The terminology is mutating at lightning speed. For this brief moment in time, a Podcast can be defined as almost any video or audio file, downloadable from the Internet, off a new site, a personal blog or an RSS feed. Just a couple of years ago, Podcasts were strictly audio clips, made by geeks for geeks. Today, a Podcast can take the form of a professionally produced radio program or it can be a homemade video rant, produced by some slack-jawed lowbrow living in mom’s basement.

Technically, the New Oxford American Dictionary defines Podcasting as "a digital recording of a radio broadcast or similar program, made available on the Internet for downloading to a personal audio player."

"When you begin to generate regular income you progress to paid advertising or you open an affiliate program and have other webmasters market for you. Podcasting is another promotional tool you can add to your armory."

To further confuse you, Apple and iPod had little to do with creating Podcast technology (NOTE: Ramanathan V. Guha developed MCF at Apple then RDF at Netscape). Yet one can play a Podcast on an iPod. One can play an audio Podcast on almost any digital music player or on any computer’s media player software. A user can play a video Podcast on any hardware that can read its format. As I said, the definition of the word Podcast has become pretty fluid.

As an adult webmaster, you search for promotional tools that work. You experiment with content and delivery methods until you hit on something that sparks. There are several tried and true ways to market your sites and sponsors such as submitting galleries to TGPs and link lists, optimizing your page for SEO, setting up link trades and sending out email newsletters. You create Hub sites and a galaxy of mini spoke sites. When you begin to generate regular income you progress to paid advertising or you open an affiliate program and have other webmasters market for you. Podcasting is another promotional tool you can add to your armory.

Let’s keep this simple.

A true Podcast is nothing but a .mp3 file. The address of the .mp3 file is linked on an XML document, uploaded to a server along with the .mp3. RSS aggregators index those XML documents, determine when a Podcast has been updated and alert RSS reader users to new content. Simple, eh?

I’ll try to get simpler. A .mp3 is an audio file much smaller than a .wav or .au file. RSS is a format standard that reads and syndicates files written in XML. XML is a document format derived from HTML.

Using RSS to syndicate your audio is not that hard. It’s just a matter of creating a .mp3 and an XML page. The payoff comes when you post a tiny RSS button/feed subscription link on the existing web page, where you’ve also posted your .mp3 entry. By doing this, you’ve created your own RSS Podcast feed. Through that button, surfers add your site’s RSS feed to their reader software. Then, your visitors receive notification of your updates automatically. In addition there are hundreds of directories for Podcast feeds and you can submit yours.

Now, imagine what an adult webmaster can do with a syndicated audio feed. Sexy newsletters? Hot and nasty free stories? Audio tours for paysites? Porn bloggers can record spoken versions of text entries. Adult webmasters can promote sponsors and services to other webmasters. The possibilities are limited only by the imagination.

I’ve stressed audio Podcasting in this article because Podcasts were originally intended to be in strictly audio format. Also, audio is smaller in file size and .mp3 is compatible with most browser/reader/player software/hardware. You can create video Podcasts and submit them to RSS aggregators/directories but why not give strict audio a chance on RSS anyway? Practically every computer has a sound card. There’s plenty of decent freeware/shareware recording software available. Computer microphones cost ten bucks. If you want to learn more about RSS and XML, there are hundreds of tutorials, code checkers and generators for you Googlers. This is one more way to reach surfers and considering what RSS/Podcasting can do and how far can reach; it’s a bargain.

Add Podcasting to your stock of marketing tricks. Tell web surfers that they can subscribe to your Podcast feed on your site. Submit your feeds to as many directories and Ping services as you can. Let folks know when you’ve updated or give them a joke of the day. Podcast whatever you want. Let your surfers be selectively moved to think of your product each time that you add something new to your feed.

The definition of a Podcast may be in question but the opportunities are up to you!