Ever wonder about the evolution of the podcast? Although podcasting is a young technology it still has an interesting, albeit short time. The story behind the word, "podcast" is quite interesting and reflects the rapidly changing nature of that Internet community.

Podcasting is a term that was only coined in the year 2004 by combining two terms: iPod and broadcasting. It is ironic that this definition is not entirely accurate because neither of the components is accurate. Listening to or podcasting podcasts requires an iPod or another portable player. In actual fact, podcasts can be listened to using any MP3 compatible device, such as a desktop computer. The idea behind the name came simply because Apple's iPod was the most popular device for portable audio players at the time that podcasting began. In addition, no broadcast over the air broadcasting is needed either.


The editors at the New Oxford American Dictionary jumped onto the podcasting train with the announcement of "podcasting" as the word to watch in 2005. The word was defined as "a digital recording of the radio broadcast or similar programthat can be accessed through the Internet for download onto a personal audio player." The word could be added in the online dictionary in the next update.

The term"podcasting" came into use by journalist Ben Hammersley, and then became popularized by the former MTV VJ and media entrepreneur, Adam Curry. The late Mr. Curry created an Applescript application that automatized the process of the downloading and sync of audio files onto iPods.

Different names or different possible interpretations of "P-O-D" were proposed and the most well-liked of was "Personal on Demand". read more , Doc Searls came up with this term in September 2004. Some terms like "audio-blogging" and magazine audio" along with "web-casting" are also used to describe this particular kind of media distribution.

Other "pod"-derived words include "podcasters" (those who make podcasts) along with "podcatchers" - the special RSS aggregators, which regularly check for and download new content automatically. Podcatching software permits users to copy podcasts onto portable audio & video players.

Podcasting's popularity is spreading like wildfire because of the rapid rise of MP3 players and the desire of customers to receive new content. Podcasting has flourished because it allows people to have greater control over what they listen to, as well as the option of taking their shows when they travel.

In the past, blogging has never technology appeared so new and was so swiftly and widely adopted as podcasting. The development of this new industry is expected to be rapid due to the rapid acceptance of this technology by the radio broadcasting industry in 2005 as well as Apple's iTunes distribution. The increasing popularity of podcasts are challenging traditional radio's broadcasting model.

Although iTunes is less than two years old. 4.8 million people downloaded a podcast for 2005 compared with just over 800,000. in 2004. In addition, 11.4 million listeners are expected this year, according to research from the Diffusion Group. The Apple iTunes service offers 15,000 podcasts and listeners have registered for greater than seven million accounts.

A study conducted by Bridge Ratings in November 2005 that included radio listeners in ten markets across the nation found that about 20% of those who downloaded and listened to an podcast do soon a weekly basis. This group downloads on average six podcasts each week, and spends an average of four hours each month listening to the podcasts they download.

The study predicted even more significant growth in the field in the near future. Based on Bridge Ratings, by 2010, podcast audience growth is predicted to be at a moderate 45 million viewers who have ever heard of an podcast. Aggressive estimates place this number closer to 75 million at this time.

What does this mean for you?

With podcast listening rising exponentially, podcasts offer you a extremely effective tool to promote your products or services. The great thing about podcasts is that they are fairly simple and affordable to develop. Podcasting is a great way to establish that you have a better relationship with your audience by offering them interesting, informative and frequent updates about happenings in your field. If you have a website there's absolutely no reason why you can't make an online podcast accessible as it's not difficult to create and could result in a substantial increase in traffic to your site. Therefore, in the end, podcasting must be a vital component of any marketing campaign online.