{"id":647297,"date":"2013-03-18T15:21:54","date_gmt":"2013-03-18T19:21:54","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/paidcontent.org\/?p=226128"},"modified":"2013-03-18T15:21:54","modified_gmt":"2013-03-18T19:21:54","slug":"leo-laportes-twit-takes-on-youtube-hits-with-new-show","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/647297","title":{"rendered":"Leo Laporte\u2019s TWiT takes on YouTube hits with new show"},"content":{"rendered":"

Veteran tech broadcaster Leo Laporte’s\u00a0TWiT<\/a> network is\u00a0launching a new show<\/a> dubbed This Week In YouTube<\/em>, aiming to highlight both trending videos as well as news about YouTube. For TWiT, the show is yet another sign of the company’s \u00a0transformation from a tech podcast to a video network.<\/p>\n

This Week in YouTube<\/em><\/a> stars TWiT founder Leo Laporte and YouTube geek comedian Lamarr Wilson, who told me this about his plans for the show:<\/p>\n

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\u201cOur new YouTube show will cover the most interesting YouTube news story of the week. In addition, we will analyze a viral video of the week, along with the most topical discussion topic of the week. Finally, we will choose a channel each week from YouTube to spotlight, and we\u2019ll give the audience a YouTube tip to either enhance their video watching or their video creation experience.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

This Week In YouTube,<\/em>\u00a0which will officially launch in a few weeks, is an interesting format for TWiT, in part because it shows how much the company has changed over the past few years. TWiT began as a weekly tech pundit podcast, branched out to other topics, and eventually transitioned to focus primarily on video, with a big focus on live video content.<\/p>\n

Laporte told me two years ago<\/a> that his goal was to become \u201cthe CNN of tech.\u201d But TWiT CEO Lisa Kentzell made it clear Monday that this doesn\u2019t mean to copy old media distribution models:<\/p>\n

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\u201cAs an online network, TWiT has always been platform agnostic. We want to be available everywhere our audience is.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Part of that puzzle has always been YouTube, but This Week in YouTube<\/em> producer Chad Johnson admitted Monday that YouTube hasn\u2019t been front and center of TWiT\u2019s video strategy. \u201cWhile TWiT has covered every step of YouTube\u2019s growth, it\u2019s never been the main way we connect with our audience,\u201d he said, adding that he hopes to change that with Wilson and the audience he has already grown on the video site. \u201cWe are very excited to cover the future of online video together with this new show,\u201d Johnson said.<\/p>\n

Check out this video tour of the TWiT studio I did back in 2011:<\/p>\n

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\"Ooyala<\/a>
Watch this video for free<\/a> on GigaOM<\/a> <\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

This story was corrected 12:48 pm to clarify that the show hasn’t officially launched yet, but is still in beta.<\/em><\/p>\n

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