Tod Maffin is a well-known technology expert in Canada.
In 2004, Maffin was working as the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation’s leading technology reporter. Despite his ties to terrestrial radio, Maffin immediately recognized podcasting’s potential and he was eager to share his optimism and ideas with the public.
On October 1, 2004, Maffin published an article entitled “How Podcasting Will Save Radio” in Broadcast Magazine. That was less than a month after Canada’s first podcast hit the web.
Maffin was also interviewed on the subject of podcasting and profiled by the international press for articles in The Globe and Mail, The New York Times, The Age (Melbourne, Australia), Christian Science Monitor, The Independent (London) and The Austrailan.
But Maffin wasn’t just writing and speaking about podcasting. He was doing it himself and he was making and effort to meet with other Canadians who were testing-out the online airwaves.
Maffin explains: 
Many podcasters remember these meet-ups as seminal moments in their podcasting careers.
Canada’s first podcasting meet-up happened in Ottawa at the Chateau Laurier on May 26, 2005. An open invitation was posted on Maffin’s blog encouraging anyone interested in podcasting to join him for a chat. Mark Blevis, of Electric Sky, and Maurizio Ortolani, the National Arts Centre’s New Media Producer, met Maffin that night. Over drinks their discussion ranged from equipment to listening habits to music and beyond.
- Blevis wrote a great blog post and has posted audio from that historic event.
- Ortolani shared his memory of the meet-up with me:
It was Tod Maffin’s personal interest in podcasting that compelled him to organize these events. He wasn’t acting on behalf of the CBC or any other organization. He simply wanted to connect with others who were as excited about this new medium as he was.
Maffin had no ulterior motives:
Since podcasting was such a new and different medium, there were no road maps telling people how or what to do. There were no books or websites or how-to kits. Most Canadian didn’t have a clue what a podcast was. So who came to these meet-ups?
Maffin explains:
