p2pnet - rss feed: Podcast popularity booms
p2pnet.net News:- Podcasting is a revolutionary home-grown technique by which people download their own broadcasts for easy listening on portable audio players.
“It can also be thought of as the internet equivalent of timeshift-capable digital video recorders (DVRs) such as TiVo, which let users automatically record and store television programs for later viewing,” says the Wikipedia. “The system most commonly involves audio files in mp3 format, but other formats and other types of files, such as video, can also be podcasted.”
Podcasts can be detected and downloaded automatically, usually via RSS, and they’re something ad companies would rather not think about. But, 29% of adult Americans have now downloaded podcasts from the Web, “so that they could listen to audio files at a time of their choosing,” says the Pew Internet & American Life Project.
Some 11% of American adults say they own an audio player. That amounts to over 22 million people, says Pew, which found.
- Men are more likely to have playback devices than women. Some 13% of men have the players, compared to 9% of women.
- “Minorities” are more likely to own players than whites. Some 16% of African-Americans and English-speaking Latinos own players, compared to 9% of non-Latino whites.
- Almost one in five (19%) of those ages 18-28 have audio players. Fully 14% of those ages 29-40 have them; and 11% of younger Baby Boomers (ages 41-50) have them. That compares to 6% of older Baby Boomers (ages 51-59), 6% of those 60-69 and 1% of those 70 and older.
- Those who use go online are four times as likely as non-Net users to have players, “probably because internet users can get much of the music they enjoy online”. Fully 14% of internet users have players, compared to 3% of non-internet users. And the more advanced the internet user, the more likely it is that he has a player. Those with six years or more of internet experience are twice as likely to have them as those who are relative internet newbies (those with less than three years experience).
- Broadband access is strongly associated with ownership of players. Some 21% of those with broadband at home have players, compared to 10% of those who have dialup connections. And those who have broadband access at home and at work, are the most likely of all to have players. A quarter of those with broadband all around them (25%) have one.
- 15% of parents living with children under age 18 in their home have players, compared to 8% of those who don’t have children living at home.
- Some 29% of the 22 million who own players have downloaded podcasts. That represents more than six million people.
- Men and women are equally likely to have downloaded podcasts.
- Nearly half of those who own players between the ages of 18-28 have downloaded podcasts, compared to about 20% of the owners of players over age 29 who have done so.
- Somewhat surprisingly, there is no notable gap between those who have broadband access and dial-up users when it comes to podcasting. Some 33% of the owners of players who have broadband at home have downloaded podcasts and 28% of those who have dial-up at home have done so. This is not a statistically significant difference.
“This survey did not attempt to sort out what kinds of podcasts people consume,” says Pew.
“There are innumerable kinds of podcasts, ranging from audio journals that are very quirky and personal to professional newscasts.
“The rising popularity of podcasting also stems from the relative ease with which individual podcasters can create and distribute files,” says Pew, adding:
“The process requires little more than a computer with an internet connection, a microphone, and software to record, edit and compress the audio. However, podcasters who wish to include copyrighted content in their shows may be required to pay licensing fees.”
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See:-
Pew Internet & American Life Project - Podcasting catches on, April 4, 2005
May 21st, 2005 at 4:15 pm
Local resident PWFenton (AKA P-Dub) has joined the Podcast wave and produces a wonderful podscast that can be found at Digitalflotsam.org or on Podcast Alley. It’s been described as a well tossed audio salad of original stories, music, and other unique oddities each based on some eclectic theme.
He has also produced programming for WMNF specifically the well recieved two part series “A History of the Blues in the Tampa Bay Area”. P.W. also won a Handy Award for promoting women in the blues through his website “It’s a Girl Thag” found at Bluesland.net.
Additionally, he just quit his job working as a TV Producer for the Hillsborough County Sheriff after 18 years to work full time with Adam Curry, the one-time MTV VJ who is now promoting podcasting, to produce the Adam Curry Podshow on Sirius Satellite Radio Mondays through Fridays from 6 to 10 P.M. This opportunity fell in his lap because he recieved and iPod for Xmas. Being a techie geekie type he started to learn everything he could about the iPod and discovered Podcasting. Taken with the format he started producing his own Podcast in early January. He soon got the attention of Adam Curry. Adam was so impressed with his work he made him an offer he couldn’t refuse about a month ago. So instead of hanging on to a job he wasn’t very happy in, coasting until retirement 5 years away, he’s know earning a living doing the things he loves to do most: create stuff.
If you’re interested in learning more about PWs recent exploits you can reach him at pwfenton@digitalflotsam.org. And please check out his podcast, it’s really special.
Thanks for the opportunity to promote PW. I must confess that I’m his wife and admittedly biased. But listening to podcasting these past few months makes one realize that there’s lots of talented people out there and it’s great to know that one of them got a break and decided to take a leap of faith to fulfill a his creative dreams.
Thanks for the opportunity to comment.