Have you ever wondered about the development in the development of podcast? While podcasting is a comparatively recent technology, it does have a rather fascinating albeit brief time. The history behind the word, "podcast" is quite fascinating and is reflective of the rapidly changing nature of this Internet community.

Podcasting is a term that was first coined in 2004, combining two terms: iPod and broadcasting. However, this definition is a bit of a misnomer as neither one of them is precise. Neither podcasting nor listening to podcasts requires an iPod or any other portable player. Actually, podcasts can be listened to via any MP3-enabled device, such as a desktop computer. The idea behind the name came in part because Apple's iPod was the top-selling device for portable audio players prior to when podcasting was first introduced. What's more, no over-the-air broadcasting is needed either.

The editors of the New Oxford American Dictionary jumped onto the podcasting train and declared "podcasting" word of the year in 2005. read more of the word was "a audio recording made digitally of a radio broadcast or similar programs, which is available via the Internet for downloading to a personal audio player." The term will be added to the online version of the dictionary during the next update.

The term, podcasting originated from journalist, Ben Hammersley, and then it was adopted by the former MTV VJ and media-entrepreneur, Adam Curry. Ms. Curry created an Applescript application that automated the process of the downloading and sync of audio files to iPods.

Other names , or alternative definitions to the letters "P-O-D" were thought of The most well-known of being "Personal On Demand". Technology writer Doc Searls came up with this phrase back in September, 2004. Terms such as "audio-blogging" audio magazines" along with "web-casting" are also offered to describe this unique form of media distribution.

Other "pod"-derived phrases include "podcasters" (those with the ability to create podcasts) and "podcatchers" - the special RSS aggregators that periodically scan for new content and download it automatically. Podcatching software allows the user to transfer podcasts onto portable audio & video players.

Podcasting's popularity is spreading quickly due to the rapid adoption of MP3 players as well as the demand of consumers to get new content. The popularity of podcasting is due to the fact that it allows users to take greater control over what they listen to and the freedom to take their podcasts on the go.

In the past, blogging has never technology been so unpredicted and was so swiftly and widely adopted as podcasting. The industry's growth is anticipated to increase rapidly because of the rapid adoption of the technology by the radio broadcast industry in 2005 as well as Apple's iTunes distribution. The growing popularity of podcasts challenges traditional the broadcast model of radio.

Although iTunes is only two years old, roughly 4.8 million users downloaded podcasts podcast for 2005 as opposed to just under 800,000 in 2004. And 11.4 million users are expected this year, according research from the Diffusion Group. Already , the Apple iTunes service offers 15,000 podcasts and users have registered for more than 7 million subscriptions.

A study by Bridge Ratings in November 2005 featuring radio listeners from 10 markets across the country found that about 20% of listeners who have downloaded and heard an podcast listen to them on a regular basis. This group downloads an average of six podcasts each week, and spends an average of four hours each month listening to podcasts downloaded.

This study projected even more massive growth in the market in the coming years. As per Bridge Ratings, by 2010, podcast audience growth is projected to reach an average of 45 million viewers who have ever listened to the podcast. According to estimates, this number could be closer to 75 million by the time this article is published.

What is the impact on you?


With podcast listening increasing exponentially, podcasts offer you a extremely effective tool to promote your services or products. The benefit of podcasts is that they are very simple and cost-effective to produce. Podcasting can facilitate the connection of the people you want to reach by offering them interesting frequently updated, relevant and timely information about the goings on within your field. If you've got a website then there's no reason you need to not have an online podcast accessible as it's not difficult to establish and could lead to a significant increase in traffic to your site. Thus, it's clear that podcasting can be a vital component of any online advertising campaign.