The home-brewed audio programs known as "Podcasts" are catching on with people who own iPods or other digital-music players, according to a survey -- "29 percent of US adults who own a digital music player have downloaded a podcast, Pew Internet and American Life Project finds. That makes for 9 million podcast listeners. Nearly 50 percent of digital-music player owners younger than 29 years old have tried out podcasts, the survey found, compared with 20 percent of those 29 or older."
Alternative Payment Methods (APMs) – comprising digital wallets, instant payments, and QR payment systems – are experiencing explosive growth that's reshaping the global financial services marketplace. According to the latest worldwide market study by ABI Research , the combined global transaction value for APMs is projected to reach $142 trillion by 2030. What's particularly fascinating is the underlying driver behind this trend: a growing desire for financial sovereignty, with nations developing domestic payment ecosystems rather than remaining dependent on international financial networks. Payment Ecosystem Market Development In 2024, approximately 45 percent of the global population used digital wallets – a remarkable adoption rate for a technology that barely existed a decade ago. China leads this transition, with 95 percent of its population using WeChat's payment functionality. WeChat exemplifies the "super app" phenomenon, where payment capabilities are in...