A podcast directory is a listing of syndication feeds that
link to a podcast. They are often organized by category
and topic, and allow the user to find a feed that podcasts
about almost anything. Just as search engines help
people find sites with the information they need, a
podcast directory presents a searchable list of podcasts
users can subscribe to. Users may even be able to play
the available feed episodes from within the site.

Unlike most search engines, though, a podcast directory
rarely searches out and finds content on its own,
automatically. All the feeds are either contributed by
users who want people to find their podcast, or added
by the staff. Nearly anyone can set up a podcast, but
gaining visitors can be difficult, and so podcasters can
submit their feeds to the directory to gain readers.

Since its so easy to make a podcast, a podcast directory
often uses ways to separate the very good feeds from
the ones people do not enjoy as much. A directory may
have a ranking system, feature certain special feeds on
the front page, or even allow visitors to comment with
their thoughts on a feed.

Visitors to a podcast directory can thus add their own
podcasts, search for feeds on topics or regions that
interest them, and even comment on those they like or
dislike.

For anyone who wants to find a podcast, Yahoo is
certainly a good choice. They have a slick, well done
site that is easy to use. Yahoo even includes software at
the site so that podcasts can be listened to from within
the web browser. After logging in, Yahoo allows users
to subscribe to feeds they enjoy, letting them be notified
when new episodes are available. Yahoo even has a
detailed walkthrough to help visitors create and begin
publishing their own podcast.

Podcast Yahoo clearly demonstrates the ability of a
corporate group to create a well made site. While it’s
very unlikely that Yahoo or a company like it would
have been able to come up with podcasting, once they
know what to do, they can do it well.

The podcast download will be done when the podcast
client downloads and views the file from the feed’s
website. After finding the links to the media files
embedded in the RSS file, it will download those files
and store them on the computer, allowing the user to
view them whenever and as many times as they wish.
The podcast files may be of many things. There are
comedy shows done by people who enjoy creating and
writing a regular show, but aren’t able to do it as a
business. Some podcasts are music mixes, an mp3 file
that subscribers can play. Even some radio shows are
getting into podcasting, allowing subscribers to
download portions of their shows from the internet in
podcast form and play them on their home computer.

Podcast downloads could conceiveably be applied to
any type of file. The RSS files that allow the mainly
audio and video files now used in podcasting to be
downloaded can be customized to enclose almost any
type of file. This has led some analysts to believe that
podcasting could eventually be used to distribute
software updates, demonstration programs, and many
other types of files, moving beyond the simple use of
podcasting to share media files. All that would be
neccessary would be for the users to subscribe to the
feed with their podcast client. They could then stay
regularily updated for nearly anything.

Podcast downloads offer many different possibilities for
distribution of files across the internet. Because it is a
different mode of using the internet, allowing the data
to come to the user rather than the user having to visit
each site they enjoy, podcasting has the possibility of
changing the way the internet works. Content can be
given directly to the individual, easily and ever more
quickly as broadband use spreads. This means that what
the internet is will change drastically. The web changes
from something connected to in order to be used to
something that is integrated and connected with our
personal life.

A visitor to Podcast Alley can search by genre, learn
how to make their own podcast, discuss things with the
community in the forum, and find software related to
podcasting. The sire provides a wide range of resources,
as well as a large quantity (many thousands) of podcasts
that listeners can browse and subscribe to.

Podcast Alley is an example of a podcast directory that
is well run and offers a large selection. The site also has
a strong community that can help visitors find podcasts
on topics that interest them or give them the
information they need to set up their own podcast, and
of course, add it to the directory. Anyone that is
interested in finding great podcasts should take a look at
Podcast Alley and the selction they have.

The next step for people who want to know how to
make a podcast is installing the software necessary to
maintain the podcast. A small piece of coding called
dircaster.php can be used to set up a basic level of
podcast. Dircaster.php can be found easily by searching
for it in any search engine. Once it is located, it should
be edited to reflect the particulars of the domain and
uploaded to the site. Dircaster.php will generate an RSS
file, or feed, that tells the subscriber about the new files
available for downloading. To begin podcasting, create
the audio files that should be podcast, fill in the
information about the file such as date, author, etc, and
upload them to the same directory that contains
dircaster.php. You now have a podcast, and all that is
needed is to publicise the address of the file
dircaster.php. To update the podcast with new
information, just upload the new files. Other things to
make the podcast better might be a site that contains
information about the podcast, but it isn’t necessary.

After podcast hosting has been acquired, it needs to be
used and the site needs to be set up. The DNS addresses
of the site need to be set to the addresses that the host
provides you so that the servers that underlie the
internet will know where your site is. DNS addresses
can be set by going to the domain registrar that was
used to acquire the domain and inputting the addresses
provided by the host. After that is done, it will take a
few days before the master list the domain registar
updates will be shared throughout the internet and all
name servers know where to find your specific domain.
You can then go about setting up your own podcast.

Using the podcast hosting you now have, you will need
to look at the disk space allocated to the site using
something called and FTP browser. The host may
provide one as part of their hosting plan, but if not there
are many available free to choose from. Using the FTP
browser, log on to the host and upload a file called
dircaster.php after editing it to fit the specifics of the
site. Dircaster.php is an easy to find piece of coding that
generates a feed file by looking at the contents of its
directory or folder. The individual episodes to be
podcasted can then be uploaded to the same folder as
dircaster.php for cataloging. Make sure that all the meta
data, or information about the mp3 file is correct before
doing so.

The podcast hosting you now have will allow you to
distribute a podcast. It would be best to upload more to
the site, such as an index page that tells visitors about
the podcast and provides the address of the file
dircaster.php on your site. When they subscribe to that
file, the podcast client thy use will access it and recieve
information about the latest podcasts available.

More sites than CNET are finding that podcast news is
an expoitable technology. The British Broadcasting
Corporation podcasts some of it’s programs, as well as
the US radio network NPR. The NPR, because its work
is created by a variety of different groups, treats
podcasts differently from show to show. The NPR show
“This American Life” distributes a podcast of the show
through a site called audible.com, which allows feed
listeners to subscribe to the feed for a small fee and
download the show . The NPR Hourly News show, on
the other hand, shares a short 5 minute broadcast that
summarizes the news for free. Since the NPR is taking a
radio show and converting it into a file that is
downloadable by the user, little is lost in the translation.
The sound is designed to convey the entire story, and so
podcast subscribers are able to treate the podcast as
nothing more than TIVO for the radio. ABC’s podcast
of the news show Nightline, on the other hand, is
simply the sound track from the television show. This
has been one of the criticisms of the Nightline podcast,
because by merely stripping the sound from what is
designed as a television show, much information is not
given to the users. Listeners have problems telling who
is who because they miss the visual cues that were
supposed to be there, and there is no truly easy way to
convert the shows. For this reason, some news shows
have been moving from audio podcasts to video ones.
They can take the video information directly from the
show that is broadcast, lower the visual resolution to
shrink the file, and distribute it online as a podcast.

The Qualification of In-house Staff

Sometimes outsourcing becomes the only option available because there are no in-house staff members qualified to perform a particular task. This often occurs when a task requires a highly specialized degree or area of expertise. This is especially problematic when the task in question is one which is extremely rare. When this is the case it does not make sense for a company to hire an employee with these capabilities when they will be rarely utilized because employees who are not productive are expensive to the company. However, if this task becomes one which is required regularly, the question of whether or not to outsource the task becomes more complicated. As this article is focusing on situations where outsourcing is the only option, we will not delve further into the factors which complicated this decision such as labor costs and increased manpower.

Smaller companies often face the problem of not having staff members qualified for particular tasks more often than larger companies. Larger companies obviously have a larger pool of employees to pull from and it is therefore much more likely for the smaller firms to have gaps in their level of expertise than it is for larger companies to have these gaps.

The Availability of In-house Staff

Sometimes outsourcing becomes the only option based on staff availability. A company may have a need for tasks to be completed rather quickly. Although it may be a task for which several in-house employees are qualified, current workloads may make it impossible for these employees to take on these tasks. When this occurs, outsourcing again becomes the only option. Company employees are often multi-tasking and may be working towards several serious deadlines at any one particular time. Management is tasked with the responsibility of doling out work to lower level employees and when they feel as though their in-house staff is not able to take on more work, they often turn to outsourcing as a solution.

Workloads often become a factor in outsourcing when there are projects which are particularly time sensitive in nature. Employees and employers often have to prioritize the multiple tasks they are managing but there are times when a number of projects or tasks become urgent simultaneously and when this happens it may become difficult to complete all of these tasks with only the assistance of the in-house staff.

Client Requirements

Sometimes outsourcing becomes the only option as a result of client requirements. Depending on the complexity of a task, a client may require the consultant firm tasked with completing a task to have the task performed by an individual with specific qualifications. These qualifications may include specific training in certain types of software, exact education requirements or previous work experiences. Companies who do not have in-house employees who meet these specific requirements have no choice but to outsource the task to a qualified individual.

When this is an isolated incident, companies often outsource the task and do not make efforts to attempt to hire a full time employee with these qualifications. This is a wise decision especially when the client requirements require an expert in a particular niche of the software industry. Employing an employee of this caliber would likely be rather expensive especially if he would rarely be called upon to utilize his advanced skills. 

If you have chosen a topic that addresses the needs or wants of a specific segment of the population and if you have set up your opt-in software correctly, you have a list of potential customers. If they have subscribed to your newsletter, then they obviously believe that your have information about a subject that is near and dear to their hearts. They must consider you to be an expert maybe a guru. If you have worked hard at building your customer’s belief in your own credibility, then you should be able to make a nice profit from your newsletter.

You can advertise products and services related to your topic on your website. This can be done with logos and banners that contain links to the products and services. When visitors to your site click on an advertisement, you get credit for a lead and if they buy the product or service you get a commission on the sale.

You can use your newsletter to recommend products and services to the members of your list. Some companies will happily pay you for simply recommending their product or service to your list and give you a commission on any sales that your recommendation generates for them.

Go to the bookshops in your area and take note of the kinds of non-fiction books that are stocked. You should particularly note the ones that are self-help or how-to books. If you can create the opportunity, ask the stock boy which ones are selling the best. He’s the one who knows what is being restocked most often.  That failing, ask a floor salesperson the same question. Asking the bookstore owner or manager is the last option. They are more likely to be pushing the books that aren’t selling well in order to make a sale.  Learn by whatever means you can which self-help or how-to books are the hottest sellers.

Another option is the online bookstores. You can’t, of course, ask for information from a person but you can research the site and determine which of the non-fiction self-help or how-to books are highest in sales.

Finding out what books people are most often buying can give you some insight into what the hot market subjects are. Armed with this information, you can go about creating a niche marketing website that will have a better chance of becoming successful.