Podcasting takes off
Podcasting is moving from being a niche technology for the tech-savvy to being a mainstream way of accessing Internet content. More than 6 million American adults have listened to podcasts, according to Pew Internet.
Podcasting is a technology for synchronizing content between a server and computers and portable media players. The term "podcasting" was popularized by former MTV VJ Adam Curry, who, along with RSS innovator Dave Winer, acted as a catalyst in the growth of podcasting. Most podcasts are audio shows in MP3 format, but many people are experimenting with using podcasting technology to distribute and synchronize video content and other types of electronic documents.
Just as blogging was a threshold technology that brought web publishing to anyone with an Internet connection, podcasting promises to let Internet users deliver audio, video and other content to portable media player owners around the world.
The Audience for Podcasts
More than 22 million American adults own iPods or other portable digital audio players. About one third of them have downloaded podcasts from the Web, so that they could listen to audio files at a time of their choosing. That amounts to over 6 million adults who have tried podcasting.
Highlights:
* Men are more likely to have iPods/MP3 players than women.
* Minorities are more likely to own iPods/MP3 players than whites.
* Portable media player owners tend to be young and well to do.
* Broadband users are twice as likely as dial-up to use iPods/MP3 players.
Portable Media Players a New Way to Access Internet Content
Portable media players have become a new way of accessing content from the Internet. Internet users are four times as likely as non-internet users to have iPods/MP3 players.
Podcasting lets portable media player owners listen to, view, or use Internet-based content wherever and whenever they want to. The podcast client automatically takes care of checking for the latest content, downloading it and syncing it to a media player.
Portable Media Player Ownership by Age Group
* 19% of those ages 18-28
* 14% of those ages 29-40
* 11% of those ages 41-50
* 6% of those ages 51-59
* 6% of those 60-69
* 1% of those 70 and older
Portable Media Player Ownership by Household Income
* 18% of those in households earning more than $75,000
* 13% of those in households earning $50,000 to $75,000
* 9% of those in households earning $30,000-$50,000
* 7% of those in households earning less than $30,000
Percent of Portable Media Player Owners That Have Tried Podcasts
* Nearly half of those 18-28 have downloaded podcasts.
* 20% of those age 29 have done so.
The findings come from a national survey of adults by the Pew Internet & American Life Project conducted between February 21 and March 21, 2005.
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES
iPodder - a popular open-source podcast client
Podcasting News - a podcasting information portal
Podcasting: The People's Radio
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