The actual question should not be who listen to podcasts but who does not. It would be easier to answer to the latter than to the former question. This is the technology revolution which is catching so fast that you cannot really keep track of its coverage. But it has been observed that the movement is rapidly spreading to the upper echelons of the society where the rich kids in Europe and USA chose to spend their time listening to their favourite programs over the latest iPods. iPods being one of the high-end gadgets, it is but understood that it requires a good cash flow to have one for leisure purposes. Nonetheless, teenagers and young people in the 15-25 bracket are emerging as the best customers of podcasting across the globe. So, who listen to podcasts? Let us see:
Music lovers: Podcasting would never have caught the fancy of the youth today if it would have started with anything else. Music is somehow the only medium that binds people the world over to one common entertainment. Podcasting has the highest number of music compilations which are downloaded by millions from all the corners of the world, round the clock. This is one segment of people who listen to podcasts.
News conscious people: People who are not able to keep abreast with the news due to preoccupations can always use podcasts to fill-in the gaps at any time. Leaders in the field such BBC and CNN are running regular updates as podcasts for this bracket of people. Another application here is the 'talking newspaper' for those who really do not have the time to read the newspaper but still would love to know the daily headlines and the main stories - again what better than a podcast for this purpose which you can hear on your way to the office or college or at any other leisure time. This is another segment of people who listen to podcasts.
Educational inputs: There are many lessons that students highly benefit from hearing such as history, languages and literature lessons which can be highly beneficial by hearing. A great number of universities now use podcasting to capture the interests of the students and make their absorption power better. Specific language teaching podcasts have met with great success since these not only teach but also act as linguaphonics for those who wish to learn new languages. Students make a good part of those who listen to podcasts.
Travel enthusiasts: There are regional travel podcasts which can be as good as local guides. There are country based tourists attractions podcasts which describe in detail all the local attractions. This is a great boon for travel enthusiasts the world over as they can have the required information without being dependent upon the local guides and knows the local languages. Travel podcasts are among the most wanted transmissions today.
Entertainment features: There are a great number of entertainment features that have gained high popularity through podcasting. For example, as per the Wikipedia, Ricky Geryais Show podcast has been downloaded 295,000 times per episode making it the "most successful podcast to date" and also entering it in the Guinness Book of World Records. There are the radio dramas, and comedy shows and laughter channels which are continuously podcast for the perennial entertainment of young and old.
Story telling and information dissemination: This feature is a boon for children and those who are visually impaired.
The question, "who listen to podcasts" covers a too vast area to really be covered in detail in this article. However, one can safely say that podcasting is one of the fastest hi-tech mediums emerging today which combine smoothly convenience, availability and affordability. Though podcasting is now used to be played on iPods which are indeed sophisticated high-end gadgets, the good news is that you do not need a playback device to enjoy a podcast. You can do so right at your computer and fortunately the RSS with enclosure software is compatible with the most obsolete of obsolete computers. So, join today the group who listen to podcasts and have fun!
Author:
Jon Blow has sinced written about articles on various topics from How to Podcast. http://www.kafscripts.com/products/kafpodcasters/about/who_listen.html. Jon Blow's top article . to your Favourites.