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Sesame Street now has podcasts available for FREE at iTunes. Ranging in length from 13 to 42 minutes, they include titles like "Happy, Healthy, Ready for School," and "Talk, Listen Connect."

I previously wrote about how impressed I was with NPR's use of podcasting and PBS has stepped right up as well.

I grew up on daily episodes of Sesame Street and believe in the educational power of the show. It is easy to imagine parents keeping these files on their MP3 players and playing them for their kids in the car or while stuck waiting for an oil change or a doctor's appointment.  

I hope they continue to offer their content in as many formats as possible.  

Thanks to LifeHacker for the story.  

Posted by kempblog at 02:10 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Originally posted on 8/12/2005
Podcasting is one of the latest media formats spurred from the increase in portable media players (MP3 players) and the distribution capabilities of RSS. From the Wikipedia entry on podcasting:

"Podcasting enables independent producers to create self-published, syndicated "radio shows," and gives broadcast radio programs a new distribution method. Listeners may subscribe to feeds using "podcatching" software (a type of aggregator), which periodically checks for and downloads new content automatically"

Once downloaded* this content can then be listened to on a laptop, desktop, digital music player, PDA or any other device that can play MP3s. The file is stored so the user can listen when it is convenient - time shifting for audio content.

Like Web logs, podcasting is giving the individual the opportunity to create and publish their own content. The first efforts were primarily enthusiasts, but as the medium has grown in popularity, more tradtional media companies, like CNN, ABC News and others, have begun to podcast their content. At this time, the monetization of this new medium is unclear; premium subscriptions, insertion of ads and tracking are issues several companies are currently tackling.

In the next few posts I will review how iTunes, Odeo and other companies are taking podcasting to the next level.

*If you are using a device with a live Internet connection, you can stream some podcasts without downloading them.

Posted by kempblog at 04:16 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)