by Mercedes Yang
Podcasting has really hit it big in today's society. For many people, it is more than a hobby. There are so many new reasons to make Podcasts now than ever before. When many people think of Podcasts they think of kids making a lot of noise or silly videos for other kids to watch. Well, Podcasting is not just for kids anymore. Nor is it just about music videos. Podcasting has taken over many other areas in all fields and homes as of now. It does not matter what the reason is you can make a great Podcast to be shared with family, friends, colleagues, or anyone else for that matter. They are easy to make and there are several great new reasons to make them. Keep in mind the Podcasting basics of think small, get close, cut out back ground noise, and scale to size. Once you have gotten the basics covered, you now can make a Podcast for any reason you can think of.
Promotion of the Arts
Many artists are now utilizing iPod's video Podcasts to promote their work. Whether it is a drama production to expose your acting talent or directing abilities, or to exhibit paintings Podcasting can get you the exposure that you are looking for from a wider audience. Many musicians can benefit from audio and video Podcasts to get their music aired to more people and their local fans. This has taken Podcasting into a great direction. If one is getting ready for a big concert, art show, or theater production a Podcast can be used as a promotional tool for the up coming event. This will also be an excellent way to keep your fans informed of what new pieces or shows you have.
After a shooting spree, they always want to take the guns away from the people who didn’t do it. I sure as hell wouldn’t want to live in a society where the only people allowed guns are the police and the military.
—William Burroughs (b. 1914)
Sales and Marketing
Podcasting is not just for the hobbyist anymore. The business world is using Podcasts to promote their products and services more than ever. The great advantage of Podcasting is it is free and so people who are interested in what you have can view or listen to your business and gather more information. Podcasting can help bring highly targeted people to your web site. There are so many types of Podcasting you can do with marketing and sales. You will be able to provide people with high content information, drum up more traffic to your web site, and keep clients and/or consumers informed of new products and services.
Education
Society is very busy today and the number of parents as scholars has risen dramatically. Podcasting is now a very important part of the educational system. Many students with children have found great benefits from getting their assignments online when need be and also lectures or class notes. This helps those students who have to miss a class stay prepared and not fall behind. Podcasting is also a great way for student to contact and help each other that are in the same class. They can exchange homework and lessons with each other to stay in the loop. Podcasting has also gotten big with professors as a way to communicate with their students. They will be able to provide them with the syllabus and any changes that have come up.
I recently learned something quite interesting about video games. Many young people have developed incredible hand, eye, and brain coordination in playing these games. The air force believes these kids will be our outstanding pilots should they fly our jets.
—Ronald Reagan (b. 1911)
Entertainment and News
Many television, radio, and news networks are now using Podcasts as well for many reasons. Whether they use it is to attract a larger audience to their broadcasts or to actually air a program. Today one can find most large networks utilizing the Podcast revelation. Many broadcast their new line-ups and give Podcasters a sneak peak at what to expect. There are also audio airings of favorite shows that one might have to miss while working. The entertainment industry has moved Podcasting into a great new direction to say the least. Now people can easily be informed of what is going on in the world or later on television with out having to be sitting by the radio or T. V. all day.
It has been well proven that Podcasting is a major success and new ways and reasons to Podcast get created and used everyday. Most of the people today own a computer or at least have access to one or an iPod. Information created by the Podcast producers is available at the drop of a hat. Downloading or creating a Podcast is now easier and better than ever.