Need: A selection of podcast publishing tools designed to promote and advance a common set of agreed upon standards.

Following on from my post last week, Podcast Standards: Post 1 - Call to Action, our next step in solving this quandary of standards implementation in the podcast industry is that of publishing tools. Tools are critical in development and publishing scenarios of any podcast. It is my professional opinion though, the current selection of publishing tools, while good, are lacking in many areas. 

One area that is lacking tremendously is the inconsistent use of tag terminology from one application to another. Some apps use the term “episode name”, others use “episode title”, and yet others may just use the word “episode.” It can get confusing if you’re just starting out! Moreover, the ability to properly deal with multiple podcatcher applications like iTunes, Zune, and ZENcast Organizer is futile when one considers their differences in the use and presentation of meta-data. These represent the short list! We also have Web-based directories to deal with and this creates a murky situation. Case in point. Think about the various categories used in the iTunes directory and how they differ from a directory like Podcast Pickle which uses its own selection of categories. It’s daunting to keep an angle on podcast development strategies when the landscape is constantly shifting and no standards exist! What are we to do?

To begin with, we need to get a sample of what tools that are in common use and their general characteristics. Please comment on the following questions:

First, please list all podcast publishing tools you are familiar with so we can gather an authoritative list. This includes desktop applications and blog plugins.

Next, after listing the various tools, please rate the advantages and disadvantages of those tools you depend on to publish your feeds. Be specific -

I look forward to compiling a list of podcast publishing tools, their current strengths, and your ideas on how to make them better. Remember though, we’re focused on standards development so keep in mind how any changes will impact our challenge. As always, if you you feel a need to have a deeper discussion on this topic please feel free to contact me at mharper@podcast-tuneup.com