The Rules of Podcasting

Articles on Podcasting | Topics: podcasting, podcast

by Omar Jacobson

The interesting thing, good or bad, is that there are no rules in Podcasting. You can pretty much say or do what you want and if someone does not want to see it, they will not subscribe to your feed. No one this far has made any true rules on what a Podcast can or cannot contain as far as content, language, music, or anything else. It is up to the subscriber to choose what they want to hear, see, and if it is appropriate for them. Many will disagree with that theory, but until there are some laws passed, there is really nothing anyone can say about a Podcast if they do not like it. The only thing one can do is not look at that person's Podcasts again in the future. Many love the fact that there are no true rules, while others think this will cause huge problems in the future. Just for the sake of argument, there are a few common sense rules one should follow when producing a Podcast.

One of the biggest rules to think about when producing a Podcast is being socially inappropriate. Making racial or religious slurs or being down right rude to or about others should always be avoided for obvious reasons. There is really no reason why there needs to be any negativity of that type in a Podcast. You will want to stick with friendly dialogue that appeals to all the masses and does not get you hated by the majority of the people on the planet. A Podcast is supposed to be directed on a specific topic, not hate. A common sense rule of thumb should be to have respect for others and not act ignorant towards others for no reason. This does not mean that one cannot actually say what ever they please; they can if they so choose. It is just completely "immoral", wrong, and/ or inconsiderate to put such material at the hands of young people to be so easily downloaded.

Another thing you might want to consider staying away from where Podcasting is concerned is pornography. Again, this is not some spoken rule by the Podcast police, as much as it is common sense and appropriate when nine year old children can get a hold of any Podcast. There would really be no real need to Podcast porn with all that is available already on the net. Many people who are users of Podcasting or have children who own iPods might find this disturbing to say the least. This is not to say that porn is not a reasonable market or it should be banned, it is that minors can get a hold of it and that is inappropriate. One needs to realize there are very few regulations, if any in what can be downloaded as a Podcast. When trying to find something to do as a Podcast it is best to bypass porn all together.

Bit of History

Being so wrong about her makes me wonder now how often I am utterly wrong about myself. And how wrong she might have been about her mother, how wrong he might have been about his father, how much of family life is a vast web of misunderstandings, a tinted and touched-up family portrait, an accurate representation of fact that leaves out only the essential truth.

—Anna Quindlen (b. 1952)

Other Podcasting rules should include how the Podcast is made and what its content is on. There is no point in wasting everyone's time with a useless Podcast that has way more promotion than actual material. If you are not willing to actually make a Podcast worth listening to or watching why bother. You will want to care about what you say, any unnecessary swearing, load back ground noise, or anything that has nothing relevant to do with your Podcast. It is a given that anyone can do a Podcast, but do us all a favor and only make one if you are good. Who would want to waste time watching something useless and trashy? You need to put a bit of effort in it. Yes there is no rule about making a piece of garbage if that is what you want. Just do not be disappointed if no one wants to hear it or see it.

Although there are no real rules to Podcasting there is no excuse for the lack of common sense or ignorance. Be careful of how and what you say during your Podcast. Stop and think about who might be looking at what you make. Take into consideration that fact goes a lot father in life then opinion. This will help you make the right choices on your Podcast.

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Please note: All personal opinions expressed in the "The Rules of Podcasting" article belong to the contributing author and are not necessarily shared by WebDesignConferencing.com.

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