What is Podcasting?

Podcasting is a way to tell your personal computer to automatically download audio files onto your mp3 player. Why has such an obvious innovation been annointed a "revolution"? The cynic might point to a recent Pew Research Center study that found geeks only average 1.9 dates per decade. I prefer to think it's because you can transfer really big files to your iPod while you sleep.

What do I need?

Podcasting requires three components:

• A podcasting server (in this instance, Podcast Generator on rugbycoach.com)
• A podcasting client (aka a "podcatcher") like iTunes,
• An mp3 player that can play videos (like my iPod Classic)

How does Podcasting work?

The rugbycoach.com server stores the video clips that you can download on their mp3 player. It waits for a rugbyplayer to say "Hey, give me such-and-such video clip".

The podcasting client is the real workhorse in podcasting. It is smart. (By which I mean you the rugbyplayer has told the podcasting client which files you are interested in.) It is constantly alert for changes. (By which I mean it pokes the rugbycoach.com server every hour or so and says "Psst. Do you have any new files for me?"). And it knows what to do with the video files that it downloads.

What does the podcasting client do? Well, to put it delicately, is moves those video clips into your mp3 player. Of course you can play them in the client....

last edited on 12-1-09