What Is A Podcast?

A podcast is an episodic series of digital audio or video files which a user can download in order to listen. Alternatively, the word “podcast” may refer to the individual component of such a series or to an individual media file.

Podcasting often uses a subscription model, whereby new episodes automatically download via web syndication to a user’s own local computer, mobile application, or portable media player.

Ben Hammersley originally suggested the word “podcast” as a portmanteau of “iPod” (a brand of media player) and “broadcast“ in 2004.

The files distributed are in audio format, but may sometimes include other file formats such as PDF or EPUB. Videos shared following a podcast model are sometimes called video podcasts, vodcasts or vlogs.

The generator of a podcast maintains a central list of the files on a server as a web feed that one can access 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 to download new files automatically; thus, it may seem to subscribers as though podcasters broadcast or “push” new episodes to them. Files are stored locally on the user’s device, ready for offline use. Many different mobile applications allow people to subscribe and to listen to podcasts. Many of these applications allow users to download podcasts or to stream them on demand as an alternative to downloading. Many podcast players (applications as well as dedicated devices) allow listeners to skip around the podcast and to control the playback speed.

Source: Wikipedia