A guide to get the best from your gadget.

When Apple's iPod made its way into the market, it was seen as the gadget to have as far as digital music players were concerned.

Apart from changing the way we tuned in to music, the iPod also opened a new avenue for broadcast of digital media files - through podcasts. But podcasts are not limited to iPod owners.

There's so much more to it.

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What is podcasting?

To put it in simple words, a podcast, by itself, is an audio file made available on the internet for download and playback, using a computer or a mobile device.

A video podcast deals with multimedia files. The term 'podcast' might suggest its use is restricted to iPods, but that's not the case.

You can listen to podcasts on any digital music player or your computer. In other words, it is like a blog presented in an audio format.

The content can be anything you like, including audio books, music, radio shows, interviews or even sermons.

There's no formula for creating the content. In fact, one of the beauties of podcasting is that your shows can be anything you want them to be.

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How to podcast?

To begin with, you will need a microphone (and preferably a headset, as well), some inexpensive software and a location on the web (a blog or a website) for your finished audio file.

You can record an 'episode' by downloading any free audio recording software like RecordForAll (www.recodforall.com), TextAloud (www.nextup.com/ download.html) or Audacity (www.audacity.sourceforge.net/).

Just ensure it is recorded in a format that is accessible to a larger number of users (MP3, MP4 or WAV are widely accepted audio standards).

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What to do with podcast?

Once you're done with the recording, the next step is to upload the episodes on the Internet.

You can put it on your own blog, websites like Apple's iTunes (you need to sign up for an iTunes account) or other sites that allow hosting of podcasts (for a nominal fee).

In order to get an audience for your podcasts, create an RSS feed for the same, so listeners can easily subscribe. RSS files are used to summarise the content of the audio programmes.

We suggest you begin with www.podcastblaster.com for an easy way to upload the podcasts.

Another option - if you want an audio version of your existing blog entries, rather than an actual podcast - is to use Feed2Podcast or Talkr.

A robotic voice will read aloud the contents of your blog. It's not our cup of tea, but perhaps some visitors to your site might find it funny or useful.

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Why podcast?

It's free, easy to develop and can be distributed for free over the Internet.

More importantly, if the podcasts are successful enough to draw a regular audience, it also has the potential to earn money for the creator.

However, lining up advertisers and then incorporating their ads into podcast can be a labour-intensive process.