| Part 5 - Tracking music/video of interest |
 | In part 5 of this series, I will look at resources that will allow you to track music and video of interest. Just a reminder - links to all of the hacks in this series are available as a OPML file and as a HTML directory for later ease of use. If you have any hacks you wish to contribute, feel free to add comments or trackbacks to the posts, and I will add them to the list. |
| 41. Tracking music with Feedster |
| Feedster performs podcast searches as a feature. You can search either for the podcast show you want to subscribe to or for a podcast episode you want to hear right now. |
| To get started, go to the podcast search page, enter a search term or terms in the text box marked "What to search for", select either "Shows" or "Episodes" in the drop-down box marked "Where to Search", and click on the Search button. A results page will appear with a list of podcast sources whose description matches some or all of your search terms. At the right of each podcast listed in the results page is an orange XML button. You can add the link from this button to your RSS reader or aggregator to subscribe to that podcast feed. In the upper left corner of the page, there is another orange XML button. You can add the link from the button to subscribe to the RSS feed for your search query. |
| 42. Tracking music with Podcast Alley |
| Podcast Alley hosts a searchable podcast directory. From the home page, you can select a podcast genre (16 groupings, including technology, news, and others). If you select one of these genres, a new page will appear with a list of the genres and the first 50 podcasts in the genre you have selected. |
| Another way to search for podcasts is to type a search term or terms in the text box on the home page below "Search for a Podcast" and clicking on the "Go" button. A results page will appear with podcasts whose description contains one or more of your search terms. You can click on the podcast title to get more information on the podcast, to subscribe, or to vote on the podcast. |
| 43. Tracking music with Podcast.net |
| Podcast.net is a searchable podcast directory. You can perform searches on title and description, keywords, host, location and episode. To perform a search, go to the home page, enter a search term or terms in the text box, select the type of search from the drop-down box next to the text box, and click on the Search button. A results page will appear with a list of podcasts. You can click on the titles to see a list of episodes for that podcast. There will be a red RSS button at the top of the page. You can add the link from this button to your RSS reader or aggregator to subscribe to that podcast feed. |
| From the home page, you can also select from a list of directory topics for ease of browsing. When you click on a category, you will see a list of subcategories or a list of podcasts for the category (if there are no subcategories). There will be a red RSS button at the top of the page. You can add the link from this button to your RSS reader or aggregator to subscribe to that category to keep track of additions to the category. |
| Finally, you can also browse podcasts by tags. You can browse tags by letter from the home page (click on the letters under the search text box) or go to the Top 100 tags page to browse tags. When you look at the page for a particular tag, you can also subscribe to a RSS feed for additions to that tag. There will be a red RSS button at the top of the page. You can add the link from this button to your RSS reader or aggregator to subscribe to that tag to keep track of additions to the tag. |
| 44. Tracking music with iPodderX |
| iPodderX is a podcast client application for Macintosh and Windows, like iTunes or any other application that can play MP3 files. iPodderX also maintains a podcast directory which can be searched in several ways. |
| From the iPodderX directory page, you can browse categories by selecting a category from the drop-down box at the top of the page marked "Choose a Podcast Category". The default selection is "What's New". When you select a category, a results page will give you the number of podcasts in that category and a list of podcasts in that category with descriptions and links to the podcast websites. |
| Another search method is to enter a search term or terms in the text box marked "Search Podcasts" and press Return/Enter. The search results page will show a list of all podcasts with your search term or terms in the title or description for the podcast. |
| Note: iPodderX is changing its name to Transistr and will be moving to www.transistr.com soon. |
| 45. Tracking music with ipodder.org/indiepodder.org |
| iPodder.org was one of the first podcast directories and is still one of the largest directories available. Also available under the domain indiepodder.org, the site serves as a weblog of new podcasts and an entry point into the directory. |
| To browse the directory, go to the main directory page. You will see a list of folders with the category names. Click on any of the folders to see what podcasts are within the category. If the cetegory is broad, there may be subfolders listed. Within each category, there will be a orange XML button at the top right of the category page. This button contains a link to the OPML file containing the links for this directory. On each directory page, each listing starts with a link to the RSS feed for that podcast. |
| 46. Tracking music with Yahoo Podcasts |
| On the Yahoo Podcasts home page, you can view a list of podcasts picked by Yahoo editors, a listing of of podcasts voted on by Yahoo users, browse a list of podcasts categories, or perform searches for podcasts. |
| To search for podcasts, enter a search term or terms in the text box at the top of the home page and click the Search button. A results page will appear with a list of podcasts with your search terms in the title or description for the podcast. You can select "Series and Episodes", "Series", or "Episodes" to refine your search. To get the widest variety of results, you should select "Series and Episodes". |
| To browse podcast categories, click on any of the category links on the right side of the home page. |
| To browse by tags that Yahoo users have selected, scroll down and click on any of the tags listed on the right side of the home page. |
| 47. Tracking music with Podcasting News |
| Podcasting News is a weblog covering the podcasting industry. It also has a podcast directory and offers search capability for podcasts. |
| To browse the directory, go to the directory page. A list of the top level directory entries and their subcategories are shown. You can get more detail on a category by selecting the category in the drop-down box at the top of the page. A results page will appear with a list of subcategories for that category, and a partial list of podcasts within that category. |
| To search for podcasts, go to the search page. You can enter a search term or terms in the text box at the top of the page. A results page will appear with a list of podcasts whose title and/or description match the search terms. |
| 48. Tracking video with Vlogdir |
| Vlogdir is a directory for videoblogs. The site provides lists of recent and random videoblogs on the home page, search capability, and browsing by category. |
| To search the directory, go to the home page and enter a search term or terms in the text box at the top of the page. An advanced search page is also available. |
| 49. Tracking video with Vodstock |
| Vodstock is a directory for video weblogs. The site provides search capability and browsing by category. |
| To browse categories, go to the category page and click on any of the category topics on the left side of the page. A results page will appear with a list of videoblogs, short descriptions, and an orange "Feed" button. You can add the link from this button to your RSS reader or aggregator to subscribe to the video feed for that weblog. |
| To perform a search, go to the home page, enter a search term or terms in the text box at the top of the page and click on the Search button. A results page will appear with a list of videoblogs that match your search terms, along with short descriptions, and an orange "Feed" button. You can add the link from this button to your RSS reader or aggregator to subscribe to the video feed for that weblog. |
| 50. Tracking video with other video search engines |
| Blinkx video search from the home page. |
| Other Resources |
11:48:47 PM 
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Tuesday, January 31, 2006
