Aug 15, 2008

Recently, we released our 2008 study of the senatorial campaign websites, and there was a particular element that stood out. Podcasts were being used by fewer candidates than the year before, despite the fact that it seemed to be a very "tech-y" and potentially useful way to get a candidate's message across.

When I inquired to my co-workers about the discovery, one of them replied that he rarely used podcasts, and he believed that they were a "dying Internet art." At first, I thought that he was alone in his opinion, but the numbers from the Senate report don't lie.

I decided to do a very informal poll of co-workers and friends to see how often they use podcasts. I simply emailed 50 of my contacts and asked them two questions: "Have you listened to/downloaded a podcast in the last six months?" and "If so, where did you get it?" All of the people polled were between the ages of 18 and 40, with a balanced gender ratio.

Then, I compiled all the responses and calculated the results. The graphs (made using ImpactWatch reporting and graphing tools) displaying the data are below.

It's interesting to note that it seems like my co-worker was correct; most people don't really use podcasts. At least two of the people that I contacted did not even know what a podcast was.

Of those who listened to podcasts, a majority (nearly a 2/3 supermajority) used iTunes to download them. Several people were unaware of other ways to procure them. Are users just ignorant of podcasts? Are they going out of style? Or both?

I would venture that the rise in the popularity of blogs has killed the podcast. Reading a blog is quicker than listening to a podcast, and blogs require a MUCH shorter attention span. Graphs and the spreadsheet of the data follow:

UPDATE: Chuck pointed me towards this report by Universal McCann that displays on page 63 that podcasts in the US are used by 29.5% of users, which is consistent with my poll.

Excel Spreadsheet of Podcast Poll Data

http://www.vintageelectricguitarblog.com/ Vintage Electric Guitar

And that if they are not currently being produced, its simply because there is no significant demand for them.
http://www.vintageelectricguitarblog.com/ Vintage Electric Guitar

And that if they are not currently being produced, it�s simply because there is no significant demand for them.
Jonathan Trenn

But this doesn’t tell us much. About 3 out of 10 people in your circle have downloaded a podcast in the last 6 months. What are the benchmarks?

My own guess is that podcast audiences are stabilizing, where the newness has worn off and there’s less excitement to download any thing new.

Since anyone, really, can create one, many did. Some were poorly done, giving the whole concept a bad name to an extent.

Podcasting is neither thriving or endangered nor is it extinct. It’s just finding it’s place.
Jonathan Trenn

But this doesn’t tell us much. About 3 out of 10 people in your circle have downloaded a podcast in the last 6 months. What are the benchmarks?

My own guess is that podcast audiences are stabilizing, where the newness has worn off and there’s less excitement to download any thing new.

Since anyone, really, can create one, many did. Some were poorly done, giving the whole concept a bad name to an extent.

Podcasting is neither thriving or endangered nor is it extinct. It’s just finding it’s place.
Cary Raditz

I use Podcasts extensively in a low broadband environment here in Kenya. No techie, I. The two podcast sources are conference presentations through the CFA Institution, and The Bob Thurman website for lectures in Vajrana buddhism. In both cases, its an important activity. The first is that i earn CE credits as a CFA charterholder. The other is my own research in buddhism.
Cary Raditz

I use Podcasts extensively in a low broadband environment here in Kenya. No techie, I. The two podcast sources are conference presentations through the CFA Institution, and The Bob Thurman website for lectures in Vajrana buddhism. In both cases, its an important activity. The first is that i earn CE credits as a CFA charterholder. The other is my own research in buddhism.

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