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Veronica Ann Belmont (born July 21, 1982) is an American online media personality. She was formerly the co-host of the
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 ...
show '' Tekzilla'' alongside Patrick Norton. Belmont was the co-host of the former TWiT.tv gaming show ''Game On!'' along with Brian Brushwood, and the former host of the monthly
PlayStation 3 The PlayStation 3 (PS3) is a home video game console developed by Sony Interactive Entertainment, Sony Computer Entertainment. The successor to the PlayStation 2, it is part of the PlayStation brand of consoles. It was first released on Novemb ...
-based
video on demand Video on demand (VOD) is a media distribution system that allows users to access videos without a traditional video playback device and the constraints of a typical static broadcasting schedule. In the 20th century, broadcasting in the form of ...
program Qore. Additionally, she was the host for the
Mahalo Daily Mahalo.com was a web directory (or human search engine) and Internet-based knowledge exchange (Question-and-answer website) launched in May 2007 by Jason Calacanis. It differentiated itself from algorithmic search engines like Google and Ask.com, ...
podcast and a producer and associate editor for CNET Networks, Inc. where she produced, engineered, and co-hosted the podcast '' Buzz Out Loud''.


Background

Belmont's mother was a vice president at
Coleco Coleco Industries, Inc. was an American company founded in 1932 by Maurice Greenberg as The Connecticut Leather Company. It was a successful toy company in the 1980s, mass-producing versions of Cabbage Patch Kids dolls and its video game consol ...
. Belmont went to school at Conard High School in
West Hartford, Connecticut West Hartford is a town in Hartford County, Connecticut, United States, west of downtown Hartford. The population was 64,083 at the 2020 census. The town's popular downtown area is colloquially known as "West Hartford Center," or simply "The ...
before attending
Emerson College Emerson College is a private college with its main campus in Boston, Massachusetts. It also maintains campuses in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California and Well, Limburg, Netherlands (Kasteel Well). Founded in 1880 by Charles Wesley Emerson as a ...
, in
Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the capital city, state capital and List of municipalities in Massachusetts, most populous city of the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financ ...
,
Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett language, Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut assachusett writing systems, məhswatʃəwiːsət'' English: , ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is the most populous U.S. state, state in the New England ...
, to study audio production and new media studies. After graduation in 2004, she worked briefly in Boston and eventually secured an internship at CNET. She resides in
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 ...
,
California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the ...
with her husband, former
Engadget ''Engadget'' ( ) is a multilingual technology blog network with daily coverage of gadgets and consumer electronics. ''Engadget'' manages ten blogs four of which are written in English and six have international versions with independent editor ...
editor
Ryan Block Ryan Block (born June 25, 1982) is a San Francisco-based technology entrepreneur. He was the editor-in-chief of AOL’s Engadget before he co-founded the community site gdgt. With gdgt's sale to AOL in 2013, he returned to the company and heade ...
. Belmont learned she is
Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...
through the Internet, "Quite literally, like I found out that I was … My family's Jewish and I never knew that before. And that was all because of, yeah, because of technology."


Career


CNET

Belmont started as an intern producing audio content for
CNET Networks ''CNET'' (short for "Computer Network") is an American media website that publishes reviews, news, articles, blogs, podcasts, and videos on technology and consumer electronics globally. ''CNET'' originally produced content for radio and televi ...
. She was hired full-time six months later to produce their ''First Look from the Labs'' series, and also began producing '' Buzz Out Loud''. Originally she was the sound engineer and producer of the show, but her role on the podcast grew substantially. She began to inject her own commentary and was acknowledged as an official co-host in August 2006. She also was the producer and co-host of two more CNET podcasts called ''MP3 Insider'' and ''CRAVE Gadget Blog'', which were both co-hosted by
James Kim James Kim (August 9, 1971December 4, 2006) was an American television personality and technology analyst for the former TechTV international cable television network, reviewing products for shows including '' The Screen Savers'', ''Call for Help ...
. Belmont made her video debut on CNET on April 6, 2006, on an ''Insider Secrets'' segment titled "Give your PC a Mac-over". Since then, she has hosted videos from ''Maker Faire'', ''CES'', and ''South by Southwest''. She was also the host of the Prizefight series. She appeared for the final time in CNET TV on July 25, 2007, in the iPhone vs Nokia N95 edition of Prizefight".


Mahalo

Belmont left CNET in July 2007 to join Mahalo. She hosted and produced her own podcast called ''Mahalo Daily'', covering subjects of her choosing. Her first video was an interview with
Leeroy Jenkins Leeroy Jenkins is a player character created by Ben Schulz in Blizzard Entertainment's MMORPG '' World of Warcraft''. The character became popular in 2005 from his role in a viral video of game footage where, having been absent during his grou ...
at BlizzCon 2007. On April 2, 2008, Belmont announced that she would be leaving Mahalo Daily within two weeks. This was reported by TV Week on April 3, 2008.


Revision3

On April 9, 2008,
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 ...
announced that Belmont would be joining the Revision3 staff as co-host of '' Tekzilla.'' In May 2008, she became host of ''Tekzilla Daily Tip''. In October 2012, Belmont began hosting ''Fact or Fictional'', a short format show on Revision3's new
YouTube YouTube is a global online video sharing and social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by Google, and is the second most ...
channel ''techfeed''. The show examines technology from popular fictional media and determines if the technology is or could be real. Belmont left Revision3 in November 2013.


Qore

In June 2008,
Sony Computer Entertainment Sony Interactive Entertainment (SIE), formerly known as Sony Computer Entertainment (SCE), is a multinational video game and digital entertainment company wholly owned by multinational conglomerate Sony. The SIE Group is made up of two legal co ...
announced a new subscription-based "monthly lifestyle gaming program" called Qore that would be hosted by Belmont. On October 19, 2011, she announced via her blog that she would be stepping down as host.


''Sword and Laser''

On October 16, 2007, Belmont started co-hosting a podcast with
Tom Merritt Thomas Andrew Merritt (born June 28, 1970) is an American technology journalist, writer, and broadcaster best known as the host of several podcasts. He is a former co-host of ''Tech News Today'' on the TWiT.tv Network, and was previously an ex ...
of CNET and TWIT's Tech News Today fame. As the name implies, it is strictly about science-fiction and fantasy books and debuted with ''
Neuromancer ''Neuromancer'' is a 1984 science fiction novel by American-Canadian writer William Gibson. Considered one of the earliest and best-known works in the cyberpunk genre, it is the only novel to win the Nebula Award, the Philip K. Dick Award, and ...
'' by
William Gibson William Ford Gibson (born March 17, 1948) is an American-Canadian speculative fiction writer and essayist widely credited with pioneering the science fiction subgenre known as ''cyberpunk''. Beginning his writing career in the late 1970s, hi ...
. Prior to the creation of the podcast, it was a book club in forum form. This format lasted through the first 3 books, which were, '' The Golden Compass'' by
Philip Pullman Sir Philip Nicholas Outram Pullman (born 19 October 1946) is an English writer. His books include the fantasy trilogy '' His Dark Materials'' and ''The Good Man Jesus and the Scoundrel Christ'', a fictionalised biography of Jesus. In 2008, ''Th ...
, ''
Ender's Game ''Ender's Game'' is a 1985 military science fiction novel by American author Orson Scott Card. Set at an unspecified date in Earth's future, the novel presents an imperiled humankind after two conflicts with an insectoid alien species they d ...
'' by
Orson Scott Card Orson Scott Card (born August 24, 1951) is an American writer known best for his science fiction works. He is the first and (as of 2022) only person to win both a Hugo Award and a Nebula Award in consecutive years, winning both awards for bo ...
and ''
American Gods ''American Gods'' (2001) is a fantasy novel by British author Neil Gaiman. The novel is a blend of Americana, fantasy, and various strands of ancient and modern mythology, all centering on the mysterious and taciturn Shadow. The book was pu ...
'' by
Neil Gaiman Neil Richard MacKinnon GaimanBorn as Neil Richard Gaiman, with "MacKinnon" added on the occasion of his marriage to Amanda Palmer. ; ( Neil Richard Gaiman; born 10 November 1960) is an English author of short fiction, novels, comic books, gr ...
, with the subsequent creation of the podcast. From 2012 to 2013, a video incarnation of the show ran on
Felicia Day Kathryn Felicia Day (born June 28, 1979) is an American actress, writer, and web series creator. She is the creator and star of the web series '' The Guild'' (2007–2013), a show loosely based on her life as a gamer. She also wrote and starred ...
's Geek & Sundry. Over 30 episodes were produced.


''TWiT.tv''

On October 30, 2011,
Leo Laporte Leo Laporte (; born November 29, 1956) is the host of '' The Tech Guy'' weekly radio show and a host on TWiT.tv, an Internet podcast network focusing on technology. He is also a former TechTV technology host (1998–2008) and a technology author. ...
announced on '' This Week in Tech'' that Belmont would cohost TWiT's upcoming gaming show with Brian Brushwood called ''Game On!''. The show's first official episode aired January 15, 2012, at 6:00 pm Pacific time on a live webcast in the TWiT network. The last episode of the show was uploaded on April 9, 2012.


Voice acting

In 2010's '' Fallout: New Vegas'', she was the voice of Light Switch 01, Light Switch 02, Stealth Suit Mk II and Christine Royce.


''BBC America''

Gizmodo: The Gadget Testers premiered on March 18, 2013 on
BBC America BBC America is an American basic cable network that is jointly owned by BBC Studios and AMC Networks. The channel primarily airs sci-fi and action series and films, as well as selected programs from the BBC (such as its nature documentary ...
. Belmont is one of the co-hosts and testers who tests the latest gadgets in outrageous and extreme ways.


''IRL'' podcast

Starting June 2017, Belmont hosted a podcast called ''
IRL - Online Life is Real Life IRL may refer to: Places * Republic of Ireland (ISO 3166-1 alpha-3 country code) * Irlam railway station (National Rail station code IRL), England Organizations * International Rugby League, the governing body for the sport of rugby league * Ind ...
'' which is produced by
Mozilla Mozilla (stylized as moz://a) is a free software community founded in 1998 by members of Netscape. The Mozilla community uses, develops, spreads and supports Mozilla products, thereby promoting exclusively free software and open standards, w ...
. Belmont left the podcast after season 3 and was replaced by Manoush Zomorodi in season 4.


Adobe Spark

In July 2018, Belmont became a product manager and evangelist on the Adobe Spark team.


References and notes


External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Belmont, Veronica 1982 births Living people CNET American women podcasters American podcasters American Internet celebrities Emerson College alumni Revision3 People from Hartford, Connecticut American audio engineers Engineers from Connecticut Women audio engineers 20th-century American Jews 21st-century American Jews 20th-century American women 21st-century American women