3 January 2006

'Podcast' has been chosen as the "word of the year" by the New Oxford American Dictionary.

Its selection has highlighted the rapid rise of the practice of podcasting from relative obscurity to mass popularity.

A podcast is, according to the New Oxford American Dictionary, "a digital recording of a radio broadcast or similar program, made available on the Internet for downloading to a personal audio player".

Given that the term 'podcast' was not even included in last year's edition, the fact that it has now made it to the top of this year's list is surely a sign of the mass take-up of podcasting.

Erin McKean, editor in chief of the New Oxford American Dictionary, explained: "Podcast was considered for inclusion last year, but we found that not enough people were using it, or were even familiar with the concept.

"This year it's a completely different story. The word has finally caught up with the rest of the iPod phenomenon."

Podcasting was initially only popular with more expert IT users, but now has been taken up by a far less specialised audience.

© Adfero Ltd

Keep up to date with industry and Nomensa news by signing up to Nomensa newsletters.