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So the first question for many of you out there will be, "What is a podcast?" It is a relatively new term coined from Apple portable music device, the iPod, and broadcasting. In short, they're little programs you can listen to, or watch on you iPod.

A cool thing to do to start podcasting is to listen to some. Most podcasts are in audio form, but as better video technology becomes available, an increasing number of visual podcasts are appearing as well.

The best place to go to find podcasts is in the iTunes store (relax, these are almost always free). If you are running a recent copy of Mac OS X, you should have iTunes pre-installed as part of your iLife suite. If not, simply go to http://www.apple.com/ca/itunes / and click iTunes 7, or whatever version it says.

Once the software is installed, go into the iTunes music store. You'll see prices on a lot of things, but relax, we're going to click on the left hand side, the button that says podcasts'. Now everything should be free for the most part. On the right hand side there will be a list of options, and you should click power search'. Did a friend recommend a particular podcast? Enter it here. Do you want to search for podcasts having to do with a particular topic? Enter it here. You're bound to find a few good casts as there are simply an abundance of them. When you picked out the ones you want, you can download them, and they will appear in your iTunes Library. If you wish, you can transfer the to any MP3 player, not just an iPod. If you don't have one, don't worry, your computer will serve you fine for listening to them.

After listening to a few podcasts, it's now time to try it for yourself. First, decide on a topic, preferably something that you are both knowledgeable and passionate about. This will make it that much more enjoyable for your audience. Now look at how you are going to record this. If you have the aforementioned iLife suite, GarageBand has a built-in podcast recorder, that will divide your podcast into chapters, and set album art. If you are running Windows, go to www.audacity.sourceforge.com (If the url doesn't work, just google audacity) and get Audacity.

Both of these programs will connect to a microphone in your computer or one attached to it. Set up a script, with either yourself, or some friend, or both as variants for the vocals so that there is some change. Note that most podcasts come in episodes, so don't use up all your content on your first try. Once you've got the bulk of your content on a single file, you can do some of the fun stuff, like effects and transition music. However, that is for future articles on all the little nuances of audio editing.

Now you'll need to set up an RSS feed for your podcast, which basically involves putting all your episodes on to a web server. You then have to find a way to make a RSS feed for your site (easily found via Google). Now in the itunes store, click "Submit a Podcast" and enter your RSS feed URL or web address. The final step is to create your Apple account (if you don't have one) and finish the specs of your podcast. Voila-your first podcast should be up soon, and you will be well on your way to being a master caster.

This has been a general guide through all the steps of making a podcast. I could go into depth on each of the steps, but I leave that to the reader to find out. This article is meant to give direction as to how to start podcasting.

Thank you for reading, and happy podcasting!

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