TWiT.tv

The TWiT Netcast Network
Owned by	Leo Laporte, TWiT LLC
Country	United States of America
Language	English
Broadcast area	Worldwide, via Internet
Headquarters	140 Keller Street, Petaluma, CA
Website	http://twit.tv
Internet television
Live Webcast	TWiT Live, (Free, available in English)

The TWiT Netcast Network, which is the operating trade name of TWiT LLC, is a podcast (although TWiT uses the term netcast) network run by technology broadcaster and author Leo Laporte. The network began operation in April 2005 with the launch of This Week in Tech. Security Now was the second podcast on the network, debuting in August of that year. Currently the network hosts nineteen podcasts and several live streaming shows covering various topics including the internet, computer security, Microsoft, Apple, food and current technology news.

TWiT founder and owner Leo Laporte, in an October 2009 speech, stated that it grosses revenues of $1.5 million per year, while costs are around $350,000.^[1] Later on October 24, 2009, Leo said during the TWiG (This Week in Google) show that revenues for the year would be closer to $2.5 million. Originally, the network started solely from his own funding as well as setting up a contribution system similar to the public radio model (but not tax-deductible). As the network has grown, a market for advertising in podcasts also developed, and most of the current shows carry advertising. On December 12, 2009, a message on the network's website stated that Leo was going to modify the company's funding: advertising would be used to run the company, and any contributions would go solely for his salary. However, this caused such a sudden increase in donations that he has unofficially stated he would limit how much he takes as income, and save the rest in a fund for future projects, such as a new studio.^{[citation needed]}

TWiT gets its name from its first and flagship podcast, the popular This Week in Tech and the logo design originated from a traditional logic gate symbol of an "AND gate" turned on its side.

History

The TWiT network was started by Leo Laporte in April 2005 after he posted a recording to his website, Leoville.com,^[2] of him and other friends from TechTV talking about technology. Within days, the recording had been downloaded by thousands of people all over the world, and TWiT was born. Today, the network has grown to nineteen shows, and now has millions of viewers from all over the world. They currently employ 17 people, with full and part time jobs. Their revenues currently exceed 2.5 million dollars per year.

Tom Merritt has joined the staff of TWiT LLC as of June 1, 2010. He currently broadcasts a 30–40 minute show, Tech News Today, Monday through Friday.^[3]

On July 24, 2011, the network moved from their former facility, the "TWiT Cottage", two blocks north, which had been in use since 2006, to a larger building known as the "TWiT Brick House", with the new studio facilities costing $1.2 million.^[4]

TWiT Live

Starting on April 30, 2008 Leo Laporte began broadcasting live video from his studio in Petaluma, CA at live.TWiT.tv . The format at times is free flowing, however it mostly serves as a live video feed of TWiT Network podcast creation. Guests usually appear via Skype for their respective podcasts, occasionally appearing via telephone when the Skype network has been down. Guests may also appear live in the studio if they are in the area. Production is handled by Leo himself using a NewTek Tricaster Broadcast streaming to flash video sites BitGravity, Ustream.tv and Justin.tv for the main TWiT Live page. Viewers can interact with the show through either Ustream and Justin.tv's chat rooms or through an IRC chat room. There is an approximate time delay of 5 seconds on the live stream.

TWiT Live has been used to air live coverage of large tech events. Leo produced live coverage of the 2009 Apple WWDC complete with a live pirate video stream from the auditorium floor. The current record for coverage on TWiT Live is the "24 Hours of the iPhone" event in July 2008, tracking the launch of the iPhone 3G around the globe as it went on sale in every timezone at 8am local. Leo stayed on air for the full 24 hours with only a few quick breaks. Calls were taken from people in line around the world, TWiT regulars, including Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak. Leo gave away 10 iPhone 3Gs during the broadcast complete with free audiobooks from Audible.com.

In January 2010, Leo Laporte and the TWiT team covered Consumer Electronics Show live from their stage in the South Hall of the Las Vegas Convention Center. They covered 2 parties, Digital Experience Press Event and ShowStoppers Press Event live though an in-house built wireless broadcasting rig using a tablet computer which connected a camera and 2 mics together and was streamed though EVDO and 3G cards. The broadcasting rig was made by TWiT's former Vice President of Engineering, Colleen Kelly. The trip to Consumer Electronics Show was sponsored by Ford Sync, Audible.com. Audio and Video podcasts were made and published on iTunes and on the TWiT website. It was the first time in a 6 year gap that Leo Laporte visited Consumer Electronics Show after the take over of TechTV. Laporte also announced that he was hopefully going to be back at the Consumer Electronics Show in 2011 which he did.

In May 2010, Leo Announced that TWiT would do more live coverage of major events and breaking news. Since then, they have covered events such as Google I/O, WWDC, E3, Maker Faire, Dragon Con, South By Southwest, Macworld Expo, and the Consumer Electronics Show. They have also covered breaking news such as Eric Schmidt stepping down as CEO of Google, Hewlett Packard's acquisition of Palm, Inc, and various press conferences and keynotes from companies such as Google, Apple, Microsoft, and Facebook.

Leo Laporte has reported on The Weekly Daily Giz Wiz and Security Now! to have gotten an invitation to France, from President Sarkozy, to attend a G-8 summit on the Internet as well as such topics as security, use of the internet, and how to protect yourself. This further shows the reach of Leo Laporte and TWiT.tv

Current Netcasts

Show	Description	Genre	Hosts	Schedule	Launch Date
This Week in Tech	The flagship netcast of the TWiT network and its namesake, it features roundtable discussions and debates surrounding the latest technology news. It is casually referred to as TWiT, thus spawning the name of the network built around it. The podcast was originally known as Revenge of The Screen Savers in reference to the original panel's former show, The Screen Savers, which aired on TechTV. After the first episode was posted Laporte received a cease and desist order from Comcast, owners of the intellectual property rights from TechTV, arguing it too closely resembled the defunct show's name. At one point it was offered in the most formats of any podcast on the network. These included a standard 64kps MP3, low-bandwidth 16kps MP3, Advanced Audio Coding (AAC), and Ogg Vorbis versions. However, Leo Laporte announced the ending of the Ogg Vorbis version in August 2009 and finally the AAC and low bandwidth versions in early November 2009. The reasoning was the time and energy it took to encode all the versions of TWiT wasn't justified by the number of people choosing to listen to the show in those alternative formats. Bandwidth for the 64kps MP3 is provided by AOL Radio, this hosting is free in return for a mention of AOL Radio. The other versions, like most shows on the TWiT Network, were hosted by CacheFly. The show is usually posted every Monday morning at 1am Eastern to minimize the impact on the hosting company's servers. This Week in Tech is the recipient of the 2005, 2008, and 2010 People's Choice Podcast AwardsTechnology category.	Roundtable, Technology News	Leo Laporte Various Panelists	Sunday	Apr 17, 2005
Tech News Today	Every weekday, Tom Merritt former host of Buzz Out Loud (CNET) along with co-hosts Becky Worley (Tech TV, Good Morning America) Sarah Lane (Tech TV, Revision3), Kirsten Sanford (This Week in Science), Darren Kitchen (Hak5, Revision3), Iyaz Akhtar (This Old Nerd), and producer Jason Howell (CNET, from the producer of Buzz Out Loud) will breakdown the latest in tech news just in time for the drive home on the east coast. Airs Monday through Friday at 2:30pm PT, 5:30pm ET on TWiT Live, with the show available for download in audio form the same day by 5:30pm PT.	Technology News	Tom Merritt Sarah Lane Iyaz Akhtar Jason Howell & Guests	Daily	Jun 1, 2010
Security Now	Released each Thursday, Security Now! consists of a discussion between Steve Gibson and Laporte about issues of computer security and, conversely, insecurity. It was the second show to premiere on the TWiT Network, launching in summer 2005. To date, it has not missed a single weekly episode since it began. Every second episode consists of listener questions and feedback. Quick mini-shows have been known to be posted if a breaking or important news story concerning security develop during the week.	Security News	Leo Laporte Steve Gibson	Wednesday	Aug 18, 2005
The Social Hour	The first of the TWiT shows to be broadcast live (via TalkShoe), The Social Hour is hosted by Sarah Lane (who took over from Leo Laporte in March 2010) and Amber MacArthur, and focuses primarily on the world social media. It was previously known as both Inside The Net (through Fall 2006) as well as net@night (through Spring 2011).	Social Media	Sarah Lane Amber MacArthur	Monday	Mar 28, 2011
Weekly Daily Giz Wiz (formerly Daily Giz Wiz)	In this weekly (formerly daily) netcast, Laporte and Mad Magazine writer Dick DeBartolo discuss classic, strange and appealing gadgets. This program is also hosted by AOL Radio.	Gadgets	Leo Laporte Dick DeBartolo	Saturday	Feb 20, 2006
FLOSS Weekly	Currently hosted by Randal L. Schwartz, with a different co-host each week. FLOSS Weekly features interviews with key figures from the free software community.	Free Libre Open Source Software	Randal Schwartz	Wednesday	Apr 7, 2006
Futures in Biotech	Futures in Biotech looks at emerging biotechnology and interviews prolific members of the field. It is hosted by Marc Pelletier.	Biotechnology & Science	Marc Pelletier	Periodically	Jun 14, 2006
Windows Weekly	Paul Thurrott and Laporte discuss Microsoft's software and hardware, including the Xbox 360 and Zune, in depth. Its first episode debuted in the Fall of 2006. It is one of the most popular podcasts on Twit.	Microsoft & Windows	Leo Laporte Paul Thurrott Mary-Jo Foley	Thursday	Sep 28, 2006
Leo Laporte The Tech Guy	Leo Laporte's syndicated weekend technology call-in radio show distributed by Premiere Radio Networks. Only ads read by Laporte are kept, station commercial breaks are cut out. Currently distributed on two-day delay at the behest of affiliate stations. The Tech Guy began in its current form in 2004, thus predating the TWiT network.	Call In	Leo Laporte	Saturday Sunday	Jan 3, 2004
MacBreak Weekly	Mac focused netcast. With Alex Lindsay from Pixelcorps.tv and Andy Ihnatko of the Chicago Sun-Times. It is a weekly netcast covering all things Apple.	Apple and Mac	Leo Laporte Andy Ihnatko Alex Lindsay	Tuesday	Aug 12, 2006
This Week in Law	Law-focused netcast featuring Denise Howell, Cathy Kirkman, Ernie Svenson, and John Palfrey. TWiL debuted on TWiT's feed during a week TWiT was not produced in the Fall of 2006.	Technology Law	Denise Howell Cathy Kirkman Ernie Svenson Evan Brown John Palfrey	Friday	Oct 22, 2006
Abby's Road	Hosted by Abby Laporte (Leo's daughter), Abby's Road is about teen issues and college. For teens, parents, educators and anyone else who's interested.	Teen Issues	Abby Laporte		Jul 2nd, 2009
This Week in Google	Leo Laporte, Gina Trapani, Jeff Jarvis and their guests talk about the latest Google and cloud computing news. Recorded live at 5p Eastern/2p Pacific/2200 UTC on Wednesdays and released later that evening as both an audio and video podcast. First Episode broadcast August 2, 2009.	Google, Cloud Computing	Leo Laporte Gina Trapani Jeff Jarvis	Wednesday	Aug 1, 2009
Dr. Kiki's Science Hour	A show with Kirsten Sanford about assorted science topics. The initial episode was aired on April 30, 2009 on TWiT Live. Recorded live every Thursday at 3pm Pacific/2200 UTC and is released on Saturdays.	Science	Kirsten Sanford	Thursday	Apr 30, 2009
NSFW	Billed as 'TWiTs favorite mistake', NSFW hosted by Brian Brushwood of Scam School and Justin Robert Young of Weird Things, is an evolution of the BBLiveShow for the TWiT Live Network. Airs Tuesdays on TWiT Live and NSFWShow.com at 7pm PT and is also available in podcast form at TWiT.tv/nsfw.	Internet and Gaming Culture	Brian Brushwood Justin Robert Young	Tuesday	Nov 24, 2009
East Meets West	East Meets West: A show with TechTV alumni Tom Merritt, former executive editor of CNET, and Roger Chang, senior producer at Revision3, the show joined the TWiT Live network with show 172. The show discusses various topics such as TV, sports, technology, and politics. Live recording ended on TWit due to Tom's desire to not have the show be a weekly scheduled occurrence. The show remains in production, released as an audio podcast, with Merritt's end of the podcast usually recorded from the TWiT studio.	Internet and Culture	Tom Merritt Roger Chang	weekly	Nov 24, 2009
This Week in Computer Hardware	A show with PC Perspective founder Ryan Shrout and Tekzilla Co-host Patrick Norton about processors, hard drives, and other types of high-end, consumer hardware. At the end of the show, Ryan often asks a trivia question and gives away a prize to a randomly selected person who emails him the correct answer. Airs Thursday at 6pm PT (USA) on TWiT Live and is also available as a podcast.	PC Hardware	Ryan Shrout Patrick Norton	Thursday	May 7, 2009
Home Theater Geeks	Each week Scott Wilkinson, editor of UltimateAVmag.com and HomeTheaterMag.com, along with one industry guest explores the technologies behind the perfect home theater experience. Airs Mondays at 2:15pm PT, 2115 UTC on TWiT Live and is also available as a podcast.	Home Theater	Scott Wilkinson	Monday	Dec 14, 2009
iPad Today	Debuted July 8, 2010, Leo Laporte and Sarah Lane discuss the iPad and its apps.	iPad	Leo Laporte Sarah Lane	Thursday	Jul 8, 2010
Green Tech Today	Debuted August 4, 2010, Sarah Lane and Kirsten Sanford discuss green and environmentally friendly technology. Unlike other TWiT shows, this podcast is filmed outside the TWiT cottage and uses pre-recorded segments.	Green Tech	Kirsten Sanford Sarah Lane Becky Worley	Monday	Jul 19, 2010
FrameRate	Brian Brushwood and Tom Merritt discuss the week in entertainment, mainly focusing on television and movies.	Movies, Television	Brian Brushwood Tom Merritt	Tuesday	Nov 10, 2010
FourCast	A show with TechTV alumnus Tom Merritt, former executive editor of CNET, and Scott Johnson at Frog Pants Studios, LLC, Tom and Scott bring in two guests each week to discuss the future.	Predictions	Tom Merritt Scott Johnson	Monday	Aug 30, 2010
Tech TalkBack	Erik Lanigan takes viewer calls on the week in technology. Not appearing on the TWiT website, archives are available on Youtube.	Call In	Erik Lanigan	Thursday
Triangulation	Leo Laporte and Tom Merritt interview someone each week.	Interview	Leo Laporte Tom Merritt	Wednesday	Jan 20, 2011
TWiT Photo	A podcast about photography, hosted by Leo Laporte and Catherine Hall (formerly Lisa Bettany).	Photography	Leo Laporte Catherine Hall	Tuesday	Jun 14, 2011
All About Android	Jason Howell, Eileen Rivera, and Ron Richards discuss the latest and greatest on Google Android.	Android OS & Hardware	Jason Howell Eileen Rivera Ron Richards	Monday	Mar 28, 2011
This Week in Radio Tech	Hosted by Kirk Harnack and regular guests Chris Tobin of CBS Radio, Chris Tarr of Entercom, and Tom Ray of Buckley Broadcasting, the show discusses the world of radio technology and airs on TWiT Live Wednesdays at 5pm PT.	Radio Technology	Kirk Harnack Tom Ray Chris Tarr Chris Tobin	Wednesday	Feb 17, 2010
Ham Nation	Bob Heil and rotating cast of guests talk the latest in Amateur Radio.	Ham Radio	Bob Heil (K9EID) Gordon West (WB6NOA)	Tuesday	May 24, 2011
Game On	Veronica Belmont and Brian Brushwood discuss Video Games, with a LAN party hosted thereafter. Currently in the preliminary phases, the show is expected to go official in the near future with a new title and new hosts.	Gaming	Brian Brushwood Veronica Belmont	Friday	January, 2012

TWiT Live shows

Currently two regularly recorded shows air on TWiT Live, all externally produced shows that are released on their respective websites.

PC Perspective Podcast

A show with the staff of PC Perspective talking about hardware reviews, news and prizes. Airs Wednesdays at 7pm PT (USA) on TWiT Live, and is released in audio form at PC Perspective.

This Week in Science

Kirsten Sanford's Weekly Radio show on KDVS 90.3 FM.

The TWiT Studio

The TWiT cottage was the original studio where all of the TWiT shows were recorded and produced. The TWiT cottage was located at 8 Keller Street, Petaluma, California. The TWiT cottage accepted visitors from around 11AM until 4PM Pacific time, except for Mondays and Fridays, when they are closed to visitors.

The official move took place at 2 PM PDT on July 24, 2011. Dubbed, the TWiT Brick House, the name was conceived during a Daily Giz Wiz episode with Dick DeBartolo. This name derives from the fundraising bricks sold to defray part of the cost of building the new studio. The event garnered plenty of attention, and was live streamed via LiveU over 3G. CEO of TWiT, Lisa Kentzell took care of most of the arrangements. The 10,000-square-foot (930 m²) studio itself is only two blocks away from the original studio, the TWiT cottage at 140 Keller Street, Petaluma, California. The Brick House studio was designed by Roger C. Ambrose, and the building itself is the former home of BiAS Sound, as well as serving as a drug store, and was originally built as a furniture factory.

TWiT advertisers

Currently there are eight advertisers on the TWiT network. These include AOL Music and Spinner.com, which provide bandwidth for the network's audio podcast downloads. Cachefly currently provides bandwidth for the delivery of the network's video podcast downloads. Winamp has also started to provide bandwidth for select shows. Advertisers during TWiT shows include Citrix, Audible.com, Drobo, Ford, Mailroute, Squarespace, Carbonite, Tucows's Hover, Sling Media, Stamps.com, and ESET (as of June 1, 2010 on Tech News Today). Past sponsors of the TWiT network include, Dell, Visa, Google, and Astaro.

Former TWiT Network netcasts

TummelVision

With Heather Gold, Deb Schultz & Kevin Marks. TummelVision promises to "explore the art of social engagement in culture, business and technology in the context of the social web, the internet and the networked age." The show's website is TummelVision.tv.

Jumping Monkeys

Jumping Monkeys was a netcast that focused on parenting in the digital age with Megan Morrone and Leo. Each episode featured an interview with someone from the world of technology who is also a parent. The hosts discussed interesting web sites from the three categories "spend, save, give" and read listener feedback. The show was 'on hiatus' for a number of months until Morrone confirmed on her blog that she would not return to the show.

Inside the Net

Inside the Net was a weekly netcast with Amber MacArthur covering new and interesting aspects of the Internet. It has been superseded by net@nite (now The Social Hour) in the fall of 2006.

The Laporte Report

A feed of appearances by Laporte on other radio shows, such as Bill Handel on KFI and John Donabie on CFRB.

iLifeZone

iLifeZone focuses on the Apple iLife suite and other Mac similar applications. The podcast moved to the podcast network Podango before ceasing production.

TWiT Fit

A Fitness show in which personal trainer, Al Scardino showed geeks some fitness techniques which can be used behind the desk. Aired Thursday at 1pm PT (USA) on TWiT Live, but has been discontinued.

This WEEK in FUN

Hosted by Sarah Lane and Martin Sargent, TWiF discusses funny news stories from the world of technology, as well as within mainstream media. Currently the podcast is available in audio form, but there are plans to release it as a video podcast. Host Sarah Lane announced on her blog that it would be going on hiatus for an indefinite amount of time.^[5]

Roz Rows The Pacific

Interviews with rower Roz Savage's voyage as the first woman to row solo across the Pacific Ocean. It ended after she landed in Madang, Papua New Guinea, finishing her voyage.

Maxwell's House

An in-depth discussion with the former Lab with Leo Laporte segment host Ray Maxwell about how science applies to technology, with common subjects including aviation, color science, photography and how current and former technologies work. On June 24, 2010 it was announced that Maxwell's House 78 would be the final episode^[6] and had been canceled due to lack of advertising.

Current Geek Weekly

A show with TechTV alumnus Tom Merritt, former executive editor of CNET, and Scott Johnson at Frog Pants Studios, LLC, the show joined the TWiT Live network as a weekly show in addition to thrice-weekly short format show. The show discusses 5-6 geeky and nerdy topics of the week from video games, science and math. Airs Friday at 6pm PT on TWiT Live, and is released in audio form at currentgeek.com. It ended on January 14, 2011 as Scott and Tom decided to focus more on the Daily episodes instead, later morphing into segments on The Morning Stream.

Munchcast

A food focused netcast hosted by San Francisco radio personality Cammy Blackstone and Leo Laporte. Returned from hiatus because it won the 2009 People's Choice Podcast Award Food and Drink category. It is currently on hiatus due to scheduling issues.

The Gillmor Gang

The Gillmor Gang was more focused on technology reviews. TWiT ceased carrying the show when Mike Arrington, during the June 6, 2009 show, accused Leo of compromised journalistic integrity for receiving a Palm Pre 5 day review unit.

Pixel Corps Ventures

The following podcasts were joint promotional ventures with Pixel Corps. They were co-listed on both TWiT.tv and the PixelCorps.tv websites, now only available on the PixelCorps website.

Inside the Black Box

Visual effects focused. Now hosted by Pixel Corps.

The VFX Show

Visual effects tips and tricks. Now hosted by Pixel Corps.

This Week in Media

A show focused on analyzing media and the change to New Media. Now hosted by Pixel Corps.

MacBreak

Mac focused video show. Filmed in 540p. The podcast is now hosted by Pixel Corps. This is the brother of MacBreak Weekly on the TWiT network.

References

1. ^ Mashable.com
2. ^ Leoville.com
3. ^ Tommerritt.com
4. ^ Laporte, Leo. "This Week in Tech, Episode 311". http://twit.tv/311. Retrieved 25 July 2011. 
5. ^ Sarahlane.com
6. ^ Wiki.twit.tv

External links

• TWiT Homepage
• TWiT Live
• TWiT Army
• TWiT Book Picks
• TWiT Picks
• TWiT Wiki
• Unofficial forum
• TWiT IRC Chat