Buzz Out Loud
Encyclopedia
Buzz Out Loud, "CNET's podcast of indeterminate length," or BOL, as it is affectionately titled by its fans, is a weekly podcast
about technology produced by CNET
. The show is hosted by Molly Wood
, Brian Tong, and producer Stephen Beacham and various rotating guest hosts. Veronica Belmont
co-hosted the show until Friday, July 20, 2007 when she left to work at Mahalo.com
. Molly Wood
was a daily co-host until Friday, January 16, 2009 when she cut back to once a week. A co-host rotation was instituted until Molly returned as a full time host on Monday, February 8, 2010. Tom Merritt
was also a co-host, but left on Friday, May 14, 2010 to host Tech News Today on TWiT
. Buzz Out Loud was named in Apple's iTunes Best of 2008 under 'Classic Audio Podcasts.'
. At CES 2007, video of the Buzz Out Loud podcast recording sessions were streamed live on CNET TV
. On 21 May 2007, Jason Howell joined the podcast as producer.
"Buzztown" is a fictional city in which the listeners of Buzz Out Loud are the residents, and is similar to a real city in that it has a Listeners are also referred to as "The Buzz Brigade" or "The Buzz Militia".
The show was used as an example in an O'Reilly
article on how to rewrite a podgrabber.
On Thursday, June 18, 2009, Buzz Out Loud celebrated its 1,000th episode with a live video celebration, featuring a brief news segment, then moving to the CNET video studio for an hour-long celebration live streamed for Buzz Out Loud's 1,000th episode. The special was hosted by Tom Merritt
, Molly Wood
, Natali Morris (formerly Natali Del Conte), Jason Howell, Veronica Belmont
, Leo Laporte
, Brian Tong, Brian Cooley
, Rafe Needleman
, and other community members.
On Friday, April 16, 2010, Tom Merritt announced that he would be leaving CNET to join the TWiT Network as a daily host.
On Tuesday, September 7, 2010, TWIT's Leo Laporte announced on the TWIT-blog that Jason Howell will leave Buzz Out Loud on Friday, September 24, 2010, to join the TWiT Network on Monday, September 27, 2010.
On Thursday, September 1, 2011, Molly Wood announced that the show would go weekly starting Thursday, September 22nd as part of a major reshuffle of CNET Live's schedule with new shows to be announced later.
The week Buzz Out Loud was set to go weekly, they didn't actually have one show. They had a Bonus Makeup Monday Show on September 26, 2011. Then on Wednesday that week, they had live coverage of the Amazon Kindle Press Event. Lastly, that Thursday where they had the first Weekly show.
The Week after they gone weekly, they still didn't have one show. On Tuesday, October 4, 2011, They introduced the "iPhone Not-Five" with Apple Press Coverage , with little them knowing the next day they would be covering the Death of Steve Jobs. Then they had their normal show with people reacting to Steve's death.
The Third Week of them going Weekly was the first with out any special shows and only the weekly show.
feeds by 12 noon Pacific
. Listeners to the show are encouraged to submit their comments by email or by telephone, as well as to post to the Buzz Out Loud Forums. Most aired comments are included in the show's e-mail newsletter, which is available from the show's home page.
In November 2005, the show gained Earthlink
as a sponsor. This marked the beginning of a period of continuity for the show, as most episodes have featured the trio of commentators. The exceptions usually involve one of the commentators being unavailable to record due to business trips, sick days, or vacations. In late March 2006, Buzz Out Loud switched to a new Earthlink sponsorship, having 11 different ads instead of the previous 1. Earthlink eventually ended their sponsorship at the beginning of 2008, and the program went unsponsored for five months. On May 1, Best Buy
became the sponsor of the program, featuring a similar ad pattern as Earthlink.
The show occasionally features interviews; initially, these were integrated as a part of the show, but they have since been spun off into separate episodes due to listener requests. Tech luminaries such as Lawrence Lessig
and Steve Wozniak
have been interviewed, as well as several hosts of the TWiT.tv and Revision3 networks.
Every so often, the Buzz Out Loud crew records live shows at technology trade shows, such as recordings done from the Consumer Electronics Show (CES)
, and Macworld
. These live shows can include a live audience, made up of fans of the show, and discussions on the different products that the commentators have seen at the shows. Other times, one of the hosts will attend a live event, such as Molly at the former E3, and instead call in to the show before, during or after the event with updated information.
A video edition of the podcast had been experimented on and off with several services, until the Friday-only video edition within a dedicated studio was launched officially on CNET TV with the May 2 episode. As of Episode 797, this version has been abandoned in favor of a recorded version of the USTREAM video. The Buzz Out Loud Podcast now has a video version, and an audio version of the show available everyday at bol.cnet.com
A former running gag in the show is that each day is an official US holiday, though the holidays cited are often whimsical in nature. The holidays are cited from the Bizarre American Holidays calendar.
, automotive reviewer Brian Cooley, and News.com reporters Caroline McCarthy and Erica Ogg.
After many listener suggestions, they decided to have four hosts for each show, alternating guest hosts each day. Frequent guests included Natali Del Conte, Brian Tong, Brian Cooley, and Rafe Needleman
. At the start of 2009, Molly Wood announced that she would become one of the guest hosts while Natali would become a permanent member of the round-table. Natali has decided to step back from being permanent since the 1000th episode making Tom Merritt a permanent member. Wood returned as a permanent host in winter 2009.
On 19 December 2007 and 20 December 2007, two special guest-host editions were produced where listeners were called and asked to participate in the special episodes.
Podcast
A podcast is a series of digital media files that are released episodically and often downloaded through web syndication...
about technology produced by CNET
CNET
CNET is a tech media website that publishes news articles, blogs, and podcasts on technology and consumer electronics. Originally founded in 1994 by Halsey Minor and Shelby Bonnie, it was the flagship brand of CNET Networks and became a brand of CBS Interactive through CNET Networks' acquisition...
. The show is hosted by Molly Wood
Molly Wood
Molly Kristin Wood is an executive editor at CNET.com and previously a writer for Associated Press, MacHome Journal magazine, and O'Reilly Media. Wood hosted the "Gadgettes"...
, Brian Tong, and producer Stephen Beacham and various rotating guest hosts. Veronica Belmont
Veronica Belmont
Veronica Ann Belmont is the co-host of the Revision3 show Tekzilla alongside Patrick Norton, and the former host of the monthly PlayStation 3-based video on demand program Qore. Formerly she was the host for the Mahalo Daily podcast and a producer and associate editor for CNET Networks, Inc...
co-hosted the show until Friday, July 20, 2007 when she left to work at Mahalo.com
Mahalo.com
Mahalo.com is a web directory and Internet-based knowledge exchange launched in alpha test in May 2007 by Jason Calacanis...
. Molly Wood
Molly Wood
Molly Kristin Wood is an executive editor at CNET.com and previously a writer for Associated Press, MacHome Journal magazine, and O'Reilly Media. Wood hosted the "Gadgettes"...
was a daily co-host until Friday, January 16, 2009 when she cut back to once a week. A co-host rotation was instituted until Molly returned as a full time host on Monday, February 8, 2010. Tom Merritt
Tom Merritt
Thomas Andrew "Tom" Merritt is a technology journalist and broadcaster who hosts a daily show on Leo Laporte's TWiT.tv Netcast Network Tech News Today...
was also a co-host, but left on Friday, May 14, 2010 to host Tech News Today on TWiT
Twit
Twit may refer to: A person of lesser intelligence, it is normally used in a humors way.*Idiot, a mentally deficient or self-defeating person*TWiT.tv, a podcast network**This Week in Tech , a podcast on the previously-listed network...
. Buzz Out Loud was named in Apple's iTunes Best of 2008 under 'Classic Audio Podcasts.'
History
During the show's public debut on March 30, 2005, it promised to deliver "5 or so" minutes of Tom & Molly's take on tech news every second day, but it has evolved into 35–45 minutes of daily tech-related banter and commentary. As early as 30 March 2005, Molly and Tom were discussing subjects such as: patent infringement lawsuits, the Apple iPod, and DRM. In 2006, they produced a video episode of Buzz Out Loud at the San Francisco premiere of Snakes on a PlaneSnakes on a Plane
Snakes on a Plane is a 2006 American horror-action-thriller film directed by David R. Ellis and starring Samuel L. Jackson. It was released by New Line Cinema on August 18, 2006 in North America...
. At CES 2007, video of the Buzz Out Loud podcast recording sessions were streamed live on CNET TV
CNET TV
CNET TV is a San Francisco, California based Internet television network showing original programming catering to the niche market of technology enthusiasts, operated by CBS Interactive through their CNET.com brand. CNET TV originated as the television program production arm of CNET Networks in the...
. On 21 May 2007, Jason Howell joined the podcast as producer.
"Buzztown" is a fictional city in which the listeners of Buzz Out Loud are the residents, and is similar to a real city in that it has a Listeners are also referred to as "The Buzz Brigade" or "The Buzz Militia".
The show was used as an example in an O'Reilly
O'Reilly
O'Reilly is the Anglicised form of the Gaelic Ó Raghallaigh. It is also the patronymic form of the Irish name Reilly . It is commonly found throughout Ireland, with the greatest concentration of the surname found in County Cavan followed by Longford, Meath, Westmeath, Fermanagh and Monaghan, and...
article on how to rewrite a podgrabber.
On Thursday, June 18, 2009, Buzz Out Loud celebrated its 1,000th episode with a live video celebration, featuring a brief news segment, then moving to the CNET video studio for an hour-long celebration live streamed for Buzz Out Loud's 1,000th episode. The special was hosted by Tom Merritt
Tom Merritt
Thomas Andrew "Tom" Merritt is a technology journalist and broadcaster who hosts a daily show on Leo Laporte's TWiT.tv Netcast Network Tech News Today...
, Molly Wood
Molly Wood
Molly Kristin Wood is an executive editor at CNET.com and previously a writer for Associated Press, MacHome Journal magazine, and O'Reilly Media. Wood hosted the "Gadgettes"...
, Natali Morris (formerly Natali Del Conte), Jason Howell, Veronica Belmont
Veronica Belmont
Veronica Ann Belmont is the co-host of the Revision3 show Tekzilla alongside Patrick Norton, and the former host of the monthly PlayStation 3-based video on demand program Qore. Formerly she was the host for the Mahalo Daily podcast and a producer and associate editor for CNET Networks, Inc...
, Leo Laporte
Leo Laporte
Léo Gordon Laporte is an Emmy Award winning, American technology broadcaster, author, and entrepreneur. A former resident of Providence, Rhode Island, he now lives in Petaluma, California with his wife Jennifer and two children, Abby and Henry....
, Brian Tong, Brian Cooley
Brian Cooley
Brian Cooley is an Editor at large for CNET and their senior pundit, seen frequently on CNN, ABC News, CNBC as well on the TV screens in most major tech retailers around the U.S...
, Rafe Needleman
Rafe Needleman
Rafe Needleman is a magazine and website editor and published author. He wrote a Star Trek trivia book in 1980 and has covered technology and business since 1988...
, and other community members.
On Friday, April 16, 2010, Tom Merritt announced that he would be leaving CNET to join the TWiT Network as a daily host.
On Tuesday, September 7, 2010, TWIT's Leo Laporte announced on the TWIT-blog that Jason Howell will leave Buzz Out Loud on Friday, September 24, 2010, to join the TWiT Network on Monday, September 27, 2010.
On Thursday, September 1, 2011, Molly Wood announced that the show would go weekly starting Thursday, September 22nd as part of a major reshuffle of CNET Live's schedule with new shows to be announced later.
The week Buzz Out Loud was set to go weekly, they didn't actually have one show. They had a Bonus Makeup Monday Show on September 26, 2011. Then on Wednesday that week, they had live coverage of the Amazon Kindle Press Event. Lastly, that Thursday where they had the first Weekly show.
The Week after they gone weekly, they still didn't have one show. On Tuesday, October 4, 2011, They introduced the "iPhone Not-Five" with Apple Press Coverage , with little them knowing the next day they would be covering the Death of Steve Jobs. Then they had their normal show with people reacting to Steve's death.
The Third Week of them going Weekly was the first with out any special shows and only the weekly show.
Format
All episodes have live streaming video and live chat available on CNET Live. Episodes are usually posted via the BOL blog and RSSRSS
-Mathematics:* Root-sum-square, the square root of the sum of the squares of the elements of a data set* Residual sum of squares in statistics-Technology:* RSS , "Really Simple Syndication" or "Rich Site Summary", a family of web feed formats...
feeds by 12 noon Pacific
Pacific Time Zone
The Pacific Time Zone observes standard time by subtracting eight hours from Coordinated Universal Time . The clock time in this zone is based on the mean solar time of the 120th meridian west of the Greenwich Observatory. During daylight saving time, its time offset is UTC-7.In the United States...
. Listeners to the show are encouraged to submit their comments by email or by telephone, as well as to post to the Buzz Out Loud Forums. Most aired comments are included in the show's e-mail newsletter, which is available from the show's home page.
In November 2005, the show gained Earthlink
EarthLink
EarthLink , is an Internet service provider headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, USA. It claims 1.94 million subscribers.- Business :EarthLink provides a variety of Internet connection types, including dial-up, DSL, satellite, and cable. Both dial-up and high speed Internet access are available...
as a sponsor. This marked the beginning of a period of continuity for the show, as most episodes have featured the trio of commentators. The exceptions usually involve one of the commentators being unavailable to record due to business trips, sick days, or vacations. In late March 2006, Buzz Out Loud switched to a new Earthlink sponsorship, having 11 different ads instead of the previous 1. Earthlink eventually ended their sponsorship at the beginning of 2008, and the program went unsponsored for five months. On May 1, Best Buy
Best Buy
Best Buy Co., Inc. is an American specialty retailer of consumer electronics in the United States, accounting for 19% of the market. It also operates in Mexico, Canada & China. The company's subsidiaries include Geek Squad, CinemaNow, Magnolia Audio Video, Pacific Sales, and, in Canada operates...
became the sponsor of the program, featuring a similar ad pattern as Earthlink.
The show occasionally features interviews; initially, these were integrated as a part of the show, but they have since been spun off into separate episodes due to listener requests. Tech luminaries such as Lawrence Lessig
Lawrence Lessig
Lawrence "Larry" Lessig is an American academic and political activist. He is best known as a proponent of reduced legal restrictions on copyright, trademark, and radio frequency spectrum, particularly in technology applications, and he has called for state-based activism to promote substantive...
and Steve Wozniak
Steve Wozniak
Stephen Gary "Woz" Wozniak is an American computer engineer and programmer who founded Apple Computer, Co. with Steve Jobs and Ronald Wayne...
have been interviewed, as well as several hosts of the TWiT.tv and Revision3 networks.
Every so often, the Buzz Out Loud crew records live shows at technology trade shows, such as recordings done from the Consumer Electronics Show (CES)
Consumer Electronics Show
The International Consumer Electronics Show is a major technology-related trade show held each January in the Las Vegas Convention Center, Las Vegas, Nevada, United States. Not open to the public, the Consumer Electronics Association-sponsored show typically hosts previews of products and new...
, and Macworld
Macworld Conference & Expo
Produced by Boston-based IDG World Expo, Macworld | iWorld is a trade-show with conference tracks dedicated to the Apple Macintosh platform. It is held annually in the United States, usually during the second week of January...
. These live shows can include a live audience, made up of fans of the show, and discussions on the different products that the commentators have seen at the shows. Other times, one of the hosts will attend a live event, such as Molly at the former E3, and instead call in to the show before, during or after the event with updated information.
A video edition of the podcast had been experimented on and off with several services, until the Friday-only video edition within a dedicated studio was launched officially on CNET TV with the May 2 episode. As of Episode 797, this version has been abandoned in favor of a recorded version of the USTREAM video. The Buzz Out Loud Podcast now has a video version, and an audio version of the show available everyday at bol.cnet.com
A former running gag in the show is that each day is an official US holiday, though the holidays cited are often whimsical in nature. The holidays are cited from the Bizarre American Holidays calendar.
Guest hosts
Guest hosts originally appeared on the podcast only when either Tom or Molly were unable to be in the studio. These included producer Jason Howell prior to becoming a full time host, Webware.com editor Rafe NeedlemanRafe Needleman
Rafe Needleman is a magazine and website editor and published author. He wrote a Star Trek trivia book in 1980 and has covered technology and business since 1988...
, automotive reviewer Brian Cooley, and News.com reporters Caroline McCarthy and Erica Ogg.
After many listener suggestions, they decided to have four hosts for each show, alternating guest hosts each day. Frequent guests included Natali Del Conte, Brian Tong, Brian Cooley, and Rafe Needleman
Rafe Needleman
Rafe Needleman is a magazine and website editor and published author. He wrote a Star Trek trivia book in 1980 and has covered technology and business since 1988...
. At the start of 2009, Molly Wood announced that she would become one of the guest hosts while Natali would become a permanent member of the round-table. Natali has decided to step back from being permanent since the 1000th episode making Tom Merritt a permanent member. Wood returned as a permanent host in winter 2009.
On 19 December 2007 and 20 December 2007, two special guest-host editions were produced where listeners were called and asked to participate in the special episodes.