The rapidly expanding medium of the podcast is the ideal communication tool for institutions with great content but no dedicated broadcast channels.

What are podcasts?

Ahead of the game: the Victoria and Albert Museum started podcasting early on. Credit: Victoria and Albert Museum A podcast is audio content that users download onto their MP3 player. It might be a radio programme - the most popular form of podcast - or anything from a school project to an audio guide of paintings in an art gallery.

Use of the term 'podcast' has risen rapidly. In September 2004, a Google search produced just 24 hits on the name; a search in October the same year produced 100,000 hits.

Although an iPod is not necessary in order to listen to podcasts, the huge sales of Apple's device have helped spread the medium. Sony's PSP also plays podcasts and there are of course many people just playing the podcasts back on their computers.

What is the future for podcasting?

The following developments are all likely:

• not only will there be many more podcasts, new business models will emerge around them;
• corporate use of podcasts will see huge growth, as will the firms who provide useful services to them;
• tailored podcasts to different audiences at museums, galleries and public spaces will become the norm;
• schools will use podcasts to aid learning, bring parents into the classroom 'virtually' and develop new relationships with schools and groups around the world;
• video will become increasingly important;
• podcasts will turn up on different devices, and playback and production capabilities will appear in increasingly diverse software applications;
• pioneers in podcasting will ensure that a new model of bandwidth provision emerges in the market.

What podcasts are people listening to?

To date, commercial broadcasters have made little use of podcasting in the UK. However, the BBC and The Guardian newspaper have dominated the medium - in the UK as well as internationally. The most popular podcast in the world is the Ricky Gervais Show, produced by The Guardian, and downloaded more than two million times.

Podcasting is also an option for institutions with great content but no dedicated broadcast channels. For instance, the V&A museum's 'Every Object Tells a Story' podcast has been downloaded more than 30,000 times since its launch in October 2005.

Isn't podcasting only for large broadcasters or organisations?

Most of the interesting developments in podcasting are being pioneered by those broadcasting to specialised audiences. It could be a technical discussion of the use of heavy metals in circuit board production, or an inspirational teacher looking for new ways to stimulate learning. Musselburgh Grammar School in East Lothian has led the way in education with podcasts of school trip reviews, student council meetings and pupils' projects.

Another use of podcasting in education is the broadcasting of university lectures. Universities in Wales and Coventry have found that students will subscribe to podcast lectures and then use them as revision tools. A new enhanced podcast format which allows images to be broadcast means that visual material can now be included to aid learning.

How easy is it to make podcasts?

Software and advice are freely available on the internet. Mac users in particular will find creating podcasts easy, using the latest version of the iLife suite. The process is only slightly less straightforward for PC users, but nevertheless is not technically demanding.

Aside from the technical aspects, other factors that are key to a good podcast are expertise in a subject, enthusiasm, humour, planning and the ability to develop a relationship with the listener. In other words, podcasters must thoroughly understand a subject and think about how they are going to convey it to others.

Podcasting tips

Susan McFarland-Lyons sets out some top tips for making your podcasts stand out.

• Don't just reformat existing content. What worked well as a lecture will not translate into an engaging podcast.
• Plan and budget a series of episodes to deliver a coherent product and allow time to build audiences.
• Create suspense by sticking to the update schedule and broadcast teasers of next week's installment.
• Incorporate idents to brand your podcast and separate different segments.
• Include weblinks to relevant content.
• Unless using an actor, throw away the script. Reading off a sheet may sound monotonous.
• Invest in a decent microphone.
• If using an interview style, practise first or use a reporter with experience, at least for the initial episode.
• Free audio editing software available online is fine for first attempts, but professional applications can be more user-friendly and cost-effective in the long run.

There are sites that help novices produce Really Simple Syndication (RSS) but what takes you a week would probably take a paid professional half an hour.

Make sure you follow the user experience on the web, MP3 players and any other platforms your audience uses.

Publish your show on as many different online podcast directories as you can find, not only iTunes. And try and find some specific to your genre.

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