TWIT TV

This Week in Tech or TWIT.TV is fast becoming the pod/net casting community’s first 24 hour online network. Founded by veteran tech journalist Leo Laporte, for 30 hours each week, Laporte and a myriad of other hosts and co-hosts talk about all things technology. In this digital age there is a sizeable and growing audience for this genre of net casting.

The network's flagship podcast "This Week in Tech,” is downloaded by a quarter of a million people each week. The TWIT newtork produces 22 other technology-focused podcasts that are downloaded five million times a month. Laporte  also streams video all day long that captures his podcasting and a weekend radio show on computers, “The Tech Guy,” that reaches 500,000 more people through 140 stations.

TWIT programs aim to discuss almost any peice of technology with a chip in it. Discussions range from trends in social networking, the latest from Apple, high fi stereo through to the iPad and any other gadgets that might pop up during the week.

In terms of a media organisations TWIT.TV is a very small player when compare to all the mainstream networks. However it is extremely well placed to grow as the strong hold of the traditional media produces becomes weakened through the fragmentation in a world where anyone with a laptop and a webcam can cast their product to a potential audience of millions.

Business has been going well for Laporte, with an increasing array of sponsors jumping on board to support his programs. Laporte's income is generated through donations where keen listerners/viewers can contirbute $5 to $15 on a monthly basis. According to a recent New York Times article the donations equated to approximately $20,ooo a month for Laportes salary with the rest of sponsor generated income invested back into the busiess.

As a result TWIT.TV's operations will move from Laporte's humble cottage in Petalumah, Northern Califorinia to a larger facility two blocks away from the cottage.  I've become a big fan of Laporte and his team over the last couple of years and  see a bright future not only for his network but the whole podcasting community as the genre becomes more intergrated into family lounge rooms with devices such as Apple Tv and Google providing ready access to the world of podcasting.