More On Pod Casts

When I wrote podcast reviews, or just in everyday life listening to them, I've had people tell me they don't listen to or understand podcasts, so I thought I'd explain a little more about why I love podcasts, and hopefully encourage more folks to try them!
First of all, I think some folks that don't think they are computer savvy think the name 'podcast' is another daunting computer thing that they don't understand, like html or L33T. But it's not. A 'podcast' is basically just a radio show. The 'radio' is just your computer in this case. The other thing I think people tend to think about podcasts, is that you have to have a 'pod' to listen to them. Well, you don't. A lot of podcasts, if not most, can be listened to right from the website they are on. The podcaster will have a nice site, often with some extra information and links of things they talked about, and a "Listen Here" button. If you are on the site, and you click their button, you can listen right on your computer. Even if they have less of a website, and no "Listen Here" button, you could listen to them through iTunes or another music player on your computer. Another way to think of a podcast is that they are one long song, and anywhere that you could listen to a song, you could listen to a podcast show.
Listening to a podcast from your computer would be great for times you are 'surfing the net' or playing a game. Or turn up the speakers, and listen while you're doing other things. If your computer is close to your crafting area, just get to work while you're listening.
And if you do have any sort of a 'pod' by which I mean an MP3 player, you can take your podcasts with you anywhere. I fell in love with audio books and podcasts when I drove a car with no radio, and I would listen to spoken word on my headphones, rather than music, as I believe music on headphones (like a cell phone!!) is too distracting, and dangerous while driving. So now, I still love listening to podcasts in the car, and for a long trip, my guy will put some music and podcasts on his iPod and use the car plug in to put the iPod output onto the car stereo system. There are many radio tuner things out there in many price ranges to make your MP3 player play through your car stereo, if you do have or get an MP3 player, I highly suggest you add the car stereo radio tuner thingy to your collection of accessories.
I listen to my crafty podcasts in the car on the way to work, on the walk from the parking lot to my job, all the way to my desk, and sometimes I can't bear to shut it off until it's time to clock in. I listen on my breaks, while I work on crafty things at my desk, or take a walk, and sometimes when I'm doing things I don't need too much brain power for, like filing. Then I listen on the walk back to the parking lot and all the way home. I also listen while I'm in the grocery store, that's one of my favorites. It helps me two ways, I get the enjoyment of listening, and I do a better job shopping. I have to make a good list, if I'm going to be listening while I'm shopping, and it's tons easier to stick to my list, because my brain is actually paying attention to the podcast, and not getting distracted with impulse purchases!! ;p
There are so many awesome podcasts out there, crafty and otherwise. One of my favorite podcasts, that was an hour a day Monday-Friday retired a while back, so I had a void of five more hours a week to fill! I serched around for some more crafty podcasts, because I really love being inspired!! I'll share some more specific reviews in future posts, but for now, here's a link to a whole list of crafty podcasts for you to puruse.