What Is a Podcast? What Are Its Benefits and Most Popular Platforms?
In the long minutes we spend driving or doing housework, our minds need to be occupied with something, so we turn the radio in search of something that makes it easier for us to do these tasks, and often we come across meaningful and interesting radio programs, but we miss some of them, and we can't re-listen to them from any other source, so we get incomplete information.
Out of this need, a new term appeared in our lives called “Podcast”. It is audio radio programs that can be accessed at any time, and can fill our time with what we want to know, without devoting ourselves completely to the process of knowledge. It is enough to just listen, and in this article we will discuss the definition of the concept of "Podcast", its benefits, and its most famous platforms.
What is a podcast?
The concept of “Podcast” can be defined as synonymous with the term audio notation, which is the digital and technical development of radio programs broadcasted on the radio. A podcast can also be defined as an audio broadcast on the Internet, which allows the user to subscribe to it, and get the service to listen to the audio broadcast at any time on the site. It also enables them to download and store audio files on their smartphone or PC to listen to them frequently when there is no Internet access, during waiting times at airports, while driving, or at any time they want.
So, a podcast is one of the new digital media. It is a collection of audio files that talk about different topics. A series of them can be produced in order to cover aspects of a topic more extensively.
Podcasts are similar to regular radio programs in terms of addressing various topics. Likewise, they require the clarity and integrity of the pronunciation, the use of a tone that attracts the listener, in addition to the need to present the topics in an interesting way that arouses the listener’s interest, stimulates their curiosity, and seeks accuracy and simplicity in presenting information to them. Podcasts are audio files on different topics that can be listened to while on the site, and they are saved to personal devices for access at any time.
Podcast history:
The history of the podcast dates back to the beginning of the current century, specifically at the end of 2004, and it is more popular and widespread in the West than in the Arab countries. The Internet is a freer space than traditional television and radio, in which listeners find more diverse and richer content. We note that the term “Podcast” is older than the Internet. It was possible to distribute and publish audio files before its existence.
On the Arab level, the podcast began to advance to the fore in late 2008, accompanied by the emergence of games and blogging communities, but it returned to the background with social networking sites and YouTube advancing to the fore. Its decline continued until 2015, when the need arose for a free way to allow content makers to express themselves in a more independent and open way, so that the podcast is the most likely preponderant, which has now become the destination sought by most content makers, of all levels and topics.
As for the linguistic origins of the word “Podcast”, it is derived from two words, (POD) inspired by the Apple device (Ipod) and (CAST) inspired by the word (Broadcast). This term was launched by British journalist (Ben Hammersley) in the Guardian newspaper. The first application to support "Podcast" is the (ITunes) application which was launched in 2005 by Apple Inc.
Podcast topics:
The topics of the "Podcast" vary according to the diversity of interests and personalities of the bloggers. Some of them talk about politics, and some discuss religion. Also, there are many "Podcasts" that deal in their episodes with topics of technology, languages, economics, medicine, art, books, novels, films, games, and other topics that attract human interest, and classify it into categories of listeners.
Some of the podcasts were specialized in providing personal opinions to turn into personal podcasts that represent the opinions of their owners in different areas of life, and some of them were specialized in jokes and entertaining content.
Podcast benefits:
As a digital broadcasting medium, the benefits of a podcast are the result of a meeting of two sources of interest. The first is the benefit of broadcasting, and the second is the benefit of spreading through the Internet. Based on the benefits of podcasting, it has become the preferred choice for companies, brands, and even individuals who want to market their business, theories, and ideas.
Among the benefits of podcasting, we review the following:
1. Benefits of podcasting for bloggers and brands:
Podcasting is a successful marketing technique. It can introduce people to blogger or brand ideas, attract, and convert them into actual clients or permanent followers. It is also able to enhance trust between the client and their company, by displaying its strengths and achievements, and strengthening the relationship between the blogger and listeners, thanks to their interaction with the content they provide.
One of the benefits of podcasting is that it creates a homogeneous community of clients around brands, and that it can make the blogger famous among people at the lowest costs. As the blogger masters rhetorical skills, rules of orientation towards listeners, and methods of presenting information, they are able to attract the largest number of people, thanks to the nominations of others, and by presenting the content that matches their inclinations and interests and meets their aspirations towards the audio material.
Among the benefits of podcasting is that it gives the blogger a margin of freedom, in which they deal with topics that are faced by thousands of fences on other platforms. So, they address them to destroy the frightening aura around them, and they contribute to raising people’s awareness of them. The podcast helps create an intimate and strong link between the blogger and the audience, thanks to the blogger using their voice because the voice and tone are more eloquent than written speech. This contributes to making the idea clearer and easier to communicate.
The podcast meets the requirements of voice search, which is a promising way in the future of using search engines on the Internet, and which is the destination of technical developments, which major companies are working on.
Also, we should not forget that the content presented in the “Podcast” can be used to improve search engines and direct visitors to the targeted sites, as well as the valuable information that is published in the “Podcast” style, which can be used and relied upon in creating other content in different formats, such as video and written content.
2. Benefits of podcasting for the listener:
One of the benefits of podcasting for the listener is that it provides them with an ideal way to fill their time with something useful or enjoyable, and it reduces the amount of time wasted uselessly because podcasts allow listeners to listen to audio content while driving, at the airport, or on the metro.
The same applies to women who are immersed in tasks and responsibilities, as it provides them with content that matches their interests to be available for listening while they perform their homework, thus raising their level of achievement to be an achievement on a practical and intellectual level at the same time.
The podcast helps the listener learn new skills and plunge into areas of thinking that they did not touch on previously. This causes an expansion of their perception, and an increase in their awareness and maturity as a result of their knowledge of the opinions and experiences of others. One of the benefits of podcasting is that it keeps the brain in a state of activity and learning, thus keeping it away from idleness and laziness, and it is also a method of personal education and self-learning.
A person wishing to learn a field, such as marketing can listen to many “Podcasts” created by bloggers who are experts in this field while doing other work, or in a special time dedicated to the educational process. There are also types of “Podcasts” dedicated to meditation and encourage the listener to relax and reflect on themselves and those around them.
The most popular podcast platforms:
After discussing the benefits of podcasting, the important role it plays, and the future that awaits, we will learn together about the most famous podcast platforms that provide hosting service for bloggers and facilities for listeners to obtain the latest updates and features for direct listening or downloading to listen later. .
Among the most popular podcast platforms are the following:
1. Sound Cloud platform:
It is one of the most famous podcast platforms widely used by musicians and artists. This platform allows listeners to download their audio clips for free. It also allows podcasters to upload their audio files, which are mostly musical and lyrical to be available for listening and downloading.
2. Podcast website:
It is classified as one of the most popular podcast platforms. It provides services to podcast creators that help them create their own content easily, in addition to the features of publishing, distributing, and managing it, as it is completely free for creators, in addition to its cooperation with free applications for publishing and distribution such as (Apple iTunes Store) and (Google Play).
3. Anchor:
It is also one of the most famous podcast platforms that focuses on audio broadcasting using mobile devices, but it can be accessed via the web interface in order to make modifications to audio files. One of the advantages of this site is the ease of editing for audio materials, the presence of the built-in advertising system, and the ability to update files constantly and add new features. The downside is that it is difficult to change the email address in the user's Rss feed.
In conclusion:
The podcasting service is considered a revolution in services today. It has become the way that enables users to use their free time and waiting hours to hear rich and useful content. It is also an expressive mean for bloggers, closer, and more eloquent than writing. This is because it uses the tone of voice and its frequencies to support and emphasize the content, so that companies have noticed its importance, and they are focusing on it as a method of publishing cognitive, entertaining, and advertising content.