The number engaged in this latest Internet pastime is sizable, given the relative infancy of the technology. The term "podcasting" emerged in 2004, as people began to use their iPods to download and listen to what essentially are audio files of blogs, or online journals.

Pew research specialist Mary Madden believes the numbers of people actually using the Internet to broadcast and/or download pods is smaller than the 6 million figure cited in the organization’s latest study, however.

“Our question to the survey respondents on this was very broad. We asked if they had ever downloaded a podcast or radio Internet program," she says. In other words, the survey also netted affirmatives from people who may have listened to an NPR program on the radio, for example, and then gone to the NPR site to download it.

Pew later offered a clarification on this point. "The Pew Internet and American Life Project's estimate of 6 million podcast listeners did not refer to people who broadcast audio content," said associate director Susannah Fox in an e-mail. "Our question was as follows: 'Have you ever downloaded a podcast or Internet radio program so you could listen to it on your digital audio player at a later time?'"

Growing Force

Podcasting is clearly a growing online phenomenon, Madden says, riding on the coattails of blogging's popularity. “It is part of the larger notion of the Internet being a democratizing medium. Anyone who has the basic tools, a basic grasp of technology, can do it.”

The first podcasts were music-oriented; indeed, MTV led the way in creating such broadcasts. Individuals quickly followed suit, putting their own music selections online. Other podcasts have sprung up around topics, such as politics, or around a specific industry.

“Podcasting is definintely mimicking blogging in a lot of ways,” Madden says. “In a lot of cases, they are audio versions of someone’s personal rant for the day.”

Age and Gender

Pew found that men and women were equally inclined to use their iPods or MP3 players to listen to podcasts. Differences emerged, not surprisingly, among age groups, with nearly half of the owners of iPods/MP3 players who were between the ages of 18 and 28 reporting they downloaded podcasts, compared to about 20 percent of the owners of iPods/MP3 players who were over age 29.

Madden believes the number of people downloading podcasts will grow, but the same will not necessarily hold true for the number of people putting such broadcasts online.

“It is difficult to predict what the next phase of podcasting will look like. I think a lot of radio stations are recognizing this as a way to promote their shows. But the number of individuals who have the time to produce a podcast every day will quickly reach a saturation point,” says Madden.