Jim Louderback

Last updated
Jim Louderback
Jim Louderback at CrushPad.jpg
Louderback in July 2008 at CrushPad
Born1961 (age 61–62)
Education Northfield Mount Hermon School
University of Vermont (BS)
New York University Stern School of Business (MBA)
Occupation(s)CEO (VidCon, Revision3 [formerly] [1] )
Writer, Editor, Producer
Website Revision3

James Louderback (born 1961) is the CEO of VidCon, and was previously the CEO of Revision3. [1] He has had numerous jobs in media companies involved in technology, most notably with TechTV and editor-in-chief of PC Magazine . He is also well known as the television host of TechTV's Fresh Gear for three years from 1998 to 2000.

Contents

Early life

Louderback graduated from Northfield Mount Hermon School, then attended the University of Vermont in Burlington, Vermont from 1979 to 1983. He graduated Phi Beta Kappa in 1983 with a Bachelor of Science in Mathematics [2] and a minor in Communications. [3]

Upon graduating from the University of Vermont, Louderback went on to New York University Stern School of Business located in New York, New York. He graduated Beta Gamma Sigma in 1986 receiving a M.B.A. with a concentration in Computer Applications and Information Systems. [3]

Career

Louderback started out working for Fortune 100 companies in the 1980s building computer systems and LAN-based client-server systems.

In 1991, Louderback was hired as the Executive Lab Director of PC Week magazine. In his time with the publication, Louderback refined the product reviews into essential news stories. For his work, he was awarded "Best Journalist" in 1993 by the SPA. [3]

Louderback's next position was as the Editor-in-Chief of Windows Sources from 1995 to 1996 in New York. In 1996, Louderback headed back to Boston to become the Vice President and Editorial Director at PC Week. [3]

In 1997, Louderback headed out to San Francisco, California to be Vice President and Editorial Director of ZDTV (later TechTV), the first 24-hour technology television channel. He was in charge of the program content for the channel. He also appeared in numerous segments on the network, and hosted the Fresh Gear show for three years. [3]

In 1999, he developed the "Best of CES" awards program for the CES trade show. This program judges new products on the trade show floor and still continues to this day.

Jim Louderback in the Revision3 studio Jim Louderback, CEO of Revision 3, shows me around the studio.jpg
Jim Louderback in the Revision3 studio

Louderback developed a daily 8-hour live TechTV news program called TechLive in 2000. The show supplied viewers with a steady stream of market news, technology reporting, product information, and CEO interviews.

Louderback became Editor-In-Chief for Ziff Davis Media's internet properties in 2002, he managed PCMag.com, eWeek and Microsoft Watch. He was promoted to Senior Vice President and Editor in Chief of PC Magazine in the fall of 2005 where he managed DL.TV , Cranky Geeks , and ExtremeTech, TechnoRide, GearLog, and Smart Company. He also did a weekly podcast along with Patrick Norton called What's New Now as well as a video podcast called DL.TV. In 2007, he wrote "The iPhone is deeply flawed. Apple will sell lots at first and then sales will plummet."

On July 10, 2007, Louderback became CEO of Revision3. [1] [4] [5] After 7 years, Louderback resigned to focus efforts on a book about being a first time CEO. [6]

On August 29, 2017, Louderback was named as CEO of VidCon, replacing VidCon co-founder Hank Green. Louderback had served as editorial director of VidCon's industry programming track for the last three years. [7]

Books

Louderback is the author of the book TechTV Microsoft(R) Windows XP for Home Users.

Contributor

Since early 2011, Louderback has been one of the featured "CoolHotNot Tech Xperts," along with John C. Dvorak, Chris Pirillo, Dave Graveline, Robin Raskin, Dave Whittle, Steve Bass, and Cheryl Currid. At CoolHotNot's web site, Dvorak and rest of the Tech Xperts used to share their "Loved List" of favorite consumer electronics, their "Wanted List" of tech products they would like to try, and their "Letdown List" of tech products they found disappointing. [8]

See also

Related Research Articles

The Screen Savers is an American TV show that aired on TechTV from 1998 to 2005. The show launched concurrently with the channel ZDTV on May 11, 1998. The Screen Savers originally centered on computers, new technologies, and their adaptations in the world. However, after it was taken over by G4, the show became more general-interest oriented and focused somewhat less on technology. The final episode of The Screen Savers aired on March 18, 2005. Repeat episodes continued to air until March 25, 2005 when its replacement program Attack of the Show! began 3 days later on March 28, 2005. Two spiritual successors to The Screen Savers, This Week in Tech on the TWiT Network with Leo Laporte and Tekzilla on Revision3 with Patrick Norton, were started after the original show concluded. On April 19, 2015, Leo Laporte announced The New Screen Savers, which began airing on TWiT network May 2, 2015.

TechTV was a 24-hour cable and satellite channel based in San Francisco featuring news and shows about computers, technology, and the Internet. In 2004, it merged with the G4 gaming channel which ultimately dissolved TechTV programming. At the height of its six-year run, TechTV was broadcast in 70 countries, reached 43 million households, and claimed 1.9 million unique visitors monthly to its website. A focus on personality-driven product reviews and technical support made it a cultural hub for technology information worldwide, still existing today online through its former hosts' webcasts, most notably the TWiT Network.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Martin Sargent</span> American television host (b. 1975)

Martin Sargent is an American television personality and was co-host of the This WEEK in FUN podcast with Sarah Lane. He is most well known from his time as a Segment Producer on TechTV's The Screen Savers and later as the host of his own late night talk show Unscrewed with Martin Sargent.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John C. Dvorak</span> American journalist and radio broadcaster

John C. Dvorak is an American columnist and broadcaster in the areas of technology and computing. His writing extends back to the 1980s, when he was a regular columnist in a variety of magazines. He was vice president of Mevio, and has been a host on TechTV and TWiT.tv. He is currently a co-host of the No Agenda podcast.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Roger Chang</span>

Roger Chang is a computer enthusiast and American television personality best known for his time as a segment producer and his appearances on TechTV's Call for Help and The Screen Savers. He was a senior producer at Revision3.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">ZDNET</span> Business technology news website

ZDNET is a business technology news website owned and operated by Red Ventures. The brand was founded on April 1, 1991, as a general interest technology portal from Ziff Davis and evolved into an enterprise IT-focused online publication.

<i>Fresh Gear</i> American TV series or program

Fresh Gear is a television program on ZDTV then known as TechTV that showcased the latest in personal technology. It was hosted by Stephanie Siemiller and Chris Leary. The original hosts were Jim Louderback and Sumi Das.

<i>PCMag</i> Computer magazine

PC Magazine is an American computer magazine published by Ziff Davis. A print edition was published from 1982 to January 2009. Publication of online editions started in late 1994 and continued as of 2023.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Discovery Digital Networks</span>

Discovery Digital Networks was a San Francisco based multi-channel Internet television and digital cable network that created, produced and distributed streaming television shows on niche topics. It was sold by Discovery Communications into Group Nine Media in December 2016 and, as such, no longer exists.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">ExtremeTech</span> Technology news website

ExtremeTech is a technology weblog, launched in June 2001, which focuses on hardware, computer software, science and other technologies. Between 2003 and 2005, ExtremeTech was also a print magazine and the publisher of a popular series of how-to and do-it-yourself books.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jay Adelson</span> American Internet entrepreneur

Jay Steven Adelson is an American Internet entrepreneur. In 2014 Adelson co-founded Center Electric with Andy Smith. In 2013 he founded Opsmatic, a technology company that improves productivity on operations teams. In 2015 Opsmatic was bought by New Relic. Adelson's Internet career includes Netcom, DEC's Palo Alto Internet Exchange, co-founder of Equinix, Revision3 and Digg, and CEO of SimpleGeo, Inc. In 2008, Adelson was named a member of Time Magazine's Top 100 Most Influential People in the World and was listed as a finalist on the same list in 2009.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kevin Rose</span> American internet entrepreneur (b. 1977)

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Natali Morris</span> American media personality

Natali Terese Morris is an American online media personality and co-founder of Morris Invest, a real estate investment company. She was formerly a technology news journalist with CNET and CBS.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Veronica Belmont</span> American journalist and media personality (born 1982)

Veronica Ann Belmont is an American online media personality. She was formerly the co-host of the Revision3 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-based video on demand program Qore. Additionally, she was the host for the Mahalo Daily podcast and a producer and associate editor for CNET Networks, Inc. where she produced, engineered, and co-hosted the podcast Buzz Out Loud.

<i>Epic Fu</i> American TV series or program

Epic Fu was a web series created by producers Steve Woolf and Zadi Diaz. The show premiered on June 1, 2006 with Zadi Diaz as the host and ended in 2011.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2nd Streamy Awards</span> 2010 awards ceremony recognizing online video

The 2nd Annual Streamy Awards, presented by the International Academy of Web Television, was the second installment of the Streamy Awards honoring streaming television series. The awards were held on Sunday, April 11, 2010, at the Orpheum Theatre in Los Angeles, California. Paul Scheer served as the host of the presentation. Over 1,300 audience members were in attendance and the show was broadcast live online.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dave Graveline</span> American radio talk show host

Dave Graveline is an American radio talk show host. His syndicated show "Into Tomorrow" has been on the air since 1996 and currently airs on over 100 AM and FM stations throughout the U.S., stations in Canada and on the Armed Forces Network, as well as on several foreign radio stations.

Robin Raskin is an American writer, author, publisher, TV personality and conference and events creator best known for her ability to simplify technology for non-technologists.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Zadi Diaz</span>

Zadi Diaz is an American producer and director, known for founding the web series Epic Fu, co-hosting the podcast New Mediacracy, and executive producer of YouTube Nation. She has won a number of Webby and Streamy Awards.

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 network produced technology and gaming oriented programming in tandem with traditional comedic, political, DIY, and movie-related content. On March 31, 2017, Discovery Communications closed the website.

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Our People | Revision3". Revision3 | A Discovery Communications company. January 2008. Archived from the original on 16 January 2013. Retrieved 13 May 2022.
  2. ↑ Jim Louderback interviewed on the TV show Triangulation on the TWiT.tv network
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 "Jim Louderback - Resume". Archived from the original on 2007-12-02. Retrieved 2008-01-24.
  4. ↑ Liz Gannes (2007-07-11). "Old Media Jumping to New Media". Archived from the original on 2008-01-02. Retrieved 2008-01-05.
  5. ↑ Breaking News: PC Magazine Reshuffles Management - Epicenter - Wired Blogs, July 10, 2007
  6. ↑ Todd Spangler (2014-09-01). "Discovery Digital Networks Head Jim Louderback Resigns" . Retrieved 2014-09-02.
  7. ↑ Liz Gannes (2017-08-29). "VidCon Names Jim Louderback as CEO (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 2017-08-30.
  8. ↑ "CoolHotNot Tech Xperts Team". Archived from the original on 2 September 2011. Retrieved 2011-03-03.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.