Every year on September 30th, the podcasting world comes together to celebrate the power of podcasts and the audio medium.
There are millions of podcasts bouncing around the web today. Sharing thoughts on every conceivable human interest. The term ‘podcasting’ caught on in 2004 with the introduction of the Apple iPod, but the audio medium had roots sprouting since the 1980s. While radio can be considered a precursor to podcasting, it was really the “audioblog” that is thought to be the true beginnings of podcasting.
Audioblogs were what podcasts were before Apple’s “iPod” took the world by storm. And two men, Dave Winer and Adam Curry, are the ones who pushed them through to popularity. The two collaborated on a tool that would allow people to automatically download audio files and be alerted when said files were ready to play. In 2004, Winer, an avid blogger and software developer, began adding audio of himself to his blog. Shortly after, Adam Curry created Daily Source Code and things continued to escalate from there.
While Winer and Curry are the force behind popularizing audioblogs (and what would eventually become the podcast), they were not responsible for the ubiquitous term. It was a reporter for The Guardian, Ben Hammersley, who coined it. He had written an article in 2004 about automatically downloaded audio and just “made up the phrase” while brainstorming the title for the piece. And the rest is history.
People from all over the world began to broadcast their voices through MP3s. They shared advice, told stories, summed up news, and even told a joke here and there. These pioneers paved the way for all of you to dabble in the audio realm. We’re here to celebrate the fascinating way podcasting became one of the most popular forms of entertainment in the 21st century.
And while you’re here, why not check out our hosting platform and all the ways we push podcasting to new heights. Join podcasters like The Dark Paranormal from the UK and POST Wrestling from Canada. Or, podcasters whose shows focus on international travel like Drew Binsky’s Roots of Humanity.
Keep sharing the power of audio. Keep grabbing your mic and distributing your unique voice to the world. Keep podcasts thriving!
And have a truly wonderful International Podcasting Day!