Podcasts

A client called today, asking about podcasts. The questions were more about marketing so we talked about sponsorships and adding podcasts to websites– to spread the word and become more of an industry resource.
A few months ago, I posted about a PR agency brownbag we did with one of the topics being podcasting. A podcast is a program recorded into MP3 file that is posted online. You can listen to it online or download and take it with you on a handheld device like an iPod (hence, the name Podcast).
Businesses using podcasting include IBM for Investor Relations, Cisco to distribute news and even Whirlpool that focuses on lifestyle instead of a product.
You can find a more complete list of business podcasts here.
To begin though, you’ll need a podcatcher, or software to listen. I’m fairly sure that all podcatchers are free. I use juice. iTunes podcatcher is another example. Here is a more complete list.
Once you can listen to the broadcast, you’ll want to find a directory to pick and choose those that appeal to you. A few directories include Podcast.net, Yahoo! Podcast and Podnova.
And, of course, what good would podcasts be without a blog to go along with?

European Tech Wire: Gervais Podcast Breaks World Download Record
Gervais Podcast Breaks World Download Record
London — Ricky Gervais and his team have been awarded the
Guinness World Record for creating the world’s most-downloaded
podcast. The podcasts, which consist of random discussions
between Gervais and his friends Karl Pilkington and Stephen
Merchant, are downloaded an average of 261,670 times per episode,
Guinness said. Gervais said Pilkington and Merchant initially wanted
to charge a pound for each podcast, but that he refused. “We’ve had
nearly 3 million downloads so far,” he said. “It’s difficult doing a show
with two people who won’t talk to me now.”

I’m pretty jazzed about getting the Treo 700W now that it’s out although Verizon Wireless still says that it’s coming soon.
Blogging buddy The Trend Junkie is doing another podcast for Verizon Wireless while out at CES. You can get the RSS feed here.