Intro to Podcasting Part 2

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What is old is New Again!

In my previous post about podcasting, I talked about What is Podcasting and why you would want to podcast. These are some important questions that you must first want to answer before you start podcasting. It is one of the most terrifying things anyone could do but the most enjoyable after you do start podcasting. You can become an expert in your own right but just because you are podcasting doesn’t mean you know everything or to ignore the little guy. You can learn at lot from other podcasters in your field or area. It isn’t that you need to be afraid of the other guys but you should at least be working together and bringing other followers to your podcast.

How to Podcast!

Everyone who ever wanted to podcast should do their research. I happen to have done some research on the subject and also was part of several different podcasts. Some of my most memorable podcasts were:

Mike Tech Show Listener Round Table #242, 234, 226, and 207

Podnutz Episode #221

Loutrekshow #44 and more

As you can see these are just a few of the podcasts that I was part of. I really enjoyed them and I wanted to help those who wanted to start your own podcast. The setup that Mike Smith has is something that only grows from the passion and dedication of his love of community. It however is not the bare bones to say the least. He has bought this equipment one piece at a time and you should really start off small and work your way to big. So what are bare essentials? It is just these things:

A good Pair of USB Headphones (Prevents interference from other devices)

Audacity — Free for anyone who wants to use this great recording software.

1.6 Ghz System perferably a Dual or quad core if you plan to do Video.

Webcam — If you plan to add video to your podcast

That is the Bare minium you will need to start podcasting. It however isn’t going to be expensive but it will be time consuming. So as you can tell some of this is going to be optional but others are required to podcast. Most of this is just what you feel is needed for your podcast. If your looking for an in depth article you can check out the how to podcast tutorials. They give you some excellent advice on what it is required of you to podcast.

The Purpose of Podcast!

It isn’t hard to understand why anyone would podcast but if you are curious as to the purpose of podcasting, well I will explain it to you. Before we had computers we had radio stations and before we had radio stations we had a campfire. As you can see, we are always want to connect to other people through spoken words because it makes it more personable and real to us. We all want to be a part of a community to learn something new, so that is where podcasting comes into play. We can be driving our car and listen to a podcast like an audio book, and not be around a computer. It seems more and more people are doing this while driving, and less and less listening to the radio. I must say a good podcast keeps me driving for hours without having to turn the station.

Are you going to be a podcaster or are a podcaster. I’d love to here your experiences. Feel free to leave a comment and tell others how you got into the business of podcasting!