University of Marylands Business School Launches Video and Audio Podcasts Robert H. Smith School of Business Leads

College Park, Md. June 21, 2006 The University of Marylands Robert H. Smith School of Business has launched weekly video and audio Podcasts focusing on the schools leading-edge business research and other management topics. Users can download five-minute video and audio clips to digital devices, such as iPods or view and listen to the segments online at the Smith School Web site.

The management knowledge developed by the Smith Schools centers of excellence and created by our faculty drives business change and empowers business leaders, said Howard Frank, dean of the Robert H. Smith School of Business. Podcasting is another way for us to share this knowledge with the wider community and to help managers stay on top of best business practices.

We recognize that media models are changing and people want more control over when and where they access information, said Jeff Heebner, the Smith Schools managing director for marketing communications. Because subscribers can download the content directly to their mobile devices, they can watch or listen to it whenever and wherever they want.

The Smith Schools podcasting capitalizes on a growing trend as Americans increasingly receive information digitally through mobile devices. A recent study from the Pew Internet & American Life Project finds that more than 22 million American adults, or 11 percent of adults, own iPods or MP3 players. Of those, 29 percent have downloaded podcasts. By 2010 the number of podcast users is expected to reach 56 million, according to a study by the Diffusion Group.

More than a dozen video and audio podcasts on key strategic issues are now available online and can be accessed free via Apples iTunes Music Store. Subscribers can sign up to receive Smith Business Intelligence On-Demand. Examples of popular downloads include: a segment on a study that warns firms about the dangers of putting too many features on their products; an interview that offers advice to entrepreneurs and firms trying to bring innovations to market; and a segment on the emerging marketing trend that has firms bashing the competition.