Monday, March 5, 2007

Week 9, Thing 21 - Podcasts

"Podcasts" are like radio programs on the Internet - they have no music or video broadcasting within them. The New Oxford American Dictionary named "Podcast" the "word of the year" in 2005. It is defined as "a digital recording of a radio broadcast or similar program, made available on the Internet for downloading to a personal audio player." However, the "podcast" can also be heard on a PC that has the needed software and access to the Internet. Using a directory, such as "Yahoo! Podcasts," makes searching easy. Tags are used to help describe "podcasts," but you can also search by keyword. If the "podcast" is part of a series, RSS feeds can be used to add it to a site like Bloglines. In this way, you will be notified of any new programs in a series.
In searching through "podcasts," I did find NPR's book reviews which I posted to my Bloglines. I also found an interesting "podcast" on library news, but the latest update to the series was November 2006. I listened for a while, to a number of "podcasts," and found the variety of subjects very interesting, instructional and entertaining.

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