Worthbroadcasting
How to set up and distribute your podcast/vidcast with the WorthBroadcasting Podcaster tool
Setting up and distributing a podcast (or a vidcast - for the sake of this article, the process is exactly the same except that your would upload a video instead of a sound file) is a simple matter with the right tools. Normally, you would expect to have some means of writing the XML file (while ensuring that the code complied to recognised standards), memory space on a server ("webspace") set up so that you have a web address for your podcast, an audio/video file to broadcast, and a means of uploading all this to the internet ("ftp").
With the WorthBroadcasting Podcaster Tool most of this is taken care of for you in a series of easy stages. In order to use the Podcaster, you will first need an account with us (contact us here to discuss setting up an account). The second thing you will need is an audio or video file for your podcast. Everything else is taken care of.
Creating Your Channel
Once you have an account, you can log in to create one or more podcasts. If this is your first log in, you will need to create your "channel". This is the wrapper that holds all your broadcasts together in one identifiable whole... the equivalent of a radio or TV series, which will eventually have a series of episodes.
The essential information to enter is your
- Channel Title - the name of your broadcast
- Description - some descriptive text about your broadcast and your organisation
- Link - this is a link to a page that contains further information about the broadcast. This could be a link to your campaign or organisational website. If left blank, the Podcaster will default to a link to a page on the WorthBroadcasting Site with details about your broadcast.
This is all that is essential (there are certain other elements such as Last build date and publish date that are taken care of by the Podcaster), but we strongly recommend that you fill in all the other fields. This will ensure that your podcast complies with universally recognised standards and will therefore be compatible with the broadest range of newsfeed readers/aggregators.
To make it easier to understand just what it is you are filling in, we have created a tooltip system. In order to discover just what the field you are filling is for, just hover your mouse over the question mark next to the field title for a fuller description.
To iTune or not to iTune?
iTunes is one of the most popular distributors of podcasts on line today. To be able to submit your podcast to iTunes, you need to include additional data in your podcast feed, but don't worry. All that is taken care of too.
Simply check the box that says "Configure for iTunes" and ensure that you fill in all the fields below, using the tooltip instructions for guidance. Remember, you only need to do this once for a channel.
The image is optional, but iTunes likes a jpeg or png graphic of 300 by 300 pixels, which it displays as if it were CD cover artwork.
Congratulations. Click "Save" and you have created your first channel. Now you need to create your first episode.
