If you've been online recently, I'm sure you've heard about\rpodcasting. You might be wondering "What's in it for me?" \rOr perhaps "Why should I care about that?" There are many \rvalid reasons for you to get informed about this hot new \rtechnology.

Think of a podcast as a way to deliver audio content to a \rvery large worldwide audience. The easiest analogy is to \rthink of this technology as giving you the power to create\ryour own online radio program.

First, the name is a little misleading. It comes from 'iPod'\rand "broadcasting". It doesn't mean you need an iPod to get\rinvolved. You can listen right on your computer.

Podcasting is made possible by RSS (a type of XML computer\rcode). But have no fear! You don't need to know programming\rat all. RSS is simply a delivery system that allows people\rto subscribe and stay up to date any time you add a new \rpodcast show.

Having an iPod or similar digital MP3 Audio player is not \rrequired. You can download audio files to your device and \rtake the audio shows with you. Or you can simply stream the\raudio and listen to the podcast show on your computer.

There is a lot of free podcast audio for you to listen to \ronline. Do a search for "podcast" or "MP3" and you'll see \rwhat I mean.

What's out there? Music, interviews, seminars, educational \rshows, technology shows, news, sports...the list of topics \ris amazing. Some people say that podcasting it's going to \rreplace radio and TV.

Not True. However, podcasting is changing the face of online\raudio and traditional radio. Podcasters already number in \rthe thousands. The number of businesses and individuals \rmaking podcasts is growing at a rapid pace.

So where can you find these podcasts? Check out any of these \rsites:

http://www.podblaze.com\rhttp://www.podcastalley.com\rhttp://www.podcastbunker.com

Or search for more of these directories with Google, Yahoo,\rand other search engines and directories.

What about making your own podcast for your own business or \rwebsite? That's not exactly rocket science. Get some sound \rrecording software (Audacity or WavePad, for example) and a\rmicrophone. Then record some MP3 files yourself.

All that's left is to get them up on the web somewhere and \rhave them formatted into RSS. Some blogging software and \rservices allow you to attach audio to a blog post. There's \reven free programs you can use.

For example, you could open a Producer account at:

http://www.podblaze.com

You can start with the free account, which lets you store up \rto 40MB of MP3 files on their server. It's enough for about\rfour half-hour shows.

That's an easy and risk-free way to try out podcasting. They\ralso have paid accounts for people who want to do more than \rexperiment with this new media.

Now why would you want to podcast? I can think of many good\rreasons. Here's a few: Put some recordings of your band up \rand maybe you'll get a recording contract. Sweet!

If you did a teleseminar, make it available to the world.\rPosition yourself as an expert and people will take you more\rseriously.

Maybe you know about news items that the local and national\rmedia won't pick up. Podcasting gives your story a chance to\rbe heard. Maybe you just want to share something personal \rwith the world.

Whatever your reason for wanting to put your music or voice \ron the web, podcasting is an easy and inexpensive way to do \rit. So pick up that microphone and record your thoughts. I'm \rwaiting to hear it.

Steve Humphrey is an author, programmer & Certified Guerilla\rMarketer. His new web site makes podcasting technology easy\renough for anyone to use.

Find, create & listen to podcasts:\rhttp://www.podblaze.com