A little about podcasts...

(see below to find out how to spell words using flickr)

Podcasting is a way of describing the publishing of a series of regular audio or video content on the Internet.

Internet Encyclopaedia Wikipedia describes podcasting as:

… a means of distributing audio and video programs via the Internet that lets users subscribe to a number of files, also known as ‘feeds’, and then hear or view the material at the time that they choose. A feed is usually in the MP3 audio format. Podcasting became popular in late 2004 with the spread of free software that enabled automatic downloading of audio MP3 files onto computers and mobile MP3 players.

Podcasting takes its name from the popular iPod personal media players by Apple, but podcasts can be accessed and listened to by other MP3 players and most computers with an Internet connection.

Almost anyone with basic computer equipment and a microphone can start his or her own podcast. Because of the ease of producing them, tens of thousands of people and organisations have grasped the opportunity of voicing their opinions, thoughts or advice. The quality of podcasts varies almost as much as the variety of subjects covered by podcasters. It appears that many people are willing to accept lower production and sometimes content quality in favour of a greater variety of subjects. However as the new technology matures, it will be interesting to see how long listeners are willing to put up with poor production standards and poorly thought through content.

Amateur podcasts are already facing competition from commercial organisations. A growing number of professional producers, such as radio stations, now prefer the term “nanocasting” to describe their productions. Podcasters primarily produce programs to disseminate information. Nanocasters primarily produce programs to produce, or assist in producing, money.

Podcasting has shot to prominence in less than a year. In 2004 podcasting was seen as “an arcane activity” – the domain of geeks and tech-heads. By 2005 it beat words such as bird flu and Sudoku to be named the New Oxford American Dictionary’s Word of the Year.

By mid 2005 it was estimated that the number of mobile “iPodders” worldwide ranged from 6 million to 22 million, but the potential audience with the appropriate connection, hardware and software is closer to 150 million. Some individual podcasts are being downloaded by 180,000 people each week.

The pictures above spelling the word "podcasts" were produced using the Spell with flickr website. I got the tip from the Strategic Public Relations Blog.