podcasting

Podcasts, says Sue Fidler, are for everybody. Even the Queen is getting involved.

Podcasting is a method of transferring a file from a webserver to a user's machine - normally a PC. It is done by what is known as 'push' technology: the file is automatically downloaded, or pushed, to subscribers.

The steps are like those of any web broadcast. An MP3 (sound) file is created and listed on a website with a download button. Unlike a normal audio file, however, a podcast is also listed with a 'feed URL'. A user subscribes to the feed URL on their 'podcast receiver', and each time a new 'episode' of the podcast is published the receiver automatically downloads it. The user can store it, play it or transfer it to an MP3 player.


The podcast receiver - examples include iTunes and Juice - is a piece of 'always-on' software that scans the web for updates to subscribed feeds.

It can be set to scan at a certain frequency - daily, weekly and so on - and told what to do with the file, whether that's to save it or archive it.

With internet access and music players increasingly common on mobiles, it is possible for people to have all the necessary technology on one piece of hardware. This does away with the need to transfer podcasts from a PC to an MP3 player.

Many people don't realise that podcasts can be audio (MP3) or video (MP4) files. Of course, the user needs the right player, but the push technology is exactly the same.

Normally, podcasts are listed at regular intervals, like a daily or weekly news item or story. They don't need to be from a single voice, but they do need to be thematically coherent or users will become frustrated. One-off events, such as the Queen's Christmas speech, aren't true podcasts, because it isn't necessary for users to subscribe to a series to access them. But when the Queen joins in, it shows new media has arrived in the mainstream.

online campaigns

E-campaigning - using web-based tools to support your campaigning activity - offers many advantages over paper-based methods.

Websites provide neat, easily managed and easily updated 'brochures' about the campaign. The internet offers a great way to manage data capture, form-filling, petition sign-ups and so on. Email is a great way to communicate cheaply and regularly with supporters. SMS is also a cheap and immediate way to communicate, particularly with younger and more active campaigners who might turn their noses up at a piece of post.

But critical to the success of any campaign, on or offline, is planning the communications cycle after the launch. Planning a website, the PR and advertising to set the world alight with your burning issue is only the first step. All too often, the launch becomes the focal point of everyone's energy and what happens next is forgotten.


Planning for the post-launch activity is critical, both for any chance of campaign success and for the detailed planning before launch. If you haven't thought about how you are going to communicate, how do you know what data to capture, what data protection statements you need or how you are going to deal with sign-ups?

E-campaigns should also have a full rolling communications and marketing plan. Charities need to think about what will be done to enliven the website and get visitors back - what will the emails contain and how often will they be sent and to whom? Are the campaigners being asked to undertake a series of actions leading them up a campaign ladder until they are marching the streets?

Without forward planning, the launch may be a raging hit with the media, but the ongoing campaign will be a damp squib when the public is left with a single day's PR and no ongoing interaction.