There is more than a touch of the Nathan Barleys to the whole notion of pod- casting. Indeed, there are very few allegedly cutting edge (make that bleeding edge) technological innovations which don't have a touch of the Nathan Barleys to them.

While Chris Morris's latest TV series may not be receiving the kudos afforded his previous satirical creations, anyone who has dipped a toe in murky new media waters over the last decade will nod sagely when they see this gobshite on the screen. Oh, no, we groan, it's that bloke again.

Back when some of us were digging in the internet goldmine, there were Nathan Barleys as far as the eye could see. That Arthouse white elephant in the centre of Dublin, the mummy of the Digital Hub if you will, churned out a new batch of Nathans every couple of months. They went on to work in pointless start- ups, each one outdoing the next in sheer cluelessness.

It was a time when panic-stricken companies paid good money to identity consultants, the snake-oil salesmen of the day, to come up with a new name for their business to help the rebranding effort. Many would have been better off throwing a load of different words into a hat and picking out two. After all, most people thought that was how those names came about.

The main problem with Nathan Barley the TV show is that so many of these Nathans have now disappeared to God knows where, making the show seem strangely dated and quaint. Chances are, though, that there are still a couple of Nathans singing for their supper in new media. They're probably wowing clients right now with flashy sites which are all bells and whistles and shiny things.

We can only rub our hands with glee at the fun to come when new media Nathan meets music business Nathan. Because the music industry has realised that technology is going to save everyone's end-of-year bonus, the love-in between the two camps has begun in earnest. Sure, the music side still harbours a few grudges and sure, it'll try to grab as much short-term cash as possible from mobile phone companies and download stores, but every technology story which comes along will flip-flop into a good news story.

Which brings us to podcasting, the latest shotgun wedding featuring music and techies. In a nutshell, podcasting is a technology that allows you to automatically download audio content feeds to an MP3 player such as an iPod. In an even smaller nutshell, it means you can download your favourite radio show and listen to it on the go.

It's not a new innovation, but it's amazing how a snappy name can turn a piece of technology into a killer app. Floods of podcasters have already uploaded their wares for you to sample and you will probably read a dozen articles declaring "Podcasting is the new blogging!" by the end of this month.

However, the same sort of scepticism which was missing from assessing bloggers will probably also go astray when gauging podcasters. Internet democracy is a great thing, but earplugs come in handy when everyone spouts off at once. Just as the vast swathe of blogs are not worth your clicks, many podcasts should remain in their pods.

However, it will be interesting to watch this one develop and see if it becomes the next SMS or, should it bomb, the new WAP. There's certainly plenty of potential here to drive sales of digital music players, with consumers realising that these bad boys can store more than ripped CD tracks and downloads. Audio books, movie reviews, interviews, documentaries, comedy: there's room for all these and much more under the podcasting umbrella.

Given that worldwide terrestrial radio is losing ground to both Internet and digital platforms, podcasting's pirouette in the spotlight could not have come at a better time for radio's more interesting players. Quality control will ensure a hierarchy of must-hear podcasts, and you can bet a smattering of familiar names will feature in this Top 10.

As for Nathan Barley, his Trashbat podcast is sure to be available really soon.