An iPod to iTunes Smart Playlist

When you update your iPod to your iTunes, the digital jukebox optimizes all the information for the smaller and ever so popular MP3 player. In in other words, it tells the iPod what to think and play.

But what about if you’re in your car or out jogging and listening to your iPod (which by the way, over six million were sold since last June—Sony doesn’t have a chance!) and DJ Shuffle delivers up a sweet song or two you haven’t heard in a long time or that you know wasn’t among any of your favorites lists on your iTunes? What do bookmark that now favorite song or songs you want to listen to again later at home?

I’d love to hear your tips, but here’s mine.

I could use the On-the-Go feature to bookmark a favorite song on my iPod, but that process takes too long in my view. (Is anyone bragging about On-the-Go lists?) What I’ve done is set up a smart playlist on iTunes which I call Favorites Recently Played. It set up like this:

Now when I’m riding in my car and come across a song that I think was not starred as a favorite, I simply click on the center button three times to get to the ratings feature on the iPod and scan the wheel giving it five stars.

(If you haven’t used this feature before, the first click will enable you to move back and forth through the content of your selected song or podcast; the second click will deliver up the album cover for your selection; and the last one will enable you to rate the selection.)

So later when I again update my iPod, this little eighth wonder of the world will tell the jukebox to add that song or songs to my Favorites list. That’s it. And as for as I know, creating these type of live updating playlists is one of the only few ways I know that the iPod can tell iTunes what to think.

Oh, before I close, I just read that over eight million iPods are expected to be sold by December. I wonder what the competition will do to top that!