Podcast Terminology

Podcasting is itself a new term, and there's some confusion around what is and isn't a podcast.  Wikipedia has a good detailed description of what podcasting is, but in a nutshell it's about providing aggregated RSS feeds of audio shows.

AllPodcasts uses three additional terms to clarify some aspects of podcasting.  These three terms come from analogies in the TV world:

1. Podcast Episode:  This is a single audio show plus associated RSS metadata (title, description, enclosure, etc.)
    
2. Podcast Series:  This is an ongoing series of audio shows, maybe on a schedule, maybe not. A podcast series typically has its own specific RSS feed.
    
3. Podcast Channel:  This is an aggregation of feeds or series, in much the same way a TV channel is an aggregation of TV series and programmes.  A podcast channel can be created by anyone and may have nothing to do with the actual producers of the show.  A podcast channel typically has its own OPML feed.