Podcasting allows computer users to automatically disseminate audio recordings over the web so that they can be played on iPods or other digital audio players.

Casey Alt, the symposium coordinator and administrative director of ISIS, compared podcasting to blogging, the newly popular form of personal website. “The fact that podcasting exploded even more and faster and at higher numbers (than blogging) -- we just wanted to say right away, ‘OK, this obviously merits serious attention,’” Alt said.

In a panel on the economics of podcasting, Doug Kaye said his not-for-profit podcasting site IT Conversations harnesses the curiosity and passion of volunteers around the world to disseminate recordings of speeches and interviews with influential thinkers. On the same panel, Michael Geoghegan said the key to starting up his GrapeRadio wine-lovers podcast has been to run it as a for-profit business. The California businessman said that after selling his insurance company this summer, “my income is generated solely from podcasting-related activities and ventures.”

Much as the topics covered by panelists varied, so did the reasons for participants to attend.

Duke visiting English professor Kelly Amienne said she was attending because she hosts a podcast on food called Eat Feed. Her four podcast collaborators include her husband, Duke theater studies professor Daniel Foster.

“We were really hoping we would connect with our podcasters and learn their techniques, that we would learn about the legal issues … and that we would make connections with the tech people and we would find out what it is we haven’t had time to research,” said Amienne, who as a podcaster goes by the name Anne Bramley.

Professor Jane Manner from East Carolina’s College of Education said she was looking for technology-based ideas for assignments that would interest her students.

Tony Kahn is an alternate anchor and special correspondent for the radio show “PRI’s The World” and producer of the Morning Stories podcast. “As someone who is in public broadcasting, one of our mandates in a way is to figure out how podcasting can increase the meaning of ‘public’ in public broadcasting,” he said.

Michelle Hilmes, a professor of media and cultural studies at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, said she attended as part of her research on the history of radio. “I think in many ways [podcasting] is fulfilling the promise of radio that got switched off a long time ago because of needs to socially control a new medium,” she said. “I think podcasting is really the future of radio.”

Duke was a natural location for the symposium, said Tracy Futhey, Duke’s vice president for information technology and chief information officer. “Duke’s approach to technology has been one that is a little bit non-traditional,” she said. “That matches up very well with the podcasting approach – a different approach from the traditional media – and one that empowers the individual.”

Last year, Duke equipped every member of the class of 2008 with an iPod and assisted professors who wished to incorporate the devices into courses. This year, the university is providing the devices to students who take courses that require iPods. So far, more than 400 iPods have been distributed to students.

A podcast of the symposium is to go online here.