'The geek's radio station' is now being brought to the masses in iTunes and could be one of its biggest boons yet, writes Jim Colgan in New York.

Producing content for an MP3 player has been called podcasting for more than a year now and it seems to be the latest new-media phenomenon the old media are obsessing over.

But the company that makes the iPod had virtually nothing to do with it until it got on board a month ago.

Since acquiring the catchy, albeit brand-based moniker in early 2004, podcasting has evolved from being a toy for the handful of indie technophiles who coined the term to a must-have component for traditional broadcasters.

The medium was already growing at an exponential rate when the computer maker offered it a formal embrace. The latest version of iTunes, the software that goes with the iPod, now prominently features a section devoted to thousands of free podcasts within the music store.

While some analysts say Apple's move sent it mainstream overnight, others say podcasting is far from maturation. Like other internet media phenomena, there are high hopes for its potential for revenue, but podcasters are just beginning to explore revenue streams.

However, for the thousands of podcasters committing their thoughts to audio on a regular basis, it's not about the money.

"Podcasting is an essential part of a geek's daily ritual. It is our radio station, it is the geek's radio station," says Andrew Leyden, founder of podcastdirectory.com.

The technology in podcasting is simple. In essence, it's an MP3 file manipulated to be picked up by software that puts it on an iPod or other music player. Whichever "feed" you subscribe to is automatically transferred to the player when it's synched with the computer.

Content ranges from specialist topics like science, food, or politics to selected programmes from the BBC, but most offerings are from previously unknown individuals. Some of the niche podcasts include travel guides designed for listening to abroad and unofficial audio tours of museum exhibitions.

In the same way that weblogs foster more community-driven material in a text format, podcasts extend this idea to sound. And, like blogs, the type of feeds available depends entirely on who takes the time to create them.

"It means people can produce content of high value to a small amount of people instead of a moderate amount of value to lots of people," says Doug Kaye, the host and producer of an influential podcast called IT Conversations.

Just as on the internet itself, salacious material has also emerged in podcast form, giving rise to the term "podnography". This contrasts with the increasing popularity of religious content such as church sermons, recently dubbed "godcasts".

The iTunes podcast directory is considered one of the medium's biggest boons yet. There are five million searchable feeds currently available from the program. Prior to this, the only way to subscribe to a podcast was using third-party software like iPodder or jPodder.

Although it has made the subscription process easier, creating a podcast still involves a moderate learning curve. It requires an understanding of a file format called RSS, or Really Simple Syndication, which carries the sound file's information. Analysts expect the next boost for podcasting to be a producing interface that's as user-friendly as iTunes.

Still, the range of content available is vast right now and Forrester research predicts growth of 12 million subscribers in the next four years.

"It's a fun way to get your voice out to the world," says Dawn Miceli, one half of a popular podcast called The Dawn and Drew Show. Ms Miceli and her husband, Drew Domkus, produce an irreverent, and sometimes racy programme from their home on a retired dairy farm in Wisconsin.

The couple boasted more than 100,000 subscribers prior to the iTunes release and they've quickly become one of podcasting's stars. The most prominent is a former MTV VJ, Adam Curry, who hosts a feed called The Daily Source Code.

"We like it because we can sit here at the end of the day in our living room and create it," Ms Miceli adds.

Analysts say the income possibilities will be much like the advertising and subscription models of internet radio. Apple's revenue plans are not yet clear, but with its directory built into the already lucrative music store, it is well placed to charge fees. If anything, industry observers say, the company sees podcasting as a valuable marketing vehicle.

Podcasting users also view it as an alternative to the limited choices of conventional radio. Although podcasts can never be live, by definition, there is no cap on the number of possible feeds.

Instead of dreading the development of podcasting, traditional media organisations were quick to create their own podcasts. Several radio stations in the US offer selected shows as well as some television networks, such as CNN. But some podcasters say this isn't a true representation of the form.

The expectations for podcasting have remained high from the beginning, but some analysts say its promise is overblown.

"I really see it as just another feature. It's not a brand new market. It's not a reinvention," says Forrester analyst Ted Schadler.

However, Mr Domkus is optimistic about his prospects based on the past year's success.

"I can't imagine what it'll be like in a year from now." His wife adds: "Maybe we'll be in the gutter."

Whatever the fate of the technology, its name seems settled. But it wasn't without resistance. Doc Searls, a podcast enthusiast and technology writer, was one of a few users who tried to reappropriate the meaning of the word to avoid the branding connotations. He suggested the first three letters become an acronym for Personal Option Digital.

"I felt podcasting wasn't just for the iPod," says Searls. "The iPod is a silo, it is a hardware extension of a piece of software called iTunes." His meaning never caught on.

The term also puts Apple's competitors in a difficult situation when it comes to marketing their own services. Microsoft produces a different technology for its Windows-based players and according to the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, some of its employees are pushing another word: "blogcasting".