''Diggnation'' was a weekly humor
video podcast
A podcast is a program made available in digital format for download over the Internet. For example, an episodic series of digital audio or video files that a user can download to a personal device to listen to at a time of their choosing. ...
hosted by
Kevin Rose
Kevin Rose is an American Internet entrepreneur who co-founded Revision3, Digg, Pownce, and Milk. He also served as production assistant and co-host at TechTV's ''The Screen Savers''. From 2012 to 2015, he was a venture partner at GV.
Earl ...
and
Alex Albrecht
Alexander Jennings Albrecht (born August 14, 1976) is an American television personality, actor and podcaster. He is known for co-hosting the former G4techTV television program ''The Screen Savers'', an hour-long computer and technology variety ...
. Broadcast on
Revision3
Revision3 was a San Francisco-based multi-channel television network that created, produced and distributed streaming television shows on niche topics. Founded in 2005, it operated as a subsidiary of Discovery Digital Networks since 2012.
The ...
, the first episode aired on July 1, 2005 and the last episode on December 30, 2011.
Producer
David Prager
David Lawrence Prager (born January 17, 1977) is one of the co-founders and Vice President of Special Projects for Revision3. He has also worked for ZDTV, TechTV, and G4.
Early life
Prager graduated from Trinity University in San Antonio, Te ...
suggested naming the ''Digg'' website "''Diggnation''". Rose decided on the simpler ''Digg'' for the website and ''Diggnation'' for the podcast.
''Diggnation'' usually starts with Rose and Albrecht reviewing beverages. These include beer, tea, coffee, and hard liquors such
vodka
Vodka ( pl, wódka , russian: водка , sv, vodka ) is a clear distilled alcoholic beverage. Different varieties originated in Poland, Russia, and Sweden. Vodka is composed mainly of water and ethanol but sometimes with traces of impuritie ...
or
whisky
Whisky or whiskey is a type of distilled alcoholic beverage made from fermented grain mash. Various grains (which may be malted) are used for different varieties, including barley, corn, rye, and wheat. Whisky is typically aged in wooden c ...
. The hosts continue consuming the beverages for the rest of the show. Rose and Albrecht then discuss
Digg
Digg, stylized in lowercase as digg, is an American news aggregator with a curated front page, aiming to select stories specifically for the Internet audience such as science, trending political issues, and viral Internet issues. It was launch ...
stories from the previous week, with off-topic banter with each other and with Prager and camera operator Glenn McElhose.
The intro sequence to the podcast was created by Eden Soto
in collaboration with Prager. It was developed over a three month period, according to Eden Soto's
website.
Episodes
The show begins with a short listing of the podcast's current sponsors, followed by a humorous fake advertisement (i.e. Bose's Noise Enhancing Headphones, "Days of our Prager", Cougars: Aged to Perfection, etc.).
After the title video, the hosts introduce themselves, give the filming location, make any relevant announcements, and discuss the drinks they will have during the episode. The
beer tasting
Beer tasting is a way to learn more about the history, ingredients and production of beer as well as different beer styles, hops, yeast and beer presentation. A common way is to analyse the appearance, smell and taste of the beer. Then a final judg ...
and beverage aspect of Diggnation is one of the show's unique aspects.
The majority of the episode is dedicated to Rose and Albrecht discussing news items as well as providing personal commentary,
anecdote
An anecdote is "a story with a point", such as to communicate an abstract idea about a person, place, or thing through the concrete details of a short narrative or to characterize by delineating a specific quirk or trait. Occasionally humorous ...
s and unrelated banter. The show's humor is generally vulgar. At the end of the show, Rose and Albrecht mention their sponsors again, read the e-mail from fans, then conclude the show with a seemingly ad-libbed phrase or saying.
In more recent episodes, bigger ''Digg'' stories are discussed after the ads, but before the emails. This is keeping in line with most other Revision3 shows.
Distribution
![Diggnation Logo](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/88/Diggnation_Logo.png)
Diggnation episodes were released weekly on Wednesdays at 6 PM (EST). Previously, the show was released on Friday at the same time for paid members, and Sunday at 12:01 for everyone. There were an estimated 250,000 regular subscribers to the show during its peak.
BitGravity handles iTunes and TiVo subscribers, downloads from the website, and RSS feeds. Repeats, edited for content, time and profanity, are also seen on
Youtoo TV
YTA TV (an initialism for its former full name, Youtoo America; commonly referred to as just YTA) is an American television network which originally launched in February 1985 as a cable channel. Unusual for a network of its type, it has had mult ...
.
''Diggnation'' hosted live shows at
CES, SXSW,
Reno, Nevada
Reno ( ) is a city in the northwest section of the U.S. state of Nevada, along the Nevada-California border, about north from Lake Tahoe, known as "The Biggest Little City in the World". Known for its casino and tourism industry, Reno is the ...
, Macworld,
San Francisco
San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...
,
E3, San Diego,
Hollywood
Hollywood usually refers to:
* Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California
* Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States
Hollywood may also refer to:
Places United States
* Hollywood District (disambiguation)
* Hollywood, ...
, London,
St. Louis
St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the bi-state metropolitan area, which e ...
, Amsterdam,
San Francisco
San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...
, Tokyo,
Los Angeles
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...
, and New York City.
On October 3, 2011, Prager announced that ''Diggnation'' would end with its 340th episode.
The ''Diggnation'' finale was broadcast on December 30, 2011 at The Music Box in
Hollywood
Hollywood usually refers to:
* Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California
* Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States
Hollywood may also refer to:
Places United States
* Hollywood District (disambiguation)
* Hollywood, ...
,.
Guests
Although hosting duties were typically split solely between Rose and Albrecht, a few "third-chair" guests were invited onto the program:
* Episodes 185 and 251:
Jimmy Fallon
James Thomas Fallon (born September 19, 1974) is an American comedian, television host, actor, and writer. He is known for his work in television as a cast member on ''Saturday Night Live'' and as the host of the late-night talk show ''The Ton ...
* Episode 220:
Adam Savage
Adam Whitney Savage (born July 15, 1967) is an American special effects designer and fabricator, actor, educator, and television personality and producer, best known as the former co-host (with Jamie Hyneman) of the Discovery Channel televisi ...
* Episode 231:
John Hodgman
John Kellogg Hodgman (born June 3, 1971) is an American author, actor, and humorist. In addition to his published written works, such as '' The Areas of My Expertise'', ''More Information Than You Require'', and '' That Is All'', he is known for ...
Other guests included
Chris Hansen
Christopher Edward Hansen (born September 13, 1959) is an American television journalist and YouTube personality. He is known for his work on ''Dateline NBC'', in particular the former segment ''To Catch a Predator'', which revolved around catc ...
, Adam Carolla,
Ashton Kutcher
Christopher Ashton Kutcher (; born February 7, 1978) is an American actor, producer, entrepreneur, and former model. He is the recipient of various accolades, including a People's Choice Award, and nominations for two Young Artist Awards, a S ...
,
WWE Diva
Throughout its history, women have served in various onscreen roles in the American professional wrestling promotion WWE. In the 1990s, WWE (then known as the World Wrestling Federation) introduced the term Diva to refer to its female performer ...
and
Candice Michelle
Candice Michelle Beckman (born September 30, 1978), better known as Candice Michelle, is an American retired professional wrestler, model and actress, best known for her time with WWE.
After spending years modeling and acting, Candice Michelle ...
, Gary Vaynerchuk,
Rachel Maddow
Rachel Anne Maddow (, ; born April 1, 1973) is an American television news program host and liberal political commentator. Maddow hosts ''The Rachel Maddow Show'', a weekly television show on MSNBC, and serves as the cable network's special eve ...
, Leo Laporte,
Robert Rodriguez
Robert Anthony Rodriguez (; born June 20, 1968) is an American filmmaker, composer, and visual effects supervisor. He shoots, edits, produces, and scores many of his films in Mexico and in his home state of Texas. Rodriguez directed the 1992 ac ...
and Tony Hawk.
Awards
* 2006:
Podcast Award for best technology podcast.
* 2007: Best in 2007 Podcast from iTunes.
* 2008: People's Voice Winner for the Technology in Online Film and Video at the
Webby Awards
The Webby Awards are awards for excellence on the Internet presented annually by the International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences, a judging body composed of over two thousand industry experts and technology innovators. Categories include ...
.
* 2009:
Streamy Award
The YouTube Streamy Awards, also known as the Streamy Awards or Streamys, are presented annually by Dick Clark Productions and Tubefilter to recognize excellence in online video, including directing, acting, producing, and writing. The forma ...
for Best Hosted Web Series (nomination)
* 2010: Streamy Award for Best Hosted Web Series (won)
Other shows
A spin-off show, ''The Digg Reel'' ran from January 2008 to September 2010, and was originally hosted by Jessica Corbin, followed by Andrew Bancroft. The show featured the week's top user submitted videos in comparison to ''Diggnation's'' primary focus on news articles. Both were produced by Revision3.
On October 13, 2017, Rose and Albrecht released a "light Diggnation reunion" under the title of "Talking Tech", released within the "''Kevin Rose Show''" podcast.
In the episode, the two hosts confirmed new episodes of "Talking Tech" would be released every 4 to 5 episodes of the "''Kevin Rose Show''."
References
External links
Diggnation websiteDiggnationon Blip
{{Streamy Awards Winners CSS Discontinued
2005 American television series debuts
2005 web series debuts
2012 American television series endings
2012 web series endings
Audio podcasts
Revision3
Streamy Award-winning channels, series or shows
Video podcasts
Technology podcasts
2012 podcast endings
2008 podcast debuts