Listen
to a 45 minute seminar, "Introduction to Podcasting",
and download a 17 page report.
First, let's
make sure we are speaking the same language and you understand
several very important terms I am about to use.
"Downloading"
means transferring a file that's stored on the internet down
to your computer. Then you can watch or listen to the audio
or video file later from your computer, even if you are not
connected to the internet.
Conversely,
"streaming"
audio or video involves playing a file on the internet WITHOUT
downloading it all at one time. It downloads the file a little
bit at a time so that people can start watching or listening
to it almost immediately. This is very good for people who only
have dial-up internet access.
It takes
more time to download an entire file, and it also takes up more
room on your computer. However, you get to keep the file and
watch it as many times as you want whenever you want. With streaming
files, you have to go back to the website where you found it
every time you want to watch it.
Let's
start with email, since that's a tricky one.
You
can't really send video or audio in an email.
Security
settings in email programs like Outlook stop them, because they
don't appear to be "safe". When people talk about
sending audio or video in an email, they are really talking
about including a hyperlink
in the email
(a blue underlined set
of words that look like this, and when clicked, takes them to
a page on the internet). That link will either:
- take the
person who is reading the email to a website page that will
stream the audio or video for them, or
- automatically
download the file and start playing it for them.
Another way
is to "attach" an audio or video file to the
email, but that only works for very small files. Most
email services have a limit on the size of the attachments you
can put in an email. The person will have to save the attachment
in their email program and download it to their
computer in order to view or listen to it.
If you don't
have a website yet, but want to send an audio or video file
to someone, then you can use a free service called Send
This File to do that. You register for their service,
and then they let you upload the
file (browse
through the files on your computer until you find the file you
want to send, and then lets you press a button to transfer the
file from your computer to the internet) and
email it to whoever you want.
Audio
on your Website or on your Blog
(A
blog is a special type of webpage that lets you keep a dated
"diary" of information, with as many different "articles"
as you like).
There are
different ways to put audio and video onto the web. Some ways
require you to be able to change the content behind your webpage,
called HTML code
(HTML is the name of a programming language that creates the
webpages you see on the internet. It's not hard to learn, and
there are programs that make it as easy as using Microsoft Word
or other Word Processing programs).
Another way
to do it is to use an online service that automates the process.
This normally costs some money, but isn't too expensive. You
pay a monthly fee to use their program, and it does most of
the work for you.
WordPress
This
is the leading FREE program for blogging and podcasting. It
allows you to upload audio and video directly to your site without
any special programs.
If
you:
-
already have a website and Hosting
(when you have a website, you have to "rent" space
on the internet, and that space is called hosting),
and
- you
have sufficient storage on your hosting (enough
room to store a lot of files on your website) and
- sufficient
bandwidth on your hosting,
(permission for a lot of people to download your files from
your website), then go to http://www.WordPress.com
and download and install the program. You must have a Linux/PHP
hosting account, though.
- We also
recommend you add the plug-in (a program that works with WordPress)
called PodPress
if you want it to look nice, have a media player, and also
work for podcasting.
If
you don't feel comfortable installing it, you can hire someone
to install it for you.
Podcast
Generator
Another
free option is a program called Podcast Generator. All you need
is a website, and this program will create the Blog/Podcast
feed for you. Go to http://podcastgen.sourceforge.net/
to download your copy.
To
be able to upload more than 8mb onto your server, you may need
to change some settings on your hosting. Instructions on how
to do that, plus other helpful documentation is listed here:
http://podcastgen.sourceforge.net/documentation.php?lang=en#maxuploadsize
I
have moved ALL of my PHP hosting to
Join me there!
BYO
Audio
The next
option, which still requires you to be able to cut and paste
HTML code into your website, would be to use a service like
the one I use for some of my clients, and for all of my teleseminar
recording needs. It is called BYOAudio (click
here to check it out).
This program
lets you do a lot of things for just one monthly price of $19.95.
(Secret: If you pay for a year's service up
front, they give you something like a 20% discount, so I always
pay up front!). You can:
- Record
audio by telephone.
- Record
audio directly to the internet.
- Record
teleseminars
(classes that are held over
the telephone, normally with a bunch of people attending).
- Have other
people call in audio testimonials about you over the phone.
- Upload
audio from your computer to BYOAudio.
But the most
important thing about this program is that it will convert
your audio into HTML for you. All you have to do is
copy the code
(another name for webpage languages)
and paste it into your web page.
You just
have to have access to the HTML code on your webpage so you
can paste it there. Or, if you have a
webmaster (someone who takes
care of your website for you, normally for a monthly fee),
they can do that for you.
If you sign
up through this
link, I will provide you with a manual
on how to use BYOAudio.
Sonic
Memo Pro
Another way
is to use a program that I use called Sonic
Memo Pro. It's a pretty simple program that makes
it easy to take a recording and put it up on the internet. However,
you still have to know how to access your webpages so you can
paste the code in.
I will tell
you, though, it has the coolest buttons and images, and lets
you put your name on it, and even a link to something else.
It also gives you the ability to redirect the listener to another
webpage when the recording ends! Very handy.
I recommend
it to anyone who wants to look very professional on their site.
You
can check it out here. It comes with a 100% money
back guarantee. If it's not for you, just say so and
get your money back, no questions asked.
innerTOOB
Another very
cool (and FREE) tool is something called innerTOOB.
innerTOOB (http://www.innerTOOB.com)
is a service that not only lets you put audio and
video on the web, it lets you put in chapters
and lets other people put in comments. It's
a very cool, one-of-a-kind service.
All you need
to have is the hyperlink (also called a URL)
for the audio or video file. How do you get that hyperlink?
When you upload a file to the internet, that
file now has an internet address, also called a link.
Here's a very brief example of how it works:
If you uploaded
a file called Audio.mp3
to the http://www.MyWebSite.com
website, then your hyperlink would be http://www.MyWebSite.com/Audio.mp3.
You would then enter http://www.MyWebSite.com/Audio.mp3
into innerTOOB's online program. innerTOOB would then give you
the HTML code to paste into your website.
Still
a little unsure about what to do?
- You
can call me at 727-565-1763 to set up an appointment
so I can explain it to you one-on-one.
- Or
you can contact me via the Contact
Us page.
- Or,
if you would like to see more choices for streaming audio
and video products, click
here.
