Fresh & New(er)

discussion of issues around digital media and museums by Seb Chan

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Pew Internet – Actual use of podcasts is low

November 24th, 2006 by Seb Chan

Interesting reality check from the regular Pew Internet report in the USA (via AP/SMH).

A growing number of Americans are listening to podcasts, but very few do so every day.

The Pew Internet and American Life Project said that 12 per cent of internet users have downloaded a podcast, an increase from 7 per cent earlier in the year.

However, only about 1 per cent said they download a podcast on a typical day – unchanged from the survey earlier this year. The rest do so less frequently, perhaps only once.

Tags: 4 Comments

  • http://aliasfrequencies.org/son Shannon

    I listen to podcasts every day, but as they’re all weekly (or less frequent) programs, I do all the downloading and transferring once per week, which is a more efficient use of my time. I don’t think news is a useful application of podcasts, as one generally wants up to the minute information. But analysis, commentary and documentary are all suitable, and are what I generally listen to on my mp3 player.

  • http://www.awm.gov.au malbooth

    Hi Seb,
    Interesting stats, but I think this may be an indication of how the web is being used differently by different cultures. I believe the use of podcasts made by the ABC is pretty amazing (even though our broadband speeds are not so great) in Australia and use is also high for those provided by the BBC in the UK. I know the web is global, but I think its use varies greatly around the globe depending on factors like web speeds, ISP costs, the availability and cost of other media like cable, and ‘cultural leads’ given by others in the way they use services like podcasts, blogs, personal profiles (like MYspace), and media sharing/storage services like flickr.

  • Mah

    Seb

    Do you have the demographic stats on those who are actually using the podcast?

    MM

  • Seb Chan

    Hi Mah

    These stats of from Pew – not from us.

    Demographics would be bread and butter for Pew I imagine.