Hawaii is embracing a relatively new technology that is changing the way people get information. It’s called podcasting and it allows just about anyone to create his or her own Internet radio show… Unlike broadcasts, podcasts tend to have narrowly targeted audiences, which keeps listenership for each of them relatively low, says local Internet consultant Burt Lum. Podcasting’s advantage comes in numbers because anyone can create them.

Podcasting (Pacific Business News)

Nowadays it is not unusual to take a class online, but imagine a “Podcast” class. It is only happening in a few places across the country with the University of Hawaii at Manoa being one of them. David Nickles’ Computer Science 101 class is Podcast so instead of books, his students bought Ipods. “What we are trying to, is put the technology in their hands and empower them,” said Nickles.

UH-Manoa Offering ‘Podcast’ Class (KITV)

“We invented podcasting,” said Todd Cochrane, who hosts his own podcast known as “Geek News Central” out of his home in Honolulu. “The people who are coming in now are jumping over the fence and joining the party. It’s funny how Apple is so focused on the commercial shows and how little they are emphasizing the grass-roots side of podcasting.”

Mainstream Media Is Tuning In to ‘Podcasting’ (Washington Post)

UPDATE: Todd clarifies his comments here.

Homespun ‘Podcasts’ Explore a Universe of Topics
Andy Sullivan, Reuters, April 10, 2005:

Like the World Wide Web 10 years ago, many podcasts rely on homespun charm rather than slick presentation. Anybody with a computer and a microphone can set up their own show. Several radio stations have developed podcasts of their own, typically condensed versions of their morning shows. Businesses from Newsweek to General Motors have set up podcasts, as has Democratic politician John Edwards, who ran unsuccessfully for U.S. vice president last year.

Survey: Millions tuning in to ‘podcasts’

The home-brewed audio programs known as “podcasts” are catching on with people who own iPods or other digital-music players, according to a survey released Sunday.Twenty-nine percent of U.S. adults who own MP3 players like Apple Computer Inc.’s iPod say they have downloaded podcast programs from the Internet, the Pew Internet and American Life Project found.That means more than 6 million people are listening to a form of communication that emerged only last year, according to the non-profit group.

Podcasting puts you in charge of the show
D. Parvaz, Seattle Post-Intelligencer, March 25, 2005:

What kind of stuff is out there and what can you create? An oral blog — it’s your life, in sound files, baby… Podcasting ain’t for everyone. You may find yourself drowning in the sea of voices out there. You can’t hear everything that’s popped online, no more than you can read every newspaper. Like anything else online, Beslanwitch said the “ego factor” is at play. In other words, even people with nothing to say probably will try their hands at podcasting.

John Edwards Posts First ‘Podcast’
Kim Rubey, One America Committee/U.S. Newswire, March 23, 2005:

In the podcast, Sen. Edwards was joined by his wife, Elizabeth, and they talked about their work in the fight against poverty and also answered questions that had been submitted to his blog and via email. The topics they discussed ranged from possible FEC proposals to regulate blogging to drilling in the Artic National Wildlife Refuge to how to increase the youth vote… “Podcasting is an amazing new medium that has given a voice — literally — to people all across America. That is why I am inviting people everywhere to visit my website, listen to this podcast, and subscribe to future podcasts.”

Bloggers, Meet the Pod People,
Leslie Walker, The Washington Post, March 9, 2005:

Topics range as widely as human conversation — political rants, religious sermons dubbed Godcasts, musical mixes, kitchen gossip and barroom chatter called beercasts. A few big corporations have experimented with podcasts, including one General Motors recorded at a Chicago auto show. While home recordings are attracting the most publicity, commercial broadcasters are making over-the-air shows available, too, adding fuel to the larger trend of time-shifting radio.

Internet Radio 101, Heather Green, Business Week Online, March 7, 2005:

The quality of most of the 3,500 podcasts now available is all over the map. And because they’re based on individual interests, they can dip into arcane topics or music that perhaps only people with similar tastes will appreciate. But that’s their beauty — they don’t have to adhere to mainstream tastes.

Dining-room DJs find forum in podcasting, Adam Geller, The Herald-Sun, March 5, 2005:

Podcasting, as it’s called, doesn’t require expensive broadcast licenses or radio towers. Most home computers come equipped with everything necessary: a microphone and a recording program. Add an Internet connection, and the recipe is complete…

This content delivery structure is fundamentally different from traditional radio. Radio stations, by design, push their content to listeners through the airwaves. It’s a one-shot deal. You listen now or you’ve missed it. With podcasting, the audio is available on the listener’s schedule.