5by5 is a podcasting network developed by a Web nerd by the name of Dan Benjamin. The podcasts do span a seemingly wide topic base, but would definitely be more appealing to the tech, Web, geek, entrepreneur, designer type of person. That may seem like an extremely wide range of topics, but it actually fits a group of people, which I'd throw myself into, just perfectly.

This is an interesting model and one that I have not seen in this form before. It appears like Dan has essentially created a group of podcasts that are focused on topics that he was interested in. It has most likely changed a bit as it has matured, but what I think Dan realized was that there is a fairly good sized group of individuals that share a lot of the same interests as he did. This is a tech savvy, sharing, creative group that is always looking to learn and are typically heavy technology and Web users. If that doesn't sound like a perfect podcast consumer base I don't know what does.

If I rember correctly, I believe I discovered the network from following Zeldman on Twitter as he was promoting one of the 5by5 podcasts. He is actually the host of one of the original shows called The Big Web Show. From there I explored further and with that discovered some very smart and interesting people along with some fantastic podcasts covering a ton of my favorite subject areas. I've never been a huge podcast listener, but I have to say it still felt like I hit the jackpot and my listening has increased tenfold since.

You'll typically find a blogger that also does a podcast. So you may stumble upon one podcast at a time that you find interesting. Very seldom (if ever) will youfind a group like 5by5 all in one place. Other listeners may only find one or two podcasts interesting, which would make sense, but there are a lot of us that find almost every single show worth listening to. The only problem we have is that there just aren't enough hours in the day to pull that off. It really feels like a thoughtfully curated topic list to a lot of people in the group mentioned above.

I've essentially stopped looking for podcasts from anywhere else. That's not necessarily a good thing, but that shows you what can happen when you create a group of products like 5by5. The topics and shows are well thought out and hosted by interesting personalities who are most often thought leaders in on the topics of their respective podcasts.

As I said, I enjoy listening all the topics covered, but here are a few shows I refuse to miss:

• Let's Make Mistakes - Mike Monteiro and Katie Gillum of Mule Design talk mostly about design and how to do it, with a few tangents along the way. Hosted by Katie Gillum and Mike Monteiro.
• The Big Web Show - The Big Web Show features special guests and topics like web publishing, art direction, content strategy, typography, web technology, and more. It's everything web that matters. Hosted by Dan Benjamin and Jeffrey Zeldman.
• The Talk Show - The Talk Show features discussion about technology, Apple, Mac, iPhone, iPad, movies, directors, and the Web. It's America’s favorite podcast. Hosted by Dan Benjamin and John Gruber.
• Back to Work - Merlin Mann and Dan Benjamin on productivity, communication, work, barriers, constraints, tools, and more. Hosted by Dan Benjamin and Merlin Mann.