Podcasts and Blogs – in today’s Internet world, everyone has a voice. The sheer amount of Blogs and Podcasts is great for your book publicity! You will need to research the right Blogs and Podcasts that fit your genre and try to place you, or your work, on them.
Understanding The Podcast – an episodic series of digital media files which a user can set up so that new episodes are automatically downloaded via web syndication to the user’s own local computer or portable media player.
The word arose as a portmanteau of “iPod” (a brand of media player) and “broadcast”. Thus, the files distributed are typically in audio or video formats, but may sometimes include other file formats such as PDF or ePub.
The distributor of a podcast maintains a central list of the files on a server as a web feed that can be accessed through the Internet. The listener or viewer uses special client application software on a computer or media player, known as a podcatcher, which accesses this web feed, checks it for updates, and downloads any new files in the series. This process can be automated so that new files are downloaded automatically, which may seem to the user as though new episodes are broadcast or “pushed” to them. Files are stored locally on the user’s device, ready for offline use. Podcasting contrasts with webcasting or streaming which do not allow for offline listening, although most podcasts may also be streamed on demand as an alternative to download. Many podcast players (apps as well as dedicated devices) allow listeners to adjust the playback speed.
Some have labeled podcasting as a converged medium bringing together audio, the web, and portable media players, as well as a disruptive technology that has caused some people in the radio business to reconsider established practices and preconceptions about audiences, consumption, production, and distribution. Podcasts are usually free of charge to listeners and can often be created for little to no cost, which sets them apart from the traditional model of “gate-kept” media and production tools. It is very much a horizontal media form: producers are consumers, consumers may become producers, and both can engage in conversations with each other.
Understanding The Blog – A truncation of the expression weblog. Is a discussion or informational website published on the World Wide Web consisting of discrete, often informal diary-style text entries (“posts”).
Many blogs provide commentary on a particular subject or topic, ranging from politics to sports. Others function as more personal online diaries, and others function more as online brand advertising of a particular individual or company. A typical blog combines text, digital images, and links to other blogs, web pages, and other media related to its topic. The ability of readers to leave comments in an interactive format is an important contribution to the popularity of many blogs. However, blog owners or authors need to moderate and filter online comments to remove hate speech or other offensive content.
