1. The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available at
www.emeraldinsight.com/0263-5577.htm
Podcasting
Podcasting for e-learning,
communication, and delivery
J.P. Shim and Jordan Shropshire
Mississippi State University, Starkville, Mississippi, USA 587
Sungmin Park and Howard Harris
Department of Information Systems, Computing of Maths,
Brunel University, Uxbridge, UK, and
Natalie Campbell
Mississippi State University, Starkville, Mississippi, USA
Abstract
Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to provide an overview of podcasting and webcasting, and to
examine student preferences between the different delivery richness of communication media.
Design/methodology/approach – Background information regarding podcasting and webcasting
is discussed. A conceptual model, based on media richness theory, is developed to explain student’s
perceptions. For the testing of the model, a survey metric is introduced, and a research methodology is
explained. Finally, a conclusion and research limitations are discussed.
Findings – The conceptual model of the motivations to use podcasting was adopted from
media richness theory. It was proposed that six factors are related to future media use; immediacy
of feedback, personal focus, transmission of cues, functionality, usability, and ease of use.
The methodology relied heavily on logistic regression analysis for testing the various hypotheses. The
authors collected data for hypothesis testing. The results of the study were inconclusive. This may
be due to the lack of user experience with podcasting.
Research limitations/implications – Some instructors have even adopted such techniques as
their primary means (within the classroom or outside classroom) of communicating to students.
However, the selection of appropriate communication media requires an understanding of the
students’ perceptions, preferences and receptiveness of these new technologies.
Practical implications – The findings from this exploratory research will be valuable for
podcasting users.
Originality/value – This study is the first kind of empirical research in this area. With this study,
the authors examined the perceived value of podcasting.
Keywords E-learning, Information media, Communication
Paper type Research paper
1. Introduction
The delivery of information and instruction has been improved by technological
developments. Past studies (Callahan et al., 2000) prove that traditional lectures can be
one of the least effective methods of teaching. Studies suggest a multimedia repetition,
combined with instructor-led guidance would improve learning retention and
Industrial Management & Data
Systems
This paper is based on partial portion of a manuscript: “Perceived Value of Podcasting: Student Vol. 107 No. 4, 2007
Communication – Medium Preferences” by J.P. Shim, Jordan Shropshire, Sungmin Park, Howard pp. 587-600
q Emerald Group Publishing Limited
Harris, Natalie Campbell, which was presented at the Americas Conference on Information 0263-5577
Systems, 2006. DOI 10.1108/02635570710740715

2. IMDS acquisition (Braun, 2002; Garcia-Morales and Llorens-Montes, 2006; Littman, 1995;
107,4 Pagell, 1996; Smagt, 2000).
Recently, the internet has provided an ideal medium to deliver learning material, as
digital content that exists in databases can be manipulated by a range of programming
services. However, web development has been hampered by bandwidth and difficulties
of “back end integration”. Consequently, the impact of the web to date has concentrated
588 upon the presentational aspects of data and user interfaces (Yang and Tang, 2005).
These technical impediments are slowly dissolving, resulting in the opportunity of
having interacting software components that allow non-technical users to author,
create and publish materials. Therefore, these technical advances facilitate the
emergence of new media such as podcasting, webcasting, videostreaming, blogging,
and SMIL technologies (Shim, 2002). These new media streams can be integrated into
traditional lectures, thus enhancing the educational environment (McLaughlin, 2006).
Podcasting has become one of the fastest growing technologies over the past several
years. A convergence of broadcast and internet service, podcasting, along with
webcasting, is an exemplary case of the pervasive computing technology era. The term
“podcasting” emerged from the combination of the words “broadcasting” and “iPod”.
Podcasting is differentiated from webcasting with the use of an aggregating RSS (Really
Simple Syndication) web feed, or the ability to download and save from a URL (Holtjana
and Fiona, 2004). A podcast has a persistent site, capable of synchronizing with a
portable multimedia device, such as an MP3 player or iPod, whereas webcasting is
streamed from the internet and requires the user to be connected to the internet while
playing or viewing the webcast files. The current understanding of podcasting is strictly
related to audio content and differentiates from video format by introducing terms such
as “vodcasting” or “video podcasting” (Wikipedia, 2006). However, podcasting can refer
to both audio and video output for a comprehensive understanding.
Among the latest trends in information technology, podcasting has emerged as
technology of keen interest to academics, practitioners, and other technologists
(McLaughlin, 2006) as both a trend in communication technology and a new paradigm
(Anderson, 2006; Bourges-Waldegg and Hoertnagl, 2005). Many universities are currently
evaluating podcasting, and some have launched a variety of programs which utilize the
technology. The implications of the podcasting technology are beginning to be realized.
For example, the most common current university podcast usage is providing university
or department news to staff and students using RSS feed to supplement the traditional
paper versions of newsletters. Universities are also utilizing podcasting technology to
make guest lectures available to wider audiences, such as staff, students, and alumni who
were unable to attend the lectures (http://itunes.stanford.edu, accessed April 12, 2006).
Webcasting has been utilized in academia in distance learning, particularly associated
with the traditional media production channels. For example, NASA’s (2005) Digital
Learning Network (DLN) aims to deliver content “sharing the knowledge and expertise of
NASA scientists, engineers, and researchers with the students in today’s classrooms”
(http://education.nasa.gov/divisions/techprodoffice/programs/dln.html, accessed April
12, 2006).
Unlike webcasting, which generally requires a producer to define and provide
content, podcasting has additional means of providing the “bottom-up” approach,
where the media content is localized and defined by a known two-way relationship,

3. i.e. that which exists between students on a course and a particular instructor; the Podcasting
relationship has an aspect of personalization (Peng et al., 2004).
This research will investigate the perceived value of podcasting and webcasting
among students. Specifically, one major question is addressed: which factors motivate
an individual to adopt podcasts as a communication medium? For this research,
this paper will:
.
describe the podcasting technology; 589
.
discuss current status of podcasting technology and application in the USA,
the UK, and Asia Pacific;
.
develop a research model on the motivational factors which drive individuals to
use podcasting over webcasting; and
.
empirically test the conceptual model and the hypotheses.
2. Podcasting and webcasting: overview and current status
2.1 Concepts and overview
As an instantiation of web 2.0, podcasting is a program that marks the convergence of
broadcast and internet services. The emerging phenomenon cannot be properly evaluated
yet, since its impact and significance upon media usage and production process are still in
its infancy. Therefore, defining podcasting is a challenge. A study in October 2005,
conducted by Yahoo, suggested that only 28 percent of internet users were aware of
podcasting and only 2 percent subscribed to podcasts (Grossnickle, 2005). However, there
have been observations that a transformation phenomenon is occurring in media usage
and its growth is difficult to ignore. A podcast is an enabling personalization of
technology, characteristically driven by incremental subject feeds via the web. Owing to
the nature of the podcasting format (MP3 or MP4 downloads), the downloadable program
could reach audiences in a way that traditional broadcasting could not.
It is critical to identify the characteristics of podcasting, and differentiate it from its
predecessor, webcasting. Podcasting can be seen as a part of webcasting, since both
use internet technology to broadcast both audio and video contents. However, it must
be noted that podcasting’s associated qualities and characteristics differentiate it
from webcasting (Keliher, 2005). The terminology of podcasting may eventually
disappear and be categorized in a broader sense of webcasting or even “mediacasting”.
The authors acknowledge this trend but use the term “podcasting” in this paper to
explain the emerging phenomenon and analyze its implications. The term, podcasting
may be changed but the phenomenon of the pervasive computing is here to stay.
2.2 Characteristics of podcasting and webcasting
The universally accepted commercial success of Apple’s iPod is closely linked to the
development of the term “podcast”. The term podcasting is gaining its popularity as
the broadcasters start adopting and using it widely. However, the assessment of
current definitions of podcasting demonstrates that it is inadequate and incomplete;
differing usage of the term raises questions about the exact boundaries and the nature
of the phenomenon (Keliher, 2005). For example, BBC explains “podcasting is a way to
‘subscribe’ to radio programs and have them delivered to your personal computer”
(www.bbc.co.uk/radio/downloadtrial/, accessed April 12, 2006). Their explanation

4. IMDS continues to state that podcasting has the ability to provide a subscription to the users
107,4 even though not every podcasting programs offer such service.
Before identifying the characteristics of podcasting, it must be differentiated from
the previously widely used term, webcasting. Although some use the terms
synonymously, each technology has distinguishing characteristics (Table I).
Webcasting is closely related to real-time downloading and synchronous
590 broadcasting. Some of the recent examples of webcasting are:
.
a 12-hour live webcast of “Beyond Einstein”; and
.
webcasts of council meetings.
It is clear that podcasting is the next stage of webcasting in the continuum of an
interactive media development. Podcasting adds spatial flexibility to the temporal
flexibility which webcasting offers to create a personally-customizable media
environment. Temporal and spatial restrictions are increasingly lifted as podcasting
moves further away from the traditional broadcasting environment, which dictates the
audience’s schedule and timetabling activities. It offers the added control and
flexibility of “when” and “where” in that the consumer can now download and listen
and/or watch the program anytime anywhere, ultimately changing the media
experience. The implications of such flexibility have offered the educational
environment with “interactive” communication between instructors and students.
One of the main characteristics of podcasting is RSS. It “lets online users freely subscribe
to their choice of content sources across the web. Aggregation tools (e.g. personalized start
pages) display summaries of these subscriptions, which update automatically when new
information is available. RSS reduces the need for users to visit many individual web-sites”
(Grossnickle, 2005). There are also RSS aggregate feeds of audio and video content
facilitating users to search the latest services (e.g. Blinkx’s new SmartFeed service).
Personalization-enabling RSS provides companies with the customer profiling that can
lead to direct marketing strategies. Personalization is considered to be one of the key
marketing aspects to “further develop customer relationships and heighten brand
management” (Agarwal and Sambamurthy, 2002). This personalization characteristic of
podcast is considered particularly important for its usage in educational environments
where building and maintaining the communication channel between instructors and
students is vital. Table II shows widely used definitions of podcasting.
3. Current status of podcasting
3.1 The United States
One of the leading causes of the adoption of podcasting among academic institutions in
the USA is that non-traditional students and those enrolled in distance learning are
Sources Definitions
A dictionary of business A process in which an online marketer of a product or service
(www.oxfordreference.com, sends advertisements or information over the internet, directly
accessed April 12, 2006) to the desktops of target customers. Companies can also sign on
with a webcasting service provider
Table I. A dictionary of the internet The use of the WWW for broadcasting material regularly to
Definitions of webcasting (www.oxfordreference.com) subscribers

5. Podcasting
Sources Definitions
Wikipedia Podcasting is the publishing or distribution of
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Main_Page) radio-style programs on the internet. Podcasts
are in MP3 or a similar file format. Podcast
producers make their programs available with
RSS feeds 591
BBC (www.bbc.co.uk/dna/collective/A3847737, Broadcasters publish digital recordings of radio
accessed April 12, 2006) programs on the internet, which can then be
downloaded onto PCs and transferred to portable
digital music plays (such as the iPod)
The Oxford Dictionary of English A digital recording of a radio broadcast or similar
program, made available on the internet for Table II.
downloading to a personal audio player Definitions of podcasting
able to have a more personalized connection with the instructor. This allows
the instructor to emphasize the information which they feel is most critical for the
students to understand. According to the University of Washington faculty and staff
newspaper (http://uwnews.org/uweekarticle.asp?articleID ¼ 12921), podcasting
has recently been introduced to augment classroom support, which allows
instructors direct control over their podcasts without engaging in the intensive
post-production workload that video taping involves. A number of universities are
currently using the technology, or are in the late stages of pilot testing. Stanford
University is already podcasting approximately 400 audio program channels. Stanford
plans to include video files for those with video viewing capabilities. Some salient
disadvantages associated with the additional video files would be the additional costs
in technical infrastructure, faculty overload, assessments and grades, and copyright
issues.
3.2 The United Kingdom
Following the trend in North America, the UK has a history of distance learning
exemplified by the Open University (OU) with over 210,000 students, 100,000 OU
students network from their homes or work places. Students access a library of 390,000
audio CDs which provides study aids and resource material (www.open.ac.uk/
elearning/p2_2.shtml). This provides a rich resource of content resembling the
half-way house between webcasting and podcasting. Recently, the OU has begun to
introduce the podcast technology to utilize their rich content to cater for students who
require flexibility. The main advantage here is that the rich media focus is well
integrated into the methods used in the production of the courses, and the media rich
experience is anticipated by the students. Other UK universities, like the USA, have
embraced podcast technology afresh. In recent months they have demonstrated a
diversified podcast usage that has the potential to propel the medium into new forms of
intercommunication. Universities are piloting podcast usage to support a university
news service and provide coverage of guest lectures. The University of Winchester for
instance adopted a podcast technology to help dyslexia as a part of dyslexia support
and the University of Sheffield produces updates of the changes in the Law for its Law
students.

6. IMDS 3.3 Asia Pacific
107,4 Asian countries such as Japan, Korea, and Hong Kong once lagged behind the West in
information technology (Shim et al., 2006a). Despite late development and entry into the
market, Asian and Pacific wireless operators have been able to become global leaders.
Currently, Korea is the leading digital mobile TV market, especially with its own
standard, digital multimedia broadcasting (DMB). As of July 2005, DMB has been
592 approved by WorldDAB as a standard. Driven by user demand and the changes in the
culture of technological usage, Korean DMB market will be important for validation of
new DMB technologies (Shim et al., 2006b). Podcasting is no exception in this regard.
Podcasting is already highly utilized within the education and business environments
in Asia and Pacific.
4. Conceptual framework and hypotheses development
This section presents a conceptual model in explaining student’s perceptions of
webcasting and podcasting (Figure 1). The model relies on a combination of media
richness theory, and media selection theory, as well as several other research streams
(Gonzalez-Alveraz and Nieto-Antolin, 2005; Ju et al., 2006; Standing et al., 2006). Based on
a model previously developed to compare student’s perceptions of e-mail and instant
messaging (Chen et al., 2004), the current model is configured to explain the relationship
between motivating factors and future usage of podcasting in the academia.
Media richness plays an important role in determining future media use. In addition
to the richness of medium, there are multiple reasons why a given communication
medium may be selected, such as availability, costs, or complexity (MaManus, 2002).
Several motivations have been posited as determinants of future media use (Table III).
These factors include immediacy, personal focus, transmission of cues, functionality,
usability, and ease of use.
Based on prior research, the research model of intent to use podcasting is proposed.
The research model is shown in Figure 2.
Motivating Factors
Immediacy
Personal focus
Media Experience Future Media Use
Transmission
Functionality
Usability
Figure 1.
Motivational factors
effecting future media use
Source: Chen et al. (2004)

7. Podcasting
Factor Source Description
Immediacy of Daft and Lengel (1986) The extent to which a medium enables users to give
feedback timely feedback on the communications they receive
Personal focus Daft and Lengel (1986) The extent to which a medium is viewed as being
oriented towards the individual
Transmission of cues Daft and Lengel (1986) The extent to which a medium is able to transmit 593
verbal, nonverbal, and para-verbal cues
Functionality El-Shinnawy and The extent to which a medium allows a user to send
Markus (1998) a message that is accurate, comprehensive, and
concise
Usability El-Shinnawy and The extent to which the medium allows a message to
Markus (1998) be transferred in a “clear and readable format”
Ease of use El-Shinnawy and The extent to which a medium is perceived to be easy Table III.
Markus (1998) to use Motivating factors
User Motivations
H7
Immediacy of Feedback
H1
Personal Focus H2
Transmission of Cues H3
Future Use
Intention
H4
Functionality
H5
Usability
H8
H6
Ease of Use Rich Figure 2.
Communication Research model
4.1 Hypotheses development
The above research argument leads to the following eight hypotheses:
H1. Immediacy of feedback is significantly related to intention to use podcasting.
H2. Personal focus is significantly related to intention to use podcasting.
H3. Transmission of cues is significantly related to intention to use podcasting.
H4. Functionality is significantly related to intention to use podcasting.
H5. Usability is significantly related to intention to use podcasting.
H6. Ease of use is significantly related to intention to use podcasting.

8. IMDS H7. User motivations are associated with future use intention.
107,4 H8. Users considering podcasting to be a better communication tool will use
podcasting rather than webcasting in general.
5. Methodology
594 5.1 Sample
To test these research hypotheses, questionnaires were given to approximately 200
students at two major universities in the USA. Of the 200 surveys that were
administered, 17 were discarded for incomplete data, with a result of n ¼ 183. The
sample pool composed of both undergraduate and graduate students from the colleges
of business and of the colleges of arts and sciences. Classes selected for inclusion into
the study were composed of students who had a fundamental understanding of
podcasting (audio and video), and other communication media concepts. All classes
that participated in the survey were traditional lecture classes, with no incentives or
bonus points issued to students for participation.
5.2 Research instrument
Each participant received a two-page questionnaire on the perceived value of
podcasting and webcasting. The first page consisted of information on the survey,
podcasting and webcasting definitions, and basic demographic questions.
Additionally, three background questions on podcasting experience were also
included on the first page. The second page consisted of 12 Likert-scale
questions/statements with five-point response scales. Participants were informed
that completion of the survey was voluntary and that their responses would remain
anonymous. The survey instrument was adapted from comparative studies on e-mail
and instant messaging (Chen et al., 2004), and e-mail and voice mail (El-Shinnawy and
Markus, 1998).
5.3 Data analysis
Students were asked to indicate the number of years in which they had been interacted
with podcasts. Results of the survey indicated that 43.7 percent of those surveyed had
not used podcasting technology at all, 23.5 percent had used podcasting for less than
one year, 11.5 percent had used podcasting for one to two years, and 21.3 percent had
used podcasting for more than two years. Therefore, the average time that podcasting
had been used by those surveyed was less than one year. Similarly, students were
asked to indicate the number of years in which they had used webcasts. Results of the
survey indicated that 47.5 percent of those surveyed had not used webcasting
technology at all, 21.3 percent had used webcasting for less than one year, 10.4 percent
had used webcasting for one to two years, and 20.8 percent had used webcasting for
more than two years. Therefore, the average time that webcasting had been used by
those surveyed was less than one year. The third question asked students to rank the
uses for podcasts. Figure 3 shows that of those surveyed, 56.9 percent listed music as
their number one response, followed by educational lectures at 16.1 percent, news at
10.3 percent, and sports at 13.8 percent.
The next step in the analysis was to perform a linear regression analysis using the
dependent variable “intent to use podcasting technology”. Three of the eight
hypotheses tested were supported in this analysis: H2, personal focus is significantly

9. Uses for Podcasts Podcasting
10% 3%
Music
14%
Education/
Lectures
News 595
57%
16% Sports
Figure 3.
Other Uses for podcasts
related to intention to use podcasts, supported at the 0.002 level of significance; H5,
usability is significantly related to intention to use podcasting, supported by two
measures at the 0.000 level of significance; and H7, user motivations are associated
with future use intention, supported at the 0.006 level of significance. Table IV shows
the coefficients from the linear regression analysis, along with the levels of
significance.
Finally, the third phase in the analysis involved clustering responses into groups
based on responses to the first two questions indicating podcasting and webcasting use.
Dummy variables were created and coded as 0 for non-user and 1 for user. Respondents
could be categorized as podcast users, webcast users, both or neither. A logistic
regression analysis was performed with “podcast use” as the dependent variable and
then again with “webcast use” as the dependent variable. The following results were
found at a 90 percent confidence interval. As one might expect, podcast users were found
to use podcast technology frequently and believe that podcasts assist with classroom
assignments more than webcasts. Interestingly, webcast users were also found to
believe that podcasts assist with classroom assignments more than webcasts and that
podcasts convey large amounts of information faster than webcasts. Webcast users
were also found to believe that podcasts are more useful than webcasts and say that with
future assignments, they intent to use podcasts more than webcasts. Therefore,
H8: users considering podcasting to be a better communication tool will use
podcasting rather than webcasting general, is supported at the 0.100 level of significance.
Standard
Dependent measures B error b t Significance
Podcasts are more useful for class
assignments than webcasts 0.404 0.068 0.371 5.866 0.000
I believe that podcasts would be helpful in
improving my course learning experience 0.284 0.057 0.306 4.946 0.000
Podcasts feel more personal than webcasts 0.189 0.060 0.183 3.133 0.002
On future assignments, I will use webcasts
more than podcasts 20.148 0.053 2 0.147 2 2.771 0.006
I believe that podcasts will eventually replace
class lectures in the future 0.100 0.049 0.114 2.015 0.045
Table IV.
Note: Linear regression performed with dependent variable – intent to use podcasts Coefficients table

10. IMDS Table V shows the four hypotheses that were supported and the four that were not
107,4 supported from both the linear regression and logistic regression analyses.
6. Implications
This paper examined student’s preferences of media delivery richness between
podcasting and webcasting, taking place at two major universities in the USA. The
596 student demographic is now leading the process associated with the pattern of
early-adopters; as an example, the 14-24 year-old age bracket is a segmented key target
for music-enabled phone companies (The Diffusion Group Newswire, 2005). The
findings associated with this study guide the design and evaluation of content for
mobile devices, effecting software development and the mobile business process as a
whole.
The authors draw attention to two key characteristics, personalization and
usability, that affect the business concerns of consumer trends in media usage. The
goal of personalization is to satisfy “one” user’s need to enjoy a personalized media
experience, contradicting the concept of mass-media, popularized “hit” mass-market
segmented industrial approach, changing the profile of one-size fits all approach of the
mass-media market (Wen and Peng, 2002). This has been described as the “long tail”
where Anderson (2006) argues that old-media economics, which are biased
toward the hits at the “head” of this distribution, are being replaced by new-media
economics, which allow creation and consumption along the entirety of a much longer
content tail.
Personalization is emerging as a key driver in consumer information acquisition in
the “long tail”. However, personalization of informational needs creates a
more-complex environment. From a MIS perspective, personalization is based on a
customer’s selections, ratings, purchase and history downloads, creating a customer
profile of information of consumer taste (So and Sculli, 2002). From the user
perspective, personalization is a self-service technology configured to accommodate
user preference (Schultze and Orlikowski, 2004). In a recent Gartner report, e-music
personalization has meant that users are twice as likely to commit to higher-priced
subscription plans, are more loyal (remain subscribers 2.9 times longer) and download
Hypothesis
number Hypothesis description Finding
H1 Immediacy of feedback is significantly related to intention to use Not supported
podcasting
H2 Personal focus is significantly related to intention to use Supported
podcasting
H3 Transmission of cues is significantly related to intention to use Not supported
podcasting
H4 Functionality is significantly related to intention to use podcasting Not supported
H5 Usability is significantly related to intention to use podcasting Supported
H6 Ease of use is significantly related to intention to use podcasting Not supported
H7 User motivations are associated with future use intention Supported
Table V. H8 Users considering podcasting to be a better communication tool Supported
Research results will use podcasting rather than webcasting in general

11. 3.5 times more per month than other subscribers (McGuire and Slater, 2005). Usability Podcasting
is also a key aspect of personalization. Traditionally, there has been a number of
heuristics classification schemes on offer, based upon two key attributes (Boehm et al.,
1978); migrate-ability, the characteristic where the product can operate across
platforms and also integrate with other programs, and secondly, the aspects of the
application or product that give, or shape clarity to the user interaction. With the
modern characteristics of social software, usability equates to user experience, and in 597
essence, simplicity. The ipod from apple is a good example of less-feature usability,
where simplicity of use is the brand-marketing strategy.
The implication for business is that it needs to continually exploit the ever-changing
nature of consumer preferences in usage of media, and develop appropriate marketing
model. The technological development has always been a focal issue in business
environment in order to exploit to gain a competitive advantage (Chitty, 1996; Hsieh
and Lin, 1998; Jemmeson, 1997). This study shows that personalization is one of the
key aspects of emerging social software technology, and McLaughlin (2006)
acknowledged that podcasting has a potential to be a means of communication for
media and business industry as well as political sector. Thus, the business needs to
address the changing market using the latest technology available and develop an
individually, personalized, catered marketing strategy in order to create a direct
communication channel between the business and consumer.
7. Conclusion
Although podcasting is not without minor problems, it has many beneficial qualities
including students’ familiarity with the new technology, and the cost effectiveness in
the long run. In other words, the benefits of adopting podcasting outweigh the
disadvantages and problems associated with the podcasting. The authors believe that
podcasting technology should not be seen as a tool to replace traditional classroom
teaching of fundamental principles. Rather, it should supplement class materials, so
that students can better understand concepts, theories, and applications that may not
have been available during the class. One of the most salient limitations identified in
the study is the narrow focus of questions included in the survey. There were not any
questions on cost or availability included in the study, although these are potentially
significant variables.
Podcasting is a simple way for marketers to communicate with their
target customers. It is a unique PR tool for major corporations, and start-ups.
Podcasting’s ease of use combined with the ever-increasing demands upon time and
money will make its use continue to grow in academic, industry, and wider social
settings.
The conceptual model of the motivations to use podcasting was adopted from media
richness theory. It was proposed that six factors are related to future media use;
immediacy of feedback, personal focus, transmission of cues, functionality, usability,
and ease of use. The methodology relied heavily on logistic regression analysis for
testing the various hypotheses. The authors collected data for hypothesis testing.
The results of the study were inconclusive. This may be due to the lack of user
experience with podcasting.

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600 Corresponding author
J.P. Shim can be contacted at: jshim@cobilan.msstate.edu
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