Podcast and RSS Information -
Podcasting is a method of publishing audio broadcasts via the Internet, allowing users to subscribe to a feed of new audio files (usually mp3s).
Podcasting is distinct from other types of online media delivery because of its subscription model, which uses a feed (RSS) to deliver an enclosed file. Listeners may subscribe to feeds using "podcatching" software, which periodically checks for and downloads new content automatically. Any digital audio player or computer with audio-playing software can play podcasts. Look for the "mp3" hyperlink in the media section of our website to find available podcasts.
You can also download the podcast file to your computer by clicking on the "mp3" icon and play the file in any tool such as Real Player or Windows Media Player. You may find you’ll need to turn your computer's volume all the way up to hear the podcast clearly.
Here are the steps to set up your personal computer to receive podcasts via RSS and other RSS feeds.
- Download "podcatching" software. This software will search the web to find the latest version of the podcast you want. Some popular "podcatching" software applications:
- iTunes - With iTunes you can browse, find, sample and subscribe to thousands of free podcasts—radio shows delivered over the Internet to your computer.
http://www.apple.com/itunes/affiliates/download/ - Juice - Juice is a Podcasting application that allows users to capture and listen to Internet audio programs anytime, anywhere.
http://juicereceiver.sourceforge.net/index.php - Doppler - Doppler is a podcast aggregator. It's a tool to subscribe to RSS feeds which supply downloadable files. Doppler will go out and fetch the files enclosed in the RSS feed and will automatically add them to your preferred media player.
http://www.dopplerradio.net/ - More podcatching software can be found at:
http://www.podcastingnews.com/topics/Podcast_Software.html - Add the address of the "feed" to your software. To "subscribe" to a podcast you copy the url of the podcast "feed" by right clicking (ctrl-click on a mac) the xml podcast feed link and add it to your podcast application.
- Download the podcast. When a new podcast for your subscriptions becomes available, your software will automatically download it. On completion you can listen to the mp3 on your pc or transfer it to your portable player to listen to later. The software will automatically download any subsequent shows as soon as they are available.
RSS stands for Really Simple Syndication. It is a content format which, when used with an RSS aggregator, lets users know whenever anything on a specific web page is updated with new content. RSS Feeds are commonly used on Blogs, news websites and other places with frequently freshened content. The aggregator “pulls” content to the user every time a specified page is updated and allows the user to view all the new content in one location. RSS Feeds are often indicated by square orange buttons with the text RSS or XML which look like this: 
If you click on one of the orange buttons, it will show you the XML code that provides the feed to an RSS aggregator. Within in the code you can find the URL to the different feeds available on a given website. The RSS and XML buttons are more short hand to let visitors know that these technologies are available on a given website.
How To Access The Shades Mountain Baptist Church RSS Feed
In order to receive our feed, first you must sign up for or download an RSS aggregator or reader utility. These utilities can be either desktop or web-based. Some examples of popular aggregators include Bloglines, Feedreader, and Newsgator, among many others.
Once you have set-up your RSS aggregator, you are now ready to add a feed to your list of RSS feeds. Some RSS aggregators allow you to easily subscribe by placing the URL of the feed you want to subscribe to in the feeder. The aggregator then searches out the XML code for that feed and adds it to your list of syndicated sites.
The URL to subscribe for the Shades Mountain Baptist Church RSS is http://www.smbcwebsites.org/pods/podcast.xml.
