Welcome to the 61st episode of the Mediatwits podcast, with Mark Glaser and Rafat Ali as co-hosts. This week is a very special edition of the podcast, with an in-depth interview with “famous minor TV personality” John Hodgman, a regular correspondent on “The Daily Show” and the “PC” in the Mac vs. PC ads from Apple. Hodgman talked about his new book “That Is All,” a satirical almanac of amazing facts that aren’t true. He also talks about his love for Twitter (not for Facebook), and how he became an accidental TV personality. Will he be first in line for the iPad Mini? No, but that doesn’t mean he can’t appreciate all the new improvements that Apple makes.
Speaking of the iPad Mini, our second segment is a discussion about the announcement of the 7.9-inch tablet and how it stacks up against the other smaller tablets such as the Kindle Fire HD and Google Nexus 7. If you were buying one as a Christmas gift, which one should you get? We asked our gadget experts Nicole Lee of Engadget and Matt Buchanan of BuzzFeed. They also discussed the new Microsoft Surface and whether it stands a chance in a world of Fandroids and iSheep.
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Guest Bios
Comedian, author and Apple pitchman John Hodgman recently released his latest book, “That Is All,” the third tome in his “Complete World Knowledge” triology. The book includes sections on wine and sports, deranged millionaires and the end of the world. Hodgman is known for being the “PC” on the popular Mac vs. PC ad campaign for Apple, and has been a longtime correspondent on “The Daily Show with Jon Stewart.” Follow him on Twitter @hodgman or on his Tumblr.
Nicole Lee has been covering technology since 2005 with stints at Wired, Gizmodo, CNET, This Week in Tech, and now Engadget, where she writes about gadgets of all kinds.
Matt Buchanan is the editor of BuzzFeed’s tech vertical FWD. Buchanan was previously the deputy editor of Gawker’s Gizmodo, and has contributed to American Photo, Bloomberg, the New York Times Diner’s Journal, and Popular Mechanics. Buchanan has been writing about technology and the way it’s changing our lives for five years.
Our show is now on Stitcher! Listen to us on your iPhone, Android Phone, Kindle Fire and other devices with Stitcher. Find Stitcher in your app store or at stitcher.com.
Intro and outro music by 3 Feet Up; mid-podcast music by Autumn Eyes via Mevio’s Music Alley.
Highlights from the Show
Intro
1:00: Mark goes to Poynter/craigconnects conference on ethics
2:00: The MediaShift Mixer at the Paley Center
4:00: Rundown for the podcast
Interview with John Hodgman
5:30: Special guest John Hodgman
7:00: “That Is All” is an expert tome of lies
8:30: How Hodgman became a correspondent on “The Daily Show”
12:00: Hodgman is a former literary agent, and thinks they will have a future with e-books and self-publishing
15:00: Hodgman: Twitter has brought back the one-liner as a mainstream form of comedy
17:00: Hodgman’s not a fan of Facebook but does have a Tumblr
19:00: He doesn’t need to get every Apple product but appreciates the company’s innovations
22:45: How did “The Daily Show” and “Colbert Report” get to be big sources for news?
26:00: Hodgman: What could be more valuable than media criticism right now?
iPad Mini and small tablets
27:00: Special guests Nicole Lee and Matt Buchanan
29:20: Buchanan: Apple will sell iPad Minis by the truckload
31:30: Lee: For surfing the web and email, the Nexus 7 might be fine
34:10: Buchanan: Microsoft has a compelling vision, but need to execute it
36:40: Lee: Microsoft still can’t compare to Apple with apps
39:30: Buchanan: Kindle Fire designed for people to buy from Amazon
More Reading
John Hodgman’s Tumblr
That Is All by John Hodgman
John Hodgman on the death of publishing and being a Mac trapped in a PC’s body at Engadget
The Only Apple Event Post You Need To Read Today at BuzzFeed
The iPad Mini’s Competition at Forbes
More, And Less, Than An iPad at BuzzFeed
Could the iPad Mini Be a Gaming Game-Changer? at WSJ Digits
iPad mini is more than just the sum of its hardware at ZDNet
iPad Mini vs. Kindle Fire HD vs. Nexus 7: Small Tablet Showdown at PC Mag
Apple iPad mini hands-on! at Engadget
Nexus 7 review: the best $200 tablet you can buy at Engadget
Mark Glaser is executive editor of MediaShift and Idea Lab. He also writes the bi-weekly OPA Intelligence Report email newsletter for the Online Publishers Association. He lives in San Francisco with his son Julian and fiancee Renee. You can follow him on Twitter @mediatwit. and Circle him on Google+
