. This could be a great way to spotlight important issues and events to an existing audience.

Once you build your own audience, try to keep up with regular updates or your listeners may lose interest.

Podcasting can help you get your message out, and it's relatively easy and inexpensive. Tap into the new media and make yourself heard.