Kevin Rose Launches New Web Series: ‘Foundation’

Kevin Rose has found a new name for his latest web series project that was kept mostly under wraps with not much more than the fforward name that he dropped on us back in June of last year. The Digg founder and host of the longrunning Revision3 tentpole series Diggnation, has launched his first solo project in web series—now called Foundation which begins today on YouTube (see first episode below).

It’s a polished, half-hour tech magazine format where Rose sits down with other top digerati, like Square and Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey in the opening episode, for a one-on-one interview.

In an interesting twist, Rose is trying out a model we have sparsely seen used in web series—the freemium model. New episodes will be available first, a week ahead of everyone else, to subscribers of his Foundation newsletter for $3.99 a month. The series will also, not surprisingly, be released on Revision3.

Rose answered a few questions about the new series in an email today:

How do I get access?
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Kevin Rose: Foundation videos will always be free of charge and available on Revision3.com, iTunes, my blog (kevinrose.com), and tweeted out (@kevinrose / @foundat_ion). That said, for newsletter subscribers ($3.99 per month), you’ll receive the videos without ads a week before everyone else, along w/product reviews, rants, rumors, and early access to pre-launched websites. To signup for the private newsletter visit: http://tinyletter.com/foundation

Why are you charging?

Rose: I’m spending money on equipment, travel, and editing. As you’ll see in episode 1, quality is very important to me, and I want to take the extra time and deliver the best experience possible, without ads in the video. That said, if you can’t afford the subscription, the videos will be released to the general public one week after it’s released to newsletter subscribers.

What else do I get as a newsletter subscriber?

Rose: I plan on releasing rants, product reviews, rumors, and occasionally sending out early access to pre-launched websites.