iTunes Brought Podcasts into the Mainstream

In June of 2005 Apple announced that in just a few days after launching support for Podcasting, iTunes customers subscribed to more than a million Podcasts from the iTunes Podcast Directory. Starting with iTunes version 4.9, Apple included everything you need to search, discover, subscribe, manage and listen to Podcasts. It is all built in. Once find on that you like, it just shows up in your iPod, every time you sync. So you have each new episode of your favorite Podcasts automatically delivered over the Internet to your computer and iPod.

“iTunes did what possibly no one else could have accomplished, they propelled Podcasting into the mainstream,” said Will Lewis, management consultant for KCRW. “Our servers have been swamped with a stratospheric increase in traffic. In fact, downloads have increased tenfold as a result of the iTunes 4.9 launch.”

iTunes enables you to quickly and easily find and subscribe to your favorite Podcasts so that every time there’s a new episode, it’s automatically downloaded to your Mac or PC and Auto-Synced to your iPod. iTunes also makes it easy to manage multiple Podcast subscriptions with simple organization and displays using episode and date. iPods also offer an easy to use Podcast menu, including bookmarking within a Podcast and the ability to display color Podcast artwork.

While iTunes is a good place to start, you will be amazed at the number of Podcasting Directories that you will find when you Google around. Here are a few to get you started. Branch out a little and try some 'casts that you would never normally listen to - expand your mind. It doesn't hurt. If you don't like them, don't forget to delete them, otherwise they will keep showing up.

Apple iTunes has a lot to choose from but don't let that stop you from exploring. There are hundreds of directories and specialized listing for Pod casts. Google around and see what you can find. Here are a few to get you started.

Podcast Directories