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e martë shkurt 01, 2005

Podcast version of your feed

I heard about Feedpod today and think it is a very clever idea: it is a Text-To-Speech RSS/ATOM Newsfeed reader. I don't care too much about the client side. James Gosling had added Text-To-Speech to his JNN client side aggregator many months ago but after experiencing it for a few hours it was only an annoying feature. What makes this project interesting is on the server side: "You can use FeedPod on your site to offer a PodCast of your blog". I haven't tried it yet but this is a killer feature!

In addition to enhancing the accessibility of your feed, it may be a great way to broaden your "readership"... or should I say audience?. When more people will pick up the habit of listening to podcasts while commuting, using an iPod, or soon their cell phone having an audio version of your feed available is a good idea.

( Shk 01 2005, 11:12:41 PD PST ) Permalink Comments [3] Chat about it

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Comments:

Thanks for the (positive) mention. :) You know, the idea you latched onto -- using FeedPod to PodCast your own blog -- was the original motivation for building it. Honestly, though, I kind of shifted how I see it in my mind for a couple of reasons: 1. I like Podcasts. Actual Podcasts that people put a good deal of time and thought into making. vinylpodcast in my mind is just great. The idea of a world filled with TTS Podcasts does seem, in some ways an affront to those that actually produce audio-centric programming. 2. I don't really expect huge adoption of FeedPod or any similar application by blogs, in spite of what I just said. However, after I got it running for myself and my friends I discovered that even if everyone *isn't* using it, for someone like myself who tries to read way way too many blogs, being able to take the Zaurus to lunch or on the commute and listen to the blogs (that don't contain long source code snipped :P) was a really great feature. I do see the dichotomy it those two points. I guess while FeedPod products do technically fall into the realm of "Podcasts" and I do think there is utility there, I almost hate to dilute the term away from the peopel who are making an effort to create in the medium. Who knows, perhaps "FeedPoding" will become a new verb to describe TTS Podcasting.

Posted by kebernet on shkurt 01, 2005 at 06:47 MD PST #

Ooops. Didn't realize I needed <p> tags here.

Posted by kebernet on shkurt 01, 2005 at 06:48 MD PST #

Does seem cool... If only for accessibility.! It would probaby pretty annoying though... Most TTS systems just aren't there yet.

Posted by Kevin Burton on shkurt 02, 2005 at 07:50 MD PST #