Podcasts and RSS Feeds

We are entering into an exciting time for our internet ministry.  In the past our web site has offered written teachings on a variety of subjects, and audio files of our Sunday Morning and Wednesday Evening "Hour of Power" services.  We are still offering these choices, but now you can also subscribe to receive RSS feeds of our written teachings and announcements, and our podcast of audio teachings.

What is an RSS Feed?

An RSS feed is a file that displays news, articles, announcements, blogs, etc. in a way that the viewer can easily browse the title and description of the article, and simply click to a link of the full article.  RSS feeds require special software (called aggregators) to view, and this software can be set to search for new articles.  We will soon be offering our teaching articles and church announcements as RSS feeds.  If you subscribe to our article feed, and have the correct software, then you can be automatically notified whenever a new article is added to our site.  You are then just a click away from viewing that article.

The announcement feed is even more simple, as you will receive the announcements as soon as they are added, with nothing more to view or read.

What is a podcast?

Imagine this...you missed Wednesday night's "Hour of Power", but you really wanted to hear the teaching.  So you plug your iPod (or other portable mp3 player) into your computer, set your software to download any new audio feeds from Silverado Cowboy Church, and you go to sleep.  The next morning, you unplug your iPod (or other portable mp3 device), plug in your earphones, and listen to the service on your way to work.  No need to burn a CD, no need to browse through the archive of audio files on our site, just set it and leave it.  It's that simple!

A podcast is a news feed that contains audio files.  Just like an RSS feed, when you have the correct software on your computer, it will automatically notify you of new audio files, and download them to your computer for listening immediately or later. It does for the internet what TiVo does for TV.  You subscribe to the feed you want to hear, and the software takes care of the rest.  *Note: you do not need a portable mp3 player in order to listen to the audio.  You may use your default media player on your computer.

What is an aggregator?

In order to listen to a podcast or view an RSS feed, you need an aggregator.  An aggregator is a program that reads rss news feeds or podcasts (some of them do both) and gives you the choice to read or download the articles or audio.

Which aggregator do I need for podcasts?

For podcasts, I use iPodder.  It is free and compatable with iTunes and Windows Media.  But there are other programs out there for this purpose.

Which aggregator should I use if I want to receive the article and announcement feeds?

There are many different software programs you can use to access these feeds. I like Feedreader because it is not too complicated, and it is free.  You can also download the Dogpile toolbar to use in your internet browser, or if you frequently use Yahoo, you can add it to your MyYahoo! page.  There are many other news aggregators out there for just about every type of internet user.

Some aggregators that do both news feeds and podcasts.  Just make sure it is compatible with your portable mp3 device (if you have one) before you purchase it.

How do I subscribe?

Choose the feed you wish to subscribe to: audio teachings, teaching articles, or announcements.  Right click on the orange RSS button (or podcast button), click "copy shortcut" and paste it into your aggregator.  Follow the directions on your aggregator and soon you will be on your way to receiving instant information from us!  It does not cost anything to subscribe, and we don't download information from your computer.  You just provide a link to your aggregator.

We hope that you enjoy your internet experience with Silverado Cowboy Church.  If you have any questions feel free to contact us!  We are here for you!