The Apple iPod has brought a great number of advancments to the world of portable music, but more importantly it has also brought to light recently the popularity and capability of a new form of blogging - the Podcast. With iTunes 5, Apple Computer brought Podcasting into the public’s eye with its support for this now popular feature.

This brought a boon to bloggers, as now the traditional all-text blog had a voice - a real voice. Now bloggers could share their views with a whole new audience, who months ago would have known nothing about Podcasting. More importantly, this format was portable, so now bloggers were no longer tied to the computer screen and the internet connection.

But now, with the recent release of the 5th generation of the iPod, in what some people are calling the Video iPod, there is another chance to reach your audience. Princeton University has launched vodcasts.

According to University Channel Executive Director Donna Liu:

Podcasts and vodcasts take advantage of "the Internet’s potential for distribution to a bigger audience for fantastic content not [previously] going anywhere,".

The Wilson School launched the University Channel this summer in an effort to grant widespread access to academic events for a broad audience. Liu said she first added podcasting because "commercial media doesn’t put out full-length presentations" of interesting lectures and speeches, using only short clips during news broadcasts instead

With Vodcasts (and Podcasts) comes an amazing new medium for promoting yourself and your thoughts, and gaining an even greater audience for blog. Just remember to smile for the camera!

Technorati Tags: Podcasting and Vodcasting

Scott Goldblatt also write daily at his personal blog The Parental Olympian