Podcasting, Blogging and Videos, Oh My!

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Get your 15 minutes of fame over, and over, and over.

It is an almost an afterthought today to add a blog or podcast to your website. The technology has reached a point where it is no longer a question of how, but do you have the time. The human factor, making the time and taking the time, are the only real barriers to entry for starting a blog. That part is easy. The hard part is maintaining a blog, or in the case of this article, a blogcast! A blogcast is the combination of blogging, podcasting and video logging. (Which is just like podcasting, only with video. Think YouTube.com)

A web log (or "blog") is similar to an online journal. It is largely text-based, so it's easy to update and maintain-even if you have no experience running a Web site. Any type of information can be presented on a blog, from stories about a family vacation to in-depth commentary on world politics. In addition, most blogs allow visitors to post responses to blog articles or entries and leave feedback for the person running the site, known as a "blogger". Overall, a blog is a fast, easy and fun way to establish an online presence.

A podcast is a way to broadcast multimedia files—audio or video—over the Internet for playback on mobile devices (ex. MP3 players) and personal computers. Podcasting lets the podcaster create a broadcast about a subject of interest to him/her and their subscribers. Subscribers simply download the podcast and listen to it at their convenience.

With a blogcast you will be able to:

• Publish your thoughts, opinions, comments, and videos in your own blog, podcast—or both—anytime, day or night!
• Generate and publish RSS feeds for iTunes® and other directories.
• Post photos, images, animations or videos.
• Get feedback and have conversations with visitors to your site.

The reasons that you may want to consider a blogcast can be many, but the main benefits that you gain all relate to how you are seen by your customers, and the conversations that you are trying to engage in with them. A blog that allows you to talk about your new product or service can also be a very inexpensive way to bring a new product to your customers and allow them to help you better serve your base. If you post a new product idea, and your customers tell you that this is not something that they want, you know before you expend the energy and time that this may be something that you should reconsider.

Take for example the things that you see on YouTube.com. Sure, lots of bike crashes and silly celebrawannabes, but hidden in the depths of the site are real experts who can show you an amazing array of things that just might be useful. Look for videos to learn to play guitar, or science experiments for the home. Imagine having your own site do the very same things, with out the ads and the childish comments.

Consider starting your own blogcast. It might be a great way to drive traffic to your site!

To receive a guide and see about starting your own, surf to:

http://www.evolve-systems.com/news/podcasting-blogging-and-videos-oh

And start spreading the news.Don Raleigh is the President of Evolve Systems in Roseville, Minnesota. He has assisted in the launch of over 500 websites and has spoken across the country on topics such as Internet Security, X500 directories, Programming Tools and Content Management Systems.

 
President, Evolve Systems
651-628-4000