Word of the year: podcast

Published: Dec 6, 2005 12:58 p.m. ET

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FrankBarnako

WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) -- Editors at the New Oxford American Dictionary have selected "podcast" as their word of the year.

The definition is "a digital recording of a radio broadcast or similar program, made available on the Internet for downloading to a personal-audio player."

"Podcast" was a runner up in last year's judging, according to Erin McKean, editor in chief. "It really seems that there's only so much music you can listen to, so people are turning to other content to fill those earphones," she said.

The difference this year was that millions of portable devices have been sold and the awareness of podcasts has soared. "That's what dictionaries do. They catalog words in popular use," McKean added. It does not mean the editors think podcasts are a sure thing to be important or even popular five years from now, she cautioned. Listen to interview with McKean.

Runners-up for the word of the wear included "bird flu," "persistent vegetative state" and "trans fat."

McKean said that "podcast" will be added to an online version of the New Oxford American Dictionary early next year. Currently, the dictionary is included in Apple Computer Inc.'s AAPL, +0.96% operating system, and can be downloaded to smart phones, BlackBerries and Palms.

E-commerce fuels delivery services

FedEx Corp. FDX, +1.77% in Memphis, Tenn., said next Monday will be its busiest day for the year, with 8.5 million packages to be shipped.

"This will be our highest volume ever," Ryan Furby, a spokesman for the company, told the Toledo Blade newspaper. "A favorable economy and e-commerce is a big part of it."

Both the U.S. Postal Service and DHL International expect their peak day will be Dec. 19. United Parcel Service Inc. UPS, +1.13% said the 20th will be its biggest.

Net-phone use quadruples in year

The number of subscribers to Internet-telephone services has grown 400% in the past year, according to TeleGeography Research, which analyzes international telecommunications.

A high percentage of users are in the New York City area, according to the New York Daily News, because two of the country's top three VoIP are cable companies operating in the city.

The biggest Net-phone company is Vonage, in Edison, N.J.; it reports 1 million subscribers. Telegeography forecasts the number of Internet-phone subscribers will rise to 18.9 million by 2010, the Daily News said.

The MarketWatch Internet Daily podcast is available through the Apple iTunes Music Store. Listen or subscribe here. You can also hear it on the CBS Radio network stations.

Quote References

  • AAPL
    +1.37 +0.96%
  • FDX
    +3.28 +1.77%
  • UPS
    +1.20 +1.13%

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