The World Wide Web is vast, with countless amounts of data being transferred daily, thousands of new sites coming online, and millions of people using the web at any given time. It is almost understandable how someone can find it exceedingly difficult to get noticed online due to the above mentioned information. One such way to garner attention on the web is to employ net visibility which includes blogging, RSS (Really Simple Syndication), and pod casting and vodcasting.
While all parts of net visibility are useful, podcasting and vodcasting are perhaps the most interesting. Podcasting is online audio content which is essentially radio on demand. Instead of users or listeners tuning in at a specific time to listen, such is the case for conventional radio; listeners can determine the time and the place they wish to listen. Podcasting gives many more options in terms of content and programming and allows users to decide what they want and when they want it. Podcasts are typically delivered through a RSS feed, which allows users access to recently-updated content from a variety of sources. Vodcasting is almost identical to podcasting, except for the fact that video is added to the downloadable sound files podcast listeners are used to. Users proceed much in the same way as podcasting, by being able to choose the time/place and on what media to view the vodcast.
According to Amanda Watlington, podcasting and vodcasting are useful since they provide another way of engaging with the customer. She explains further how someone can do a pod/vodcast on almost anything and they are very easy to do for the most part which is good for individuals or small companies since it is relatively cheap.
The amount of individuals releasing podcasts and vodcasts is continuously increasing. The list includes radio stations who have turned some of their programs into podcasts, large corporations such as General Motors who create podcasts and vodcasts about upcoming products, and museums who create broadcasts for users to listen to as they walk through, replacing the human guide that would do tours. Pod and vodcasts are not limited to the above mentioned few however, and include many more businesses and individuals that what is listed here.
