Georgia Podcast Network

From Wikipedia: A podcast is a collection of digital media files which is distributed over the Internet, often using syndication feeds, for playback on portable media players and personal computers.

Nope. You can also watch or listen to them on your computer.

The Georgia Podcast Network is primarily two things:

• A place for Georgians to host podcasts for free
• An open, opt-in directory of podcasts that are either Georgia-focused or hosted by people who live in Georgia

We also write a blog.

To get the most out of the Georgia Podcast Network, you should register for an account. With an account you can:

• leave comments
• rate podcasts
• host your own podcasts on GAPN
• contribute episodes to group podcasts others have created
• add podcasts you host on other web sites to the podcast directory

You don't need an account to browse the podcast directory or to listen to/watch podcasts.

There is some jargon that's helpful to learn when using the site.

A network program is a podcast hosted on the Georgia Podcast Network.

An affiliate program is a podcast hosted on a separate web site.

Programs are collections of episodes. Episodes of network programs are MP3 audio or M4V video that are added by GAPN users. Episodes of affiliate programs are listed automatically from the show's RSS feed.

When you create a network program, you have the option to make it a group program. Any registered member can add an episode to a group program. If you want to limit who can add episodes to your network program, you should not enable this option.

At a minimum, you need a title, a description and some MP3 audio or M4V video to post. While it's not mandatory, we strongly recommend creating album artwork for your podcast to visually distinguish it when it appears in the directory, on the homepage, in iTunes, and other places. Album artwork is simply a 600x600 JPEG image. You can download a Photoshop template by clicking here. We also recommend recording your first episode before adding your podcast on the site. When you've got those materials together, go to the create network program page.

By hosting a podcast on GAPN, you agree that:

• You live in Georgia OR your podcast is focused on Georgia-related topics
• You will not post copyrighted material without the copyright holder's permission
• You will not threaten anyone or post something intended to incite violence
• You will not violate anyone's privacy
• You will not post spam
• You agree to the copyright terms in the Copyrights section of the FAQ

We reserve the right to remove a podcast for any reason, but violating the above terms will certainly get your podcast removed. Repeat offenders may have their accounts suspended.

Anyone on the site can post episodes to a group podcast. The idea is to allow many people to contribute episodes to a podcast without requiring any of them to make an ongoing hosting commitment.

Before creating a group podcast, you should browse the program directory to see if a group podcast with a similar topic already exists or not. If so, we encourage you to post episodes that podcast instead of creating a new one.

Now you should add an episode.

Episodes are either MP3 audio or M4V video. We don't do any server-side encoding, so it's up to you to ensure files are compatible with as many devices as possible.

MP3 audio should be encoded at a sample rate of 44.1 kHz, 22.05 kHz or 11.025 kHz and a constant bitrate. The Adobe Flash Player often has trouble with file encoded at other bitrates.

M4V video should be encoded at 640x480 (standard) or 640x360 (widescreen) resolution with the H.264 codec. The goal is to be compatible with the Flash 9 player and with iPods.

The easiest way to accomplish this is to pay $30 for Quicktime Pro and use the "export for iPod" setting. There is also open source software such as ffmpeg and MPlayer available that will accomplish this for free, but which is somewhat more complicated to use.

If you don't use the "export for iPod" option but you're still using Quicktime Pro to export video, make sure to check the "Enable streaming" option in the export settings.

For video, we recommend you upload a small clip to test for compatibility before uploading any large files.

GAPN works similar to how a group blog such as Tondee's Tavern or Dawg Sports works. A program on GAPN is like a diary on one of those sites: everybody gets a program, but not everybody gets to post stuff that appears on the front page and in the primary RSS feed.

Amber, Rusty and some other trusted members decide what goes on the front page. Drop an email to info@gapodcastnetwork.com and give us an earful if you think your episode should be promoted to the front page, but hasn't been.

You can check the network programs page for a list of all episodes that appear on GAPN, including those that haven't been promoted to the front page. You can also subscribe to the network programs RSS feed in iTunes or your favorite feed reader.

Our goal is for the Georgia Podcast Network to provide a comprehensive directory or Georgia-based and Georgia-focused podcasts. We hope you want to participate!

Your podcast will be listed in the affiliate directory. As you post new episodes, they will show up in the affiliate programs RSS feed and on the affiliate programs page.

We don't hotlink your media on any web pages. We attempt to drive all web traffic to your site rather than keep it pent up on our site.

Our RSS feeds do have enclosures in them, however, so you may want to consider that before adding your program as an affiliate. We don't modify the URL of your media files, so if you use Feedburner, Podtrac or a similar service to track statistics, having them listed in our affiliate programs RSS feed shouldn't interfere with that.

By adding your podcast to the directory as an affiliate, you agree:

• You are a host or technical adminstrator of the podcast
• You are either located in Georgia or your podcast is focused on Georgia-related topics
• Your podcast is not spam
• You grant the Georgia Podcast Network permission to:
  • Link to media files in the affiliate programs RSS feed
  • List your podcast in the podcast directory
  • List episodes of your podcast on the affiliate programs page
  • Reprint full text descriptions from episodes

You can opt out of an affiliate listing at any time by deleting it or sending an email to info@gapodcastnetwork.com. We reserve the right to remove a podcast from the directory for any reason. Violating the above terms are the most likely causes which will get one removed. Repeat offenders may have their accounts suspended.

When commenting, please:

• Be respectful toward authors and commenters
• Don't post copyrighted material without permission from the copyright holder
• Don't threaten or harass anyone
• Don't violate anyone's privacy
• Make your point in one or two comments, then let other people have their say before responding again

Comments violating those rules may be deleted, and the commenter's account may be suspended.

You encoded your video according to the instructions in How should I format my media files? right? If you're getting sound but no video, you might want to make double check.

If the video isn't working at all, check what version of the Adobe Flash player is installed. H.264 video requires version 9.0.100 or higher. If your version is lower than that, upgrade your Flash player and restart your browser.

If you're still having problems, email us at info@gapodcastnetwork.com.

Try installing the free Apple Quicktime player.

If you would like to place an audio or video ad in a particular podcast, you should contact the author using one of the methods he or she (hopefully) provided on the program's page.

If you would like to place a banner ad or text ad, email us at ads@gapodcastnetwork.com.

Authors maintain all rights to their network program's content (including all artwork and associated descriptions). By posting it here they grant GAPN permission to distribute and publicize it, including reposting content elsewhere.

Individual authors are responsible for all fees due to copyright holders and repercussions (legal, financial, and otherwise) that may be incurred from including copyrighted material in their podcasts.

Site logos and design are copyright 2008 Georgia Podcast Network, Inc., all rights reserved.

Authors can choose from a variety of licenses for their podcasts, from a totally unrestricted public domain license to all rights reserved, and many options in-between. Under some of the less restrictive licenses it may not be necessary to contact anyone, but it's always a good idea to contact the author before reposting material elsewhere.

For all other inquiries or if you don't know who you should contact, send an email to info@gapodcastnetwork.com.

If we receive complaints from copyright holders, they will be addressed on a case-by-case basis, which may result in removal of the offending material. Here are some general guidelines which should not be taken as legal advice:

• In network programs, we're generally supportive of podcasters using short excerpts of material for educational or critical purposes so long as proper attribution is given to the copyright holder.
• If you are reposting lengthy excerpts, sampling, or reposting something in its entirety, please get the copyright holder's permission and pay any associated fees.

Unfortunately this means (for example) we can't support music podcasts that play entire songs with all rights reserved copyrights, unless you are willing to pony up for fees to the RIAA. We can support podcasts that contain Creative Commons music though.

Please email info@gapodcastnetwork.com. We take the rights of copyright holders very seriously and try as hard as we can to monitor content that appears here, but since content is user-generated it's impossible for administrators to listen to or watch everything. We will respond very quickly to these inquiries. Just provide a link to the offending material and a brief description, and we'll remove it if we agree that there is a violation of your copyright.

GAPN is just linking to affiliate content, not hosting it on our servers. We take no responsibility for affiliate content, which is clearly labeled anywhere it appears on the site. Please contact the author if you believe your copyright was violated.

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Information about local podcasting-related events, updates about what's going on with the web site, and possibly a few other things as they occur to us.

No more than once per month, and sometimes less often.