Frequently Asked Questions

Below you will find helpful information to commonly asked questions. If you feel you need more information, or have a question that isn't listed here feel free to contact us.

What is Podcasting

A podcast is a personal diary. A way to voice your opinion. A way to distribute news. Your thoughts, broadcast to the world.

A podcast can be whatever you want it to be.

Perhaps you have an opinion about politics? Maybe you are a sports fan. How about news, or music? Do the arts interest you? Of course if not, there is always food or wine, and many others.

In simple terms, a podcast is an audio recording. You talk, either by yourself or with others, about topics that interest you. 'Podcast' as often as you like. When you have a new show, post it, sharing it with the world.

Podfeeder provides the mechanism to collect and manage podcasts. Through this site you can make your own collection of podcasts that interest you.

With our client software, Podfeeder takes the podcasts you have selected and downloads them to your machine. All that is left for you to do is to listen and enjoy.

In more technical terms, think how a desktop aggregator works. You subscribe to a set of feeds, and then can easily view the new stuff from all of the feeds together, or each feed separately.

Podcasting works the same way, with one exception. Instead of reading the new content on a computer screen, you listen to the new content on a portable media device.

Wikipedia defines Podcasting as:

The term podcasting plays upon the terms broadcasting and webcasting and is derived from the name of the iPod portable music player, the playback device of choice of many early podcast listeners. Podcasting is not directly associated with Apple's iPod device or iTunes jukebox software. Podcasting is similar to time-shifted video software and devices like TiVo, which let you watch what you want when you want by recording and storing video, except that podcasting is used for audio and is currently free of charge. Note, however, that this technology can be used to pull any kind of file, including software updates, pictures, and videos.

In short, podcasting involves the recording of internet radio or similar internet audio programs. These recordings are then made available for download to portable digital audio device. You can listen to the podcast internet radio program while you are away from your computer or at a different time than the original program was broadcast.

Think of your portable media device as having a set of subscriptions that are checked regularly for updates. In the future, radio shows from All Things Considered to Howard Stern will be available in this manner.

Do I need to have an iPod (or another type of portable device) for Podfeeder to work?

Absolutely not! The only thing that Podfeeder needs to work, is an active connection to the internet, and one of the supported players. Having a portable media device gives you the added benefit of taking your podcasts with you. However, you can just as easily listen on your computer.

Why is a podcast I added not showing up immediately?

When you add a podcast, your submission is emailed for review. Once we receive a submission we will make sure that it isn't a duplicate (if it is we'll update the existing podcast). We try to keep this turn-around time to a minimum. Usually it is under 24 hours after you've submitted.