Do you have a flair for drama? Or maybe you have a message or vision that you can't wait to share with the world? Are you a frustrated musician or artist? Then let me introduce you to an amazing new tool that might be just the thing to get you noticed. I'm referring to podcasting. The term was created by combining two words, "iPod" and "broadcasting". When you join the power of broadcasting with the convenience of the iPod, you get the hottest communications medium ever created: podcasting.

While the term itself refers to the "iPod", it's not necessary to have one in order to access and listen to podcasts. Other devices like an MP3 player or a computer can also be used for playing podcasts.

Podcasting is a unique new means of spreading your audio files across the Internet. Usually these files are created in MP3 format so that they can be downloaded automatically. Once downloaded, they can be listened to practically anytime and anywhere.

The key factor behind podcasting's success and effectiveness is how it is distributed. You can access a podcast through subscriptions to feeds provided by "podcatching" software. These aggregators automate the somewhat difficult process of both downloading and storing individual podcasts.

Specific types of podcatching programs enable the movement of podcasts to a portable MP3 player. Just imagine starting the day listening to your favorite podcast as you are getting ready for work or school. Are you planning a vacation? Why not take your mp3 player along with you, so you can catch-up on listening to any podcasts you might have missed.

And be sure to bring a portable recording device with you while you're on vacation. That way you can keep a recorded account of your experiences, important events, and thoughts about where you've been and what you've seen. This could be used to start your own podcast.

Maybe you're still having flashbacks about that near death incident on the interstate you experienced as you were driving to work a couple months ago. Have you considered sharing this with the world? It might help other people who are trying to work through similar experiences.

The fact is, practically anyone can create his or her own podcast. When the medium was still brand new, several of the earlier podcasts focused on the concept of blogging. One of the alternate names for podcasting when it was in its infancy was "blogcasting". You see, instead of writing your thoughts in words, podcasting allows you to voice them.

However, thanks to the increasing variety of podcast content, you don't even have to talk. Podcasting content is becoming so inclusive that you can basically put together your own audio masterpiece and then broadcast it over the Internet.

For example, you could play your own original music; record the sound of your dog barking, or frogs croaking, your sister sneezing, the wind blowing, birds chirping. You name it!

Thanks to the marvel of podcasting, you can literally create your very own audio tableau. While this probably won't win you any votes from the millions and millions of podcast subscribers from all over the world, if you consider yourself an artist, then why worry about what anyone thinks?

The number of hits on the Internet for the term "podcasting" is estimated to be in excess of ten million. Which means that a lot of people are jumping on board and taking advantage of this new medium. It's a wave that's flooding the Internet and impacting global communication. Why wouldn't you want to be a part of it? This could be your shot at achieving much more than just "fifteen minutes of fame."

Are you interested in joining the YouTube community? If you are, you will need to register for a free YouTube membership account. To register, you need to fill out a short form, which will ask you a few personal questions. In a matter of minutes, you can be on your way to rating or reviewing the YouTube videos you watch or even uploading your own videos! How fun does that sound?

Although YouTube is a lot of fun, whether you are only interested in watching videos or if you want to upload your own, YouTube, like all other online websites, has a number of rules and restrictions. It is not only important that you know those rules, but that you follow them, as there are a number of consequences for not. Just a few of the rules enforced on YouTube are outlined below.

If you are only interested in watching YouTube videos, not necessarily uploading your own, you will find that there are less rules and restrictions for you. One of the most common rules surrounds registering for a free YouTube account. Only a minimal amount of personal information is asked of you, like your name, country, zip code, birth date, and gender, but you are advised to be truthful. Also, there is no need for you to create multiple YouTube accounts. Should you forget your YouTube login information, you should be able to follow YouTube's instructions to retrieve your YouTube sign in name, as well as your password.

Another rule that many YouTube video watchers have to follow concerns leaving comments on YouTube video pages or participating in the YouTube forums. Whenever you leave comments for a YouTube video submitter, you are advised to use your best judgment. Of course, you are able to leave negative feedback, if you want, but you are advised to do so in a tasteful matter. You will want to avoid foul language and definitely do not threaten any other YouTube members. Doing so, will likely not only get your message revoked, but you may also have your YouTube account suspended.

As it was previously mentioned, if you are planning on uploading videos to YouTube and sharing them with other internet users, you are more likely to find a larger number of rules to follow. One of those rules involves the content of your video. You are advised against posting content that is illegal in nature. YouTube encourages you to use caution when making your videos, as you never really know who will be watching them. For instance, now many police departments are starting to use the internet to help them solve crimes. So, not only do you have to worry about online predators viewing your YouTube videos, but you also have to worry about law enforcement doing the same thing.

In connection with your YouTube video content, you also need to make sure that your video content is actually yours. In recent times, there have been many instances where YouTube made it on the news for having a large number of copyright materials on their website. This is illegal. You will want to make sure that videos you post online were actually made by you. Before using music clips, television clips, or movie clips, you need to get permission to do so. If you fail to get permission, you are, essentially, stealing someone's work.

The above mentioned rules are just a few of the many that you may be expected to follow when using YouTube. As it was stated above, one consequence to violating the YouTube rules is having your account suspended. If you submitted a video that went against YouTube's guidelines, your video may be removed. Should you be caught committing a crime, whether it be using drugs, drinking underage, or taping a robbery, you may also be prosecuted for your actions. That is why, for your own safety and wellbeing, you not only need to know all of YouTube's rules, but you also follow them at all times.

Through web conferencing, there is an opportunity to chat and communicate with co-workers, even facilitate meetings, presentations and demonstrations. Web conferencing not just offers communication exchange but also allows participants to trade documents, share applications, access desktops, use whiteboards and PowerPoint.

How did this technology started?

Lucy P. Roberts, author of "History of Web Conferencing – Multifunction Conferencing Comes of Age" (2004) traced the roots of web conferencing long before there is internet.

The University of Illinois developed a system known as PLATO during the 1960s. This is for their Computer-based Education Research Laboratory (CERL). This is just a small system supporting just a single classroom of terminals connected to one mainframe computer. In 1972, the terminals being supported by PLATO increased to over a thousand.

Although PLATO was long before internet technology and it is mainly designed for computer-based education, it paved several communication features that became the foundation for web conferencing and instant messaging. PLATO Notes, was the world's first online messaging boards, while Personal Notes is used for electronic mails. Talkomatic is used for real-time instant messaging or for chat. PLATO even developed a tool for monitor mode or remote screen sharing.

David Wooley, creator of PLATO Notes in 1973, eventually designed Lotus Notes which was released in 1989. Lotus Notes is mainly an e-mail client, but it can also be used as an instant messaging client, browser, notebook, and calendar reservation client. Roberts cited that Lotus Notes was the first commercially released product that offered document sharing, user-created data-bases and remote location communication.

The PLATO technology gave birth to several communication tools that paved the way for web conferencing. But it wasn't until mid-1990s that the complete web conferencing started to shape up and become available in the market.
Roberts cited PlaceWare as one of the first companies to provide complete web conferencing. It was developed by Xerox Palo Alto Research Center in the 1990s. In 2003, Microsoft acquired PlaceWare and renamed its core product Microsoft Office Live Meeting.

Meanwhile, file sharing started proliferating the World Wide Web. Peer to peer (P2P) file sharing refers to sharing of file containing audio, video, data or anything in digital format. With peer to peer file sharing, peers act as equals, the roles of clients and servers are merged. There is no central server that manages the network nor a central router.
Peer to peer file sharing was seen as a way of hosting web conferencing, rather than running the application through a single server. With this P2P format, it is more dynamic and involving.

Groove was the first to apply the P2P concept in web conferencing. It was released on 2000 and was upgraded in 2002 with impressive results. WiredRed Software, in 2003, released the first web conferencing software that does not require significant installation time.

Most web conferencing providers offer packages that contains voice over IP,co-browsing and application sharing, additional features that can be readily available like polls, event management, PowerPoint presentation, playback, recording and live annotation and mark-up.

With a lot of web conferencing providers and vendors in the market today, web conferencing is becoming more and more common. A lot of people are using this technology in their businesses and companies. New development in the web conferencing system is inevitable due to competition and continuous technological innovation.

Are you interested in uploading any videos that you may have made to the YouTube website? YouTube is a website that is often referred to as a video sharing website. It allows internet users, like you, to upload and share any videos that they have made. With a large number of members and site visitors, having your video or videos displayed on YouTube is likely to get your videos thousands of views!

If this is your first time uploading a video to the YouTube website, you may be wondering exactly how you can go about doing so. The good news is that uploading videos to YouTube is a relatively easy process. YouTube not only gives you step-by-step instructions on how to upload your videos, but they also provide you with video uploading tips; tips that will not only make it possible for your videos to be uploaded, but tips that will also help to improve their quality.

If you have used YouTube before, even just to watch videos, you likely already know that you need to have a YouTube account before you can start uploading and sharing your videos. Registering for you a YouTube account is not only free, but it is also easy. You only need to answer a few personal questions. For instance, you are asked your name, your zip code, the country you live in, your email address, your birth date, and your gender. Once you submit the registration form, you will be sent a verification email. Once you have followed the instructions in that email, you should be able to start uploading videos to YouTube right away.

Before uploading your video to the YouTube website, you will need to get it on your computer. Once you have done so, you will want to review it. This can be done with a movie editing software program. Should you wish to edit your video before submitting it to YouTube, now is the time to do so. When editing your YouTube video or saving it, YouTube encourages to you save it as a .Divx or .Xvid file. They also suggest making sure that your audio is in the .mp3 format. Once you have officially saved your video on your computer, you can begin to upload it to the YouTube website.

The first step is to make sure that you are signed into your YouTube account. Once you are, you will need to click on the "Upload Videos," link, which can be found at the top of the YouTube website. You will then be brought to a page where you will be asked to describe your video. YouTube requests that you are descriptive as possible. Once you have entered in as much information about your video as you can, you will then need to click on the "Go Upload a File," link. This will allow you to select a file from your computer; the file that contains your recently saved video. Once you have selected the right video, your video will automatically start uploading, after have confirmed your actions.

Speaking of the uploading process, you will find that the amount of time it takes for your video to upload to the YouTube website will vary. The larger your video file size is, the longer it will take for your video to upload to the YouTube website. In all honesty, YouTube states that it could only take a few minutes, but that it could also take as long as an hour. In addition to the size of your video file, the type of internet connection you have will also have an impact on your upload times. For instance, if you have a dialup internet connection, it will take longer for your videos to upload than it would if you had DSL or cable internet.

YouTube states that within twenty-four hours of your video being uploaded, your video should appear listed under the correct category, as well as appear in YouTube video searches. This is when your videos will start seeing the most views, as many internet users search for videos that meet their interests.

In recent years, the popularity of the internet has skyrocketed. Affordable computers and affordable internet service makes it easier for individuals to enjoy everything that the internet has to offer, including online video websites. If you are looking to seek entertainment online, it is likely that you will get good use out of these types of websites, namely Google Video, if you haven't already.

Online video websites, such as Google Video, are websites that allow internet users to watch videos online. These videos are ones that have been uploaded to the site. In addition to giving internet users the ability to watch online videos, many websites also allow internet users to create, upload, and share their own videos. This often results in a larger selection of online videos for you to choose form.

As previously mentioned, Google Video is known as being one of the most popular online video sites. This is largely due in part to the number of videos that they have available online. If you have never visited the Google Video website before, you may be wondering what types of videos are available. The answer literally includes a large number of them. In fact, the number is so large that Google had to develop a way to sort out and categorize each of their videos.

One of the many categories that you can find on Google Video includes comedy. Comedy videos are extremely popular online. This is because the videos themselves can focus on a wide range of different issues and topics. It is not uncommon to find videos that are mocking popular figures, from a comedy club, or from an activity that was unscripted. Whichever type of comedy video you end up viewing on Google Video, it is likely that you will get a good laugh.

Another one of the many categories that you can find on Google Video is music videos. The music video category includes a collection of music videos. Some of those videos are from well known artists, while others are from up and coming musicians. With Google Video, you should be able to view a number of these videos free of charge, but there are some that you may be required to pay for. If you must pay to watch a music video, you will typically only have to pay a small fee, one that is typically two dollars or less.

Television shows are one of the most popular categories on Google Video. The television show category has a collection of videos that are often full length versions of your favorite television shows. These television shows not only include hot primetime shows, but shows that are for children as well. As with music videos, you are often required to pay a small fee to watch these television show videos.

Sports is another popular category that can be found on Google Video. The videos in this category are often associated with sports, in one way or another. It is not uncommon to find sports recaps, videos of amazing plays, or interviews with athletes. You should easily be able to find videos on basketball, baseball, football, soccer, and bike racing.

As stated above, there are a number of different videos that you must pay to watch. It is a good idea to be on the lookout for daily specials. Google Video is known to offer free showings of numerous videos, videos that you would otherwise be charged for watching. Whether you watch a free video or one that you must pay for, it is easy to see that you have a number of different videos categories to choose form.

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