Publishing a Podcast with iWeb


As mentioned earlier in this chapter, iWeb (Figure 5.21) is part of Apple's iLife '06 software suite. One of iWeb's chief capabilities is to allow the quick and truly painless publication of a podcast to the iTunes Podcast Directory via a .Mac account. Now, you don't actually have to have a .Mac account to use iWeb, but for the purposes of this tutorial, I'll assume that you do (because a free trial account is available).

Figure 5.21. iWeb is a powerful tool for publishing Web sitesand podcasts too!


OK, so you've created a podcastan audio podcast or a video podcast; it doesn't really matter. The important thing is that you've got the podcast in your hot little hand. You've spend hours recording and refining it, and now you need to get it out to the world. I'll show you in a few easy steps how to publish your podcast by putting it on a Web page, placing the page on the Internet, and then listing your podcast in the iTunes Podcast Directory. Fortunately, it's a snap with iWeb!

.Mac

.Mac (Figure 5.22) is a complete Internet service that offers e-mail, 1 GB of hard disk space that can be used with iDisk (basically, an external hard drive), or Backup 3 (a way to protect your important files).The key features of .Mac for podcasters are the Photocasting services and the ability to publish podcasts via iWeb. Publishing a podcasting Web page with iWeb is so simple that it is quite literally one click; that's it. Although .Mac is aimed mainly at Macintosh enthusiasts, it does have a limited set of features for non-Mac users.

Figure 5.22. .Mac offers a powerful set of useful Internet features.



Choose a Web-page Style

Start by opening iWeb. When it opens, you get a screen that asks you to choose a template for your Web page (Figure 5.23).

Figure 5.23. Pick a style that suits your tastes.


An even dozen styles of templates are available; keep in mind that the templates can be changed radically, if you so desire. Each of these 12 templates has 6 prefabricated pages: Welcome, About Me, Photos, Movie, Blog, and Podcast. For the sake of simplicity (and because you're reading a podcasting book), choose the Podcast template.

Create the Entries Page

This part is very easy. Start by clicking Entries in the Site Organizer on the left side of the iWeb screen. The various fields in the Entries page you selected are filled with gibberish or other placeholder text. Simply click the area you want to change, and enter your own information.

Change the title and the description of the podcast, and of course, you also want to insert a picture for your podcast (Figure 5.24). You can accomplish this simply by dragging a picture into the template.

Figure 5.24. Find the picture you want to put on the page, and simply drag it over. You can drag directly from your Mac Desktop to the Web page.


When the picture is in place and the text is written (Figure 5.25), the Entries page is ready to go except for the podcast itself.

Figure 5.25. The Entries page lists the most recent podcasts (if any).


To add the podcast, click the Media button at the bottom of the iWeb window to display the Media Browser; then click the Audio button at the top of the Media Browser, and select iTunes in the top pane to see a list of MP3 or AAC files in your iTunes library. Select your podcast, which I assume is already in your iTunes library (Figure 5.26). When the podcast is in place, you're ready to move to the Podcast page.

Figure 5.26. Select your podcast in the iTunes library.


Create the Podcast Page

Back in iWeb, click Podcast in the Site Organizer on the left side of the window to open the Podcast page. The Podcast page is the main page, so it contains information such as the name of the podcast, the byline of the podcast, and the descriptive text (Figure 5.27). Again, the template has gibberish or placeholder text that you can simply click to change. Type the information you want, and a very straightforward two-page podcasting site is ready to go.

Figure 5.27. The Podcast page contains important information such as the byline of your podcast, your name, and the name of the podcast series.


Publish the Podcast to the iTunes Podcast Directory

When the pages are ready, you can send the podcast to the iTunes Pod-cast Directory by choosing File > Submit Podcast to iTunes (Figure 5.28). When you do this, you immediately get a warning about content rights (Figure 5.29), advising you that you are not to use any music or other materials that are copyrighted (unless you have permission to do so).

Figure 5.28. Choose File > Submit Podcast to iTunes.


Figure 5.29. You are warned not to use copyrighted material.


Next up, you need to enter your copyright information (Figure 5.30), sign in with your .Mac address or Apple ID (Figure 5.31), formally submit the podcast to iTunes (Figure 5.32), wait for the podcast to upload, and then review the podcast information (Figure 5.33). When all this is done, the process is complete, and your podcast goes into queue for review by the powers that be at Apple. If it passes muster, the podcast appears in the directory within a few days!

Figure 5.30. Enter your copyright information.


Figure 5.31. Sign in with your .Mac address or Apple ID.


Figure 5.32. Submit the podcast to the iTunes directory, and wait for it to upload.


Figure 5.33. Look over the final information before completing the process.





Secrets of Podcasting, Second Edition. Audio and Video Blogging for the Masses
Secrets of Podcasting, Second Edition: Audio Blogging for the Masses (2nd Edition)
ISBN: 0321438434
EAN: 2147483647
Year: 2004
Pages: 89

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