Diggnation

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Diggnation

Title for Diggnation videocast
Hosting Alex Albrecht
Kevin Rose
Language English
RSS QuickTime (High-Definition)
QuickTime (Large)
QuickTime (Small)
MP3 (High)
Flash (High-Definition)
Flash (Large)
Flash (Small)
WMV (Large)
WMV (Small)
Xvid (Large)
Xvid (Small)
Updates Wednesday 6:00 pm EST
Video format QuickTime, Flash, WMV, Xvid
Audio format MP3
Debut July 1, 2005
Genre Video podcast (audio version available)
Provider Revision3
Website revision3.com/diggnation

Diggnation is a weekly video podcast produced by Revision3. It is hosted by Kevin Rose and Alex Albrecht, who had previously hosted TechTV's The Screen Savers together. Its main purpose is to discuss some of the top stories from Digg, the social bookmarking website developed by Rose and others. The first episode "aired" online on July 1st, 2005. The format of the show usually involves Rose and Albrecht reviewing one or more brands of beer at the opening of the show, of which they will consume throughout the show, followed by them discussing various Digg stories from the previous week. Both audio and video versions of the podcast are available from Revision3.

The intro sequence was made by Eden Soto in collaboration with David Prager. It was in development for more than three months, according to Eden Soto's website.

A spin-off show, The Digg Reel was launched in January 2008, which was hosted by Jessica Corbin, now being hosted by Andrew Bancroft -- it showcases the week's top user submitted videos in comparison to Diggnation's primary focus on news articles. Both are produced by Revision3.

Contents

[edit] Episodes

Kevin drops his cat after spilling beer on his couch during the first minutes of episode #123.

The show begins immediately with a short listing of the podcast's current sponsors, and is usually followed by a humorous fake advertisement. After the title video, the hosts introduce themselves, tell the viewers where they are filming from, make any relevant announcements, and discuss the drinks (usually beer, more recently tea) they will have during the episode. The beer-tasting and beverage aspect of Diggnation is one of the show's unique aspects. The majority of the episode is dedicated to the discussion of news items as well as personal commentary, anecdotes and unrelated banter. The show's humor is generally somewhat vulgar, often due to considerable intoxication (which has been criticized by Leo Laporte as promoting binge drinking).[citation needed] At the end of the show, Rose and Albrecht mention their sponsors once again in a longer advertisement spot, read e-mail from fans, then conclude the show with a seemingly ad libbed phrase or saying. Starting with more recent episodes, larger digg stories (typically the weeks big news) is discussed after the ads, but before the emails. This is keeping in line with most other Revision3 shows.

[edit] Distribution

Diggnations live show in San Jose as part of NVISION 08.

Diggnation episodes are released on Wednesdays at 6pm (EST). Previously, the show was released on Friday at 6pm for paid members, and Sunday at 12:01 for everyone. There are an estimated 200,000 regular subscribers to the show.[1] BitGravity handles iTunes and TiVo subscribers, downloads from the website, and RSS feeds. Virgin America airlines also offers on-demand episodes available on the in flight entertainment systems (along with other Revision3 shows).

Diggnation occasionally does live shows. These shows have been hosted at CES, Reno, Macworld, San Francisco, E3, San Diego, Hollywood, London, St. Louis, Amsterdam, San Francisco, Tokyo, Los Angeles, and New York City. The most recent live show was March 14, 2009 at South by Southwest.[2]

[edit] Name origin

Originally, David Prager, a friend and colleague of Kevin Rose, wished to call the website Diggnation. However, Rose decided on the simpler Digg instead. This is spelled with two g's because dig.com is registered to the Walt Disney Internet Group. Rose subsequently chose Diggnation as the podcast's name, replacing the simple name used in the first episode—The Digg Podcast.

[edit] Awards

  • 2006 Podcast Award for best technology podcast.
  • Best in 2007 Podcast from iTunes.
  • 2008 People's Voice Winner for the Technology in Online Film and Video at the Webby Awards.

[edit] See also

[edit] References

[edit] External links


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