Comedy Podcasts

Many podcasts are available to subscribe to and watch in a variety of genres, and one of these is the comedy podcast. Every small scale wannabe writer has a chance to become a comedian through podcasting, since the low entry cost allows people to start podcasting with minimum effort and money. To find some of these comedy podcasters, check a podcast directory. A podcast directory is a listing of many, sometimes several thousands, of podcasts submitted and divided into categories. A podcast directory will probably have a large number of comedy podcasts available to subscribe to.

These comedy podcasts are usually created by a small team of people who do the work in their free time, as a hobby, not as a source of income. Because it is a hobby, they’re more willing to give the work away for free, for nothing more than recognition, probably in the hopes they can parlay that recognition into a more mainstream job. Some more corporate groups also put together comedy podcasts, however. The satirical comedy website TheOnion.com puts out a regular comedy podcast, featuring readings from their fake news site.

Placing a comedy podcast on the Internet has several advantages for the creators. They get to showcase their work, easily distributing their art to many people. This following is likely to be be unusually passionate, following the artist with more enthusiasm than the artist’s average audience. The comedian has a chance to be more open with the audience, engaging in a sort of dialogue with them. The comedian broadcasts the files, which enter the computer of the user, already a more personal level than simply hearing the jokester on the radio or on television. Compedy podcast subscribers will often then write back to the podcaster, or leave comments on the blog which often accompanies a podcast site. This can give them a degree of input and connection with the writers of the comedy podcast that is far removed from other styles of comedy distribution.

The writers and producers of a comedy podcast thus benefit from several advantages of the podcast form. It is cheap and easy to set up, and uses a distribution mechanism that is also easy to use. The way the podcast form is designed, as well, creates greater connection between the producer and the subscribers. The comedy writer has a greater ability to interact with the subscribers and to find out what they appreciate or do not. Because podcasting is so simple to get involved in, requiring only a small investment to get started, many amateur comedy writers have begun starting their own shows and distributing the feed. It is likely, because of the unique connection podcasting offers between writer and listener, that we will see at least some of these amateur comedians make the leap to the professional stage.

How to Create a Podcast

Podcasting is easy to get involved in for anyone who wants to create a podcast. The first thing necessary is access to a web server. The user needs to be able to upload files to the server itself, so podcasting can’t be done from a simple blogging or journal site.

It’s probably best to register a domain and find a host for the site. Once the site has been set up and the user has access to the host server, a small program called dircaster.php should be customized for your site, and can be used to automatically generate the RSS feed that the subscribers will download. The mp3 files should be uploaded to the proper directory after all the information about the file has been attached.

After they are in the directory, the address of dircaster.php, as long as it is in the same directory as the mp3 files, will generate an RSS file that will tell your subscribers where to download the latest podcasts from. To update and and a new episode, create and upload the new mp3 file to the same directory. When dircaster.php is accessed, it will recognize the new file and relay the information on to your visitors.

With these steps, it is easy for anyone to create a podcast with a small expenditure of time and effort. The site is easy to set up; domains and hosting are now cheap enough almost anyone to have a small site, and the programs necessary are all easy to find and use.

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Podcasting Means You Have an Audience, Any Time – Any Place!