Advance the Kingdom of God with Blogs and Podcasts!

Blogs and podcasts have grown greatly in creation and usage over the past year. Apple Computer's success with the iPod has a lot to do with the growing popularity of blogs and podcasts.

Blogs and podcasts are essentially the same thing in my opinion now. You cannot really find one without finding the other.

I had saved bookmarks and links into two (2) separate folders within my web browser (I now use Firefox as much as possible versus Microsoft Internet Explorer now even though both web browser programs are still on our computers). I had one folder for saved blog links located online and another for podcasts located.

After going through the separate folders over the course of 2 months, I decided to put all of the links in one folder and to rename the folder Blogs & Podcasting.

Podcasts are basically MP3 files saved into a blog which is an online journal saved as a web page that uses RSS technology feeds (works just like having cable tv for webpages without having to pay for the feed in most cases) in order to send the latest updates to interested readers.

Video can be incorporated into blogs as well. Therefore video podcasts are available now as well even though there are not too many hardware devices advertised for playing such content files. But any type of file can be played directly from the desktop computer. The downside is that the person has to sit or remain near the computer for the duration of the podcast.

RSS is simply a way to create web pages that are accessible by software known as media aggregators.

XML is a technology that is very similar to HTML and XML is being used to create various multimedia files and will be incorporated into the latest updates of Microsoft Office scheduled for release in late 2006.

One does not have to learn XML as a specific computer language. Use whatever technology you have been using to create web pages and you will be fine.

There are a few tweaks and add-ons that can get the same information shared as a XML file.

Content (multimedia files of audio, text, still graphics, and/or moving video) can be essentially pushed (sent) to readers on an ongoing basis.

The readers may also be called subscribers regardless of having to pay to receive the subscriptions or not.

Content can also use pull technology to require the subscriber to do something to obtain the content.

Just having a website without any links to the site is a means of pull.

RSS and XML is essentially the same thing in my opinion while the extreme geeks will beg to differ. Both are used to create feeds and allow subscriptions.

Now there are software programs available that will go onto the internet and retrieve (pull) the content into your computer from the various websites and online places that you have discovered and saved as a feed and into your mp3 player regardless of you having an actual Apple iPod or not.

Since most podcasts are saved in the form of MP3 files, the files will play within any MP3 player or on any desktop computer.

Having a MP3 player just means that the podcast can be listened to while driving in the morning commute, on the transit system of buses and/or trains, while walking/jogging/running/exercising, and during any other activity with or without headphones.

Here is a quick and clean (versus dirty) way to create a podcast. Most churches already have the technology available and many individual believers have the necessary tools already as well.

1. Record any sound that you want to share with others. Poetry, sermons, Easter speeches, prayers, singing, and/or music would make a great start. Messages from the pastor and other church leaders would be great as well. You can also conduct interviews of various people. We will share tips on who to interview within another blog entry.

You can use any type of recording device at this point. Right now we are discussing how to create the content for podcasts in the best way possible.

The primary goal should be to have the capability of creating podcasts in a portable manner versus having to be tied down in one place using stationary equipment. You will not want to transport mixers, powered amplifiers, and risk damage to equipment not made for quick and easy transporting.

We bought a MP3 player that actually will record sound files as well. It was better than buying a digital voice recorder (DVR) which will also work if the speakers are close to the built-in microphone.

Therefore I will recommend using both and all types of equipment that you probably already have.

Use the hard-to-move equipment within your sanctuary and other places where it is possible to have the people who will be recorded get as close as your microphones and cables will allow. You will probably need more than one microphone and someone wearing headphones to make sure that the sounds are indeed being recorded. This person is called your sound engineer.

Then use a digital voice recorder or some other tape recorder or camcorder to record sound outside. We have recorded sermons in the past with a camcorder and then produced cassette tapes and CDs from the sound.

Before I forget, remember that there is a line-in jack to allow a microphone cable to be connected on the back of virtually every computer. You can buy a single cable from Radio Shack that will connect into the jack for headphones and the other end into the line-in jack (it may be labeled as a microphone on the computer itself). This is the step how you will actually digitize your content.

An adapter for any plug going into a jack is available as well if the end of the same cable needs to be a different size if your equipment varies somehow.

2. Get the sound into your computer by a process known as digitizing. You are then converting the analog sound files (if any tape or hardcopy medium such as a CD is used) into a digital format where they can be played on your computer or sent over the internet to someone else with a computer or media player.

I recommend any free software that is available before paying for anything to create and distribute your files.

RealProducer is a program that I have used over the past 8 to 10 years to create either digital files for streaming (playing a prerecorded file directly from a website while being online) or downloaded for playing either immediately or at a later time.

You can even stream your files live if you are online and the listener/consumer is online at the same time. You would not want to do this for too many people at once since it will slow down your computer for all of them and yourself at the same time.

There are other programs to create sound files and reviews are usually written to make your selection much easier.

3. Once your sound files have been converted into MP3 files, upload the files to your website server and create and place the necessary links directly to the files on a webpage somewhere.

4. Use a free service like FeedBurner as a directory for people to locate your MP3 podcasts as well to point podcast software (such as iPodder) to your files which will read your blog or webpage as a RSS feed or XML file.

There are many websites and software that work like FeedBurner and/or iPodder respectively as well.

FeedBurner will provide an graphic icon and link for you to place on the webpage that mentions your podcast for people to use with iPodder. Then people will be able to subscribe to your podcasts on their own and retrieve your new podcast shows or editions through podcast software whenever you make them available online.

5. Promote your podcast through any means that you are currently using as well and wherever your marketing budget will allow. Create as many links on your own website to your new page listing your various podcast shows, episodes, and/or editions (depending upon what you call each podcast recorded).

The same places where you locate podcasts to listen to can also serve as a directory where you can have your podcast listed with others. Since most podcast directories are fairly new, there is usually no charge to have a podcast listed. Eventually as seen with current search engines, you will able to pay for advertising your podcast.

Then this is the best way to promote your podcast. Look for other podcasts by using Google and podcast directories and then when you find the various podcasts, use the same directories that they have used.

By using the five-step method above, you can advance the Kingdom of God with your blog and podcast. Your creativity is desperately needed as you will soon discover.

Whenever you create your blog and podcast, just let us know and we will place a link to your blog and/or podcast on this blog (and eventual podcast).

Godspeed!