Have you ever wondered about the development in the development of podcast? Although it is a relatively recent technology, it does have a rather fascinating albeit brief history. The history behind the word, "podcast" is quite intriguing and speaks to the rapidly changing nature of this Internet community.

Podcasting is a term that was first coined in 2004, and it combines two terms: iPod and broadcasting. Ironically, this definition is not entirely accurate since neither component is completely correct. The process of podcasting or listening to podcasts requires an iPod or other portable player. In actual fact, podcasts can be listened to using any MP3 compatible device such as a desktop computer. The name "podcast" was coined in part because Apple Computer's iPod was the top-selling portable digital audio player at the time that podcasting started. In addition, no broadcast over the air broadcasting is needed either.

Even the editor of the New Oxford American Dictionary jumped onto the podcasting train with the announcement of "podcasting" phrase of 2005. for 2005. The term was defined as "a recorded digitally the radio broadcast or similar programthat is made available through the Internet to download to an audio player for personal use." The term will be added to the online version of the dictionary in their next update.

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

Different names or different meanings for the letter "P-O-D" were suggested and the most well-liked of was "Personal on Demand". Technology writer, Doc Searls came up with this term in September, 2004. Some terms like "audio-blogging" as well as podcasts" along with "web-casting" have also been offered to describe this unique kind of media distribution.

Other "pod"-derived phrases are "podcasters" (those with the ability to make podcasts) along with "podcatchers" which are the specific RSS aggregators which periodically check for and download new content automatically. The Podcatcher software allows users to download podcasts to portable music & video players.

Podcasting's popularity is growing like wildfire because of the rapid growth of MP3 players and the desire of customers to get new content. Podcasting has been booming because it allows users to take more control over the content they listen to, as well as the freedom to take their podcasts to wherever they go.

Not since blogging has a technology appeared so new and become so fast and widely adopted as podcasting. The growth of this emerging industry is expected to be rapid due to the rapid acceptance of the technology by the radio broadcast industry in 2005 and apple's iTunes distribution. The increasing popularity of podcasts challenges traditional media's traditional broadcast model.


While iTunes is just two years old, roughly 4.8 million users downloaded podcasts podcast this year, as compared with just over 800,000. in 2004. Furthermore, 11.4 million users are expected in the coming year, according to research from the Diffusion Group. Already , the Apple iTunes service offers 15,000 podcasts and listeners have registered for greater than seven million accounts.

A study by Bridge Ratings in November 2005 with radio listeners in ten national markets showed that approximately 20% of those who downloaded and heard the podcast regularly on a weekly basis. The group downloads an average of six podcasts each week, and spends about four hours per month listening to podcasts they download.

The study also predicted rapid growth for the industry in the coming years. According to Bridge Ratings, by 2010, podcast audience growth is expected to reach a conservative 45 million listeners who have never heard of an podcast. Some estimates suggest this figure will be close to 75 million by the time this article is published.

How does this affect you?

With click here increasing in frequency, podcasts offer you a highly effective way to market your services or products. One of the advantages of podcasts is that they're relatively easy and inexpensive to develop. Podcasting can help ensure that you have a better relationship with your intended audience by offering them engaging regular updates about happenings within your field. If you've got a site, then there's no reason why you need to not have a podcast available as it's not difficult to set up and can result in a significant increase in the number of visitors to your website. Therefore, in the end, podcasting must be a key element of any online marketing strategy.