One of the first shows that caught my attention on Tech TV when it first came on the air was ‘The ScreenSavers.’ Leo Laporte and his guest hosts created a super show at that time and I was dismayed when I got my TiVo only to learn that he was no longer on the show.
Tech TV made a terrible decision some time ago to become G4 – The Gaming Channel. Probably one of the most sad marketing decisions for the future of technology ever. Not that I have anything against games…I have a callous on my thumbs from decades of video game addition. It just seems to me that G4’s maturity plummeted and what began as the video ‘Wired’ channel all of a sudden is a companion website to Xbox and Game Cube enthusiasts. Now they’re trying to expand their audience with reruns of The Man Show. Jeesh! Their programming seems targeted toward a gamer audience and I rarely find much substance other than sometimes, the history of Mario Brothers will amuse me into spending 22 minutes.
I’ve watched Leo and his staff struggle with a new vision and after receiving my Ipod for Christmas, I was excited to see Leo’s show and their new program/podcast (TWIT – This Week In Tech) as one of the highest rated shows.
Podcasting has all of sudden become an important media outlet and a perfect demonstration of narrowcasting I’ve seen. Leo’s staff along with John Dvorak are interested and cutting edge and they seem to have the insider views on many of the most important tech issues each week. It’s lively, uninterrupted by commercials and a great companion for a geek-o-phile as myself.
Are you a TWIT?