iPods had an 82% share of the US market at the time the term was first used.
https://www.theregister.com/2004/10/12/ipod_us_share/
At the time a “broadcast” to you iPod made the name podcast pretty understandable.
And there’s not much else I could think of to call it given technology at the time.
MP3 player was the generic term. But MP3 cast feels clunky.
I did hear audioblog used. But they weren’t all blogs.
It really comes down to the fact that at the time everyone knew “pod” meant “iPod” and that’s it.
Is the internet scarier?
Or is it just millennials and “internet natives” having kids and more of them knowing better what the internet actually is.
I tell people to imagine a public place with everyone in it, the majority wearing masks or costumes. With constantly recording surveillance. Do you take off your mask.
Sure the mask is not perfect protection, and there are areas off to the side where people seem to not be wearing masks. But go ahead and choose a way to keep your kids safe.