Podcast Academy

Back again with part four of the Best in Podcast Workflow Management applications …

It’s no secret that RSS Feed Management is probably the single most important issue that podcasters need to be aware of besides the audio production itself. Your RSS feed is what keeps you and your audience connected. Proper feed management is absolutely imperative, and it’s a shame that many ‘podcasters’ neglect this important issue.

Here is a bit of nostalgia: The very first episode of The.Point Podcast was recorded back in November, 2004. I spent approximately 20 minutes recording the program, and three days trying to figure out how to incorporate the audio file into Radio Userland in order to generate a valid RSS feed. I finally became so frustrated that I gave up and I decided to write the code myself.

I was able to accomplish this based on hours of research, logging snippets of code, and testing. I can remember the feeling of accomplishment that I experienced when I received the now common ‘Congratulations, Your RSS Feed is Valid‘. I also remember what a major inconvenience it was for me to manually update the feed each time I posted a new program. I should mention that I adhere to the dual feed approach: the feed that WordPress generates is for site content, and the original feed is strictly used for the podcast audio. Some people suggest that this is counterproductive. I’m comfortable using this method.

These days, managing my podcast feed could not be easier due to what I believe is one of the most important contributions to the Macintosh Podcasting Community: Feeder, by Reinvented Software.

First let me mention that in my opinion there is no other person that supports their application at the same level as Steve Harris, the developer. This application will transform the process of manual feed creation and management into something as easy as drafting a text document in Pages. You will have full access to proprietary templates, art management, file integration, embedded FTP support, validation services and archiving. If your existing feed lives on a server, you have the option of importing it directly into Feeder in order to edit, reconfigure and validate. Most importantly, your feed will be 100% iTunes Compliant.Manual RSS Feed creation and management is not for everyone. However if you share my approach, and you have never tested Feeder, I promise that you will be impressed with this cutting edge tool. It is a must for the serious podcast producer. Highly recommended. [$29.95 US]

** Let me disclose that Steve uses my Podcast Feed for some of his screenshots, and I’m grateful for this. This has nothing to do with my support and/or endorsement of Feeder. My endorsement is based solely on the quality of this application, and my feelings would be consistent without the direct reference to my personal RSS Feed. …

-ptfigg.