What is Podcasting?

Help Center

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.

How does Podcasting work?

Podcasting requires three components:

1. A podcasting server
2. A podcasting client (aka a "podcatcher")
3. An mp3 player

The podcasting server stores the audio files that you want on your mp3 player. The server is a largely passive beast. It sits in a swanky colocation facility with air conditioning, dual power supplies and a really big hard drive. It waits for someone to say "Hey, give me such-and-such file".

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

What does the podcasting client do? Well, to put it delicately, is shoves those audio files into your mp3 player. (Actually, that's a grave oversimplification of the process. I feel really bad for telling you such an inaccurate story. Really I do.)

So how does this all relate to Talkr?

Talkr is a podcasting server. Since Talkr wants your business, we'll help you decide which podcasting client to use. As for the mp3 player, that's up to you. The iPod seems to be quite popular these days -- but our service is compatible with any mp3 player on the market.

Want to learn more?

PodcastingNews.com is a great source for the latest and greatest news on podcasting.