The functionality of the whole system is dependent on the presence of a Podcast RSS feed. To start from the outset, a podcast is a regular delivery of audio or video files, which are collectively referred to as episodes, to the podcast client of a user. Users of podcasts are referred to as subscribers, and the podcast client is the piece of software that enables users to subscribe to a feed for a podcast. A podcast client is a piece of software that connects to the internet in order to search for a certain file that the user has either subscribed to or specifically instructed the program to seek for. This file is an RSS feed, which is a piece of machine-readable code that transmits information back to the podcast client. Those clients may read it. RSS feeds were first used for blogging and the distribution of blog posts to subscribers. Today, however, RSS feeds may be used to spread almost any sort of information. However, as time went on, a few individuals had the idea of containing information about media files inside the RSS feed so that software could be created to identify that information and download the files that were described. As time went on, more and more people came up with this concept.
The Podcast RSS feeds were very popular, and as a result, podcast applications were rapidly developed to provide users access to the newly developed codec. The creation of a podcast allowed for the efficient and low-cost distribution of episodes to subscribers. Users could rely on the podcast client to do the work for them, keeping track of numerous podcast rss feeds that interested them and downloading the files to be viewed whenever they wished rather than being required to visit the site that hosted the files every time they wanted to know if a new episode was released. This eliminated the need for subscribers to visit the site that hosted the files every time they wanted to know if a new episode was released.
Podcast RSS feeds are currently used to disseminate a variety of podcasts, each of which is a sort of podcast in and of itself. Some producers use it as a method to share a comedy or news program that they make, while others use podcasting as a means to share music files that they generate, and still others use podcasting as a means to share video files that they have made and to promote their work. Podcasting gives creators the opportunity to become famous on radio or television without making the significant time and financial commitment that would normally be necessary for such a career move. Due to the fact that podcasting has such a low barrier to entry, requiring little more than a server and a domain to host the site in addition to a method to record the media, thousands of individuals who otherwise would not have the opportunity to work in a media environment now have the opportunity to do so thanks to their podcast rss feeds.
People who have far lesser budgets are able to compete in some manner because podcast RSS feeds enable media publication via the internet for a fraction of the expense of traditional types of media distribution. However, podcast rss feeds are also attracting more established companies and groups, bringing people from NPR radio stations and news organizations like CNN, both of which use podcasting as yet another means of distributing their product to end users. This is a trend that is expected to continue in the near future.