Introducing Version History

1 min

•Sep 19, 20257 months ago

Summary

The Verge announces the launch of Version History, a new podcast that explores the history and cultural impact of iconic tech products and software from the 2000s era. The show will feature weekly deep dives into items like the Zune, Guitar Hero, LineWire, and BBM, examining how they came to be and why they matter.

Insights

Nostalgia-driven content about defunct tech products resonates with audiences interested in tech history and cultural analysis
The rewatch podcast format successfully translates from entertainment to technology, creating a new niche for tech retrospectives
Understanding the 'why' behind failed or obsolete tech products provides valuable context for current industry trends and design decisions

Trends

Nostalgia marketing and retrospective content gaining traction in tech mediaPodcast format expansion into niche historical and analytical contentAudience interest in understanding failed tech products and their cultural significanceTech media diversification beyond news into entertainment and educational formats

Topics

Tech product history and evolutionDefunct consumer electronics (Zune, Guitar Hero)Legacy software platforms (LineWire, BBM)Tech culture and nostalgiaProduct design and market failure analysisDigital media retrospectives

Companies

The Verge

Launching and producing the Version History podcast series

Microsoft

Zune digital media player discussed as a featured product in the podcast

Activision Blizzard

Guitar Hero franchise featured as a key product to be covered in the series

BlackBerry

BBM (BlackBerry Messenger) software discussed as a legacy platform to explore

Quotes

"Do you ever watch or listen to those rewatch podcasts where a bunch of people go through episode by episode and talk about all their favorite stories and all the stuff that they remember? We're going to do that, but with tech."

Host

"That pared down funkiness of it still works."

Host

"I feel like when I hold it, I'm in some sort of 80s movie."

Host

"That's The Whole Verge. Like, that's what we do here."

Host

Full Transcript

Let me tell you about a show we're launching here at The Verge. Do you ever watch or listen to those rewatch podcasts where a bunch of people go through episode by episode and talk about all their favorite stories and all the stuff that they remember? We're going to do that, but with tech. None of that existed back then. That pared down funkiness of it still works. We're talking about products from the Zune to Guitar Hero. Wow, it's very 2005. And software from LineWire to BBM. This was the selling point. Going through how all this stuff came to be and why it matters. I feel like when I hold it, I'm in some sort of 80s movie. That's The Whole Verge. Like, that's what we do here. Every week on YouTube and wherever you get your podcasts. It's called Version History. Don't miss it. It launches October 5th and it comes out every Sunday after that.