Podcast

The 'Pod' bit refers to the iPod mp3 player that has become massively popular, the second bit - 'cast' - refers to distributing content, either factual or entertainment.

So a podcast is someone producing an audio mp3 for other people to download and listen to on their mp3 player. There are now thousands of podcasters making short 'programs' about every subject under the sun.

Mainstream broadcasters also provide podcasts of their shows and factual programs that you can download and listen to in your own time.

It is very simple to produce a podcast. Simply record your speech with a microphone. The data file then gets formatted as an mp3 file. This file is then uploaded to a server so it is available to visitors and subscribers of the site.

You can now also have 'video' podcasts that are short video clips intended for downloading and viewing offline.