The Couple's Table
The Couple’s Table is a weekly livestream podcast hosted by Heather Ramirez and Tom Buck. Join us, for better or worse, for richer or poorer, in sickness and in health, as long as we both shall podcast and stuff!
The Couple's Table
so much to talk about! 🍦
This episode explores the intersections of content creation, personal growth, and the responsibilities that come with influence. Heather shares her transformative trip to Canada, while Tom discusses their experiences at the NAB convention and the ongoing challenges faced in video production.
• Heather reflects on personal growth stemming from her trip to Canada
• Tom discusses the complexities of reviewing technology products
• Insights gained from the NAB convention on content creation
• Exploration of responsibilities tied to content influencing
• Unboxing a mystery package and the excitement it brings
• The impact of the documentary "The Vow" on understanding influence
• Discussing consumer behavior and the responsibility of creators
• Emphasis on community and open dialogue in the creator landscape
🟣 CONNECT WITH HEATHER —
My Vlog Channel: http://www.youtube.com/heatherjustcreate
My Tutorial Channel: http://www.youtube.com/heatherramirez
My Gaming Channel: http://www.youtube.com/heatherjustplay
Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/heatherjustcreate
Website: http://www.heatherjustcreate.com
🟣 CONNECT WITH TOM —
YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/tombuck
Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/sodarntom
Hello and welcome. My name is Tom.
Speaker 2:And I'm Heather and you're watching the Couples Table. The Couples Table is a live stream podcast here on this channel. Join us for better or worse.
Speaker 1:For richer or poorer.
Speaker 2:In sickness and in hell.
Speaker 1:Finally back on a Friday, because it's been a few weeks since we were able to do a regular Friday stream.
Speaker 2:I just did my nails Because the Couples Table is the perfect opportunity for me to do my nails, because I have to sit here for an hour. So, um, if I'm like holding my hands like this, this is why okay, that makes sense, yeah it's like why?
Speaker 2:why are you like? You have open palms, that's why. Uh, anyway, hello everybody. Let's check in. Jay's here, what's up? Good to see you, randall. Hello everyone. Fun is here. Hello, audio hotline hi. Uh, dogs are in the best position, need some popcorn. Ben starts there and then I think he gets hot so he moves to the wood floor. Yeah, cat is here, hey, hey, sean. Hello, geeknoids evening. Everyone wishing you a great stream, thank you. Tinker daisy's here, hi, and chris, yay, hey. And jeremy sup, y'all hello.
Speaker 1:To answer your question, jeremy, it was a different note. I sent jeremy a package and I wrote a little like note on a post-it and then I forgot to put it in the package oh yeah, it wasn't important, it's just. You know, just get like an envelope full of stuff with no with no context.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah how are things are going with you, tom?
Speaker 1:uh, they're good I've.
Speaker 2:I think I'm finished with a video that has been a beast, a beast I get myself into these situations, you do I know and I think I think I'm done.
Speaker 1:I'm going through and doing time stamps and stuff. I just need to wrap up a thumbnail and upload it and do all that.
Speaker 2:So it's why was it a beast? You've done so many videos over the years, why was this one?
Speaker 1:this one product like. It's not like oh my god, you had to film so much different stuff, but it's. I've been doing reviews on different video switchers lately, so there's like the roadcaster videos and there's simpler things like the this feel world one that I did, this lonsi one that's coming out and I'm talking all about video switchers and the one which I've done reviews of previous versions in the past, but the one that I have not done a current version of, even though it's been out for over a year now, is the YoloBox Ultra.
Speaker 2:And that's the one.
Speaker 1:Which is the reason being, is actually a good reason for customers. It's a bad reason for reviewers, which is like it does so much I couldn't even wrap my head around Like how do I even talk about this?
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 1:So doing the reviews and the videos for the simpler ones made me feel like I had a good, like a workflow where I could finally tackle this.
Speaker 2:But even like the simplest version is still 47 minutes long you know, seriously, at one point I was like Tom, you don't need to do this video, but you were like it's the video that's missing.
Speaker 1:It's a missing video, and that's the thing, yeah.
Speaker 2:It's like yeah, if you have all of us like, why? And in?
Speaker 1:and the yolo box pops up in all the other videos. I'm like, if you need this, then this, and it's like it.
Speaker 1:Neither it needs to be its own thing and I actually really like it, like I want to. But it's one of those things that when you, when you use it, you get it, but if you're not using it, it's almost like it's almost like it's it's better in person than on paper, kind of thing. Like you see it, like okay, this is cool, I see that, but like couldn't you just do this, couldn't you do this instead? What about this? Why not this? I don't like that. But it's like when you're actually using it, you're like oh, that's why I get it yeah but it's hard to convey that uh, chris is mr sandman fran koji on discord.
Speaker 2:Okay, it's good to convey that.
Speaker 1:Chris is Mr Sandman, fran Koji on Discord. Yay, okay, there we go. It's good to see you.
Speaker 2:Thank you for joining. Yay, that's fun Frye indeed. Tom seems to be in need of a fresh coat of nail paints as well.
Speaker 1:Metallic iridescent.
Speaker 2:Let me tell you what this is called.
Speaker 1:It's a very pretty color.
Speaker 2:It is. Oh, it's a very pretty color it is, oh, it's called glass act. Wow, that's clever. I I first I read it was like glass act. The puns don't taste me well oh uh, charles, yo can't stay but want to drop and say hi, it's good to see you. Charles, I hear you just did a cooking video. The recipe was like six ingredients. First round of the video was 15 minutes managed to half it and sickness and in hell.
Speaker 2:Uh, thank you, thank. You should be playing, but you're so fun to watch. Look at that. Um, you could do both. I feel like a lot of people do both like we're done gone hi tom and hear her.
Speaker 1:I'm on my way home from handles oh currently with chocolate chip cookie dough and hurricanes, you know.
Speaker 2:We haven't had hurricanes yet.
Speaker 1:Oh, the Handles. Yeah, it's like they're milkshake-y Not milkshake, but it's almost like a blizzard. Yeah, I'm sure it's amazing. They came out with a new flavor called Fudge Ripple Brownie. I normally am a brownie dough boy, tom F foot drop of brownie's good I was going to say you were disappointed.
Speaker 2:You weren't disappointed.
Speaker 1:No, it's great. Yeah, it's not brown, it's not brownie dough, it's not.
Speaker 2:Yeah, so he's been itching to go back. Yeah, so you can get the thing.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:That you like? Jake is here. What's up, jake, and call me Cubby? Hello, finally Friday. Finally Friday, yeah.
Speaker 1:Yay.
Speaker 2:So, so what else can we talk about, tom? There's a lot to talk about.
Speaker 1:There's a lot to talk about. Yeah, I feel like you. Sometimes the scales tip like I have a lot. You have a lot this week. I feel like you have significantly more than I do to share.
Speaker 2:You're going to have to ask, because I don't know how to Well you left the country for a while. I did.
Speaker 1:Yeah, that's a thing, oh, Canada, you've made.
Speaker 2:I did.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and you've figured out all kinds of like.
Speaker 2:I don't know just ways to approach. Yeah, it's been great.
Speaker 1:It's been great, yeah, so if you don't know what Heather's talking about, you should definitely watch the video that she uploaded on this channel, actually.
Speaker 2:You know, and I'm not going to apologize, because, let me tell you, I would have apologized and said why would you apologize? Because I would have said I'm rambling, it's a rambling and it's unedited.
Speaker 1:I would a disclaimer, disclaimer, disclaimer, and I'm like it's out there no disclaimer, because if you want to know, it's me you know, like sometimes you know we'll even pop up here and be like man, it has been a week or it has been this, it's been whatever it's like, okay, well, if you want to know kind of a little bit about, maybe, what we've meant, as you've said that lately, there, there you go there you go.
Speaker 2:Uh, really quick. I think we should talk about this oh yeah yeah, yeah. So uh, just to start the stream off, let's do this. Let me boop, boom.
Speaker 1:Okay, so you, you talk about this nab we talked about it last year NAB baby.
Speaker 2:NAB is the National Association of Broadcasters Convention. It is a long-standing convention. You know industry Like it's a huge convention. It's been around for oh my.
Speaker 1:God going on 40 years for the broadcasting industry. And in the past couple years well, not even the past couple years, for a number of years they've also included like companies and things that also make not just broadcast industry stuff. But you know, there's companies that overlaps, like Blackmagic is always a big sponsor there and they do stuff for pros. But they do stuff. You know a lot of us here just have a little 810 mini around or something. You know there's stuff like dji, there's road, but then there's also, you know, like avid and um I can't think of all the other like proprietary industry things.
Speaker 1:But in the past couple years last year specifically, was where they clearly said we are also like incorporating incorporating content creators and the creator economy and the creator economy and obviously we talked about that last year because there was a. You know, we talked about our experience with nab last year, both extremely positive, but also in terms of one of the sessions we went to that was a little funky, funks, um, but I mean, the experience was absolutely phenomenal of going, and so the thing as soon as we, even while we were still there, like this is the thing we just need to prioritize every year. Yeah, um, and last year we were sort of unsure because that's how it's been in the past, like we'd always wanted to go, but it was like should we, should, we, should we bnh ended up sponsoring last year, so that made it a little easier, and this year is like january, like nowhere going.
Speaker 1:let's book everything, get it in the calendar, let's make it happen. Make it happen.
Speaker 2:Yeah, so we are telling you because if you're looking for a creator event to attend this year, this is the one we're going to, april 5th through 9th 2025 in Vegas, at the LA convention center, or LA.
Speaker 2:The LV convention center, the LV convention center and it's just, you know, the show, I think, is more Tom's stuff, like he definitely obviously has fascination, enthusiasm for audio video cameras, all of this stuff, but what I really took out of it was just seeing different content creators and how they approach this thing that we do and just being able to, you know, talk to the companies that make the products like there. It was really encouraging to to hear from these companies that use all the tools that we use on a daily basis and just to I don't know, hear all the stuff that's going on with. You know what, what people are paying attention to in terms of the creator economy in this space.
Speaker 1:Definitely something I'm looking forward to the exhibit hall is insane Like you can't do it all in a day. There's sessions and classes. I don't think you can do it in two days you probably can't even do it period, like you probably can't actually see everything there in the time that the convention goes. So even if you don't go to any of the sessions or you don't go to anything, you just get your, your pass to go it.
Speaker 1:Like I was going to say it, there's just so much if you just wander wander the halls and and it's not even just like, oh, get pitched products and things that get sold to, but you get to try stuff, you get to see stuff, lots of companies release new things.
Speaker 2:It's being able to try stuff.
Speaker 1:I think yeah, lots of companies get to release new things. There's also all of the people there. So if you're just a customer and you're like hey, company, why is this thing always this way, or why don't you have that, or whatever, you just talk to someone who actually probably has an answer for you. And if you are a content creator and you've ever contacted someone from a company, like via email or something, there's a very good chance that that person who deals with you know the, the public and the creators in that way will also be there. So it's a lot. It's a good opportunity to put faces to names and um. And then, obviously, the other people who are there like just people you run into and walk by and bump into like it's very very cool.
Speaker 2:Uh, yeah, I went to go visit cat in canada, um, and it was just so much fun. Chris is saying the video was epic. Thank you so much. It was, um, I just feel I mean that's what we were talking about when the countdown was going. It's like I feel so I don't want to say better because I don't want to make it seem like I don't know that I was in like a bad place I. I was just working through a lot of things and I feel definitely clarity and refreshed and, um, excited and hopeful, optimistic. Back to my uh, normal default state on a coffee couples table. Actually, we saw we met on a coffee at neb last year it was in the hallway very quickly, but we did yeah, and cat cat won't be able to attend this year.
Speaker 2:Uh, jester, hello all. Glad to catch a live. Oh cool, he's gonna be there. Wait, freddy. Hello everyone. Um, I remember working nab as a vendor. It was four freaking days. Rant is that it quickly became my most hated show to do. It looks tiring like if you, if you are working. Those things are different than attending those uh, it's been a year since last time. This was a thing and you made the video from it. Where did the year?
Speaker 1:go to be fair. It's in april and it's january, so we're talking about this early, but you know.
Speaker 2:But we wanted to tell everybody, because I think last year was like three weeks before oh, we're going, you know. So now it's like if you're considering, if you're like planning out the year to think about what content creator events you know to go to, we wanted to give more notice to people, because planning is a thing, yeah, yeah.
Speaker 1:It's a yeah, we booked all our stuff. And then I did reach out to BNH again. I was like hey, it's really nice. Whenever we inverse any of this we'll see.
Speaker 2:Yeah, all right, um yeah.
Speaker 1:All right, so that's NAB.
Speaker 2:That's NAB.
Speaker 1:Well, what next do you want to talk about?
Speaker 2:Let's see.
Speaker 1:Here's sort of a goofy thing, okay.
Speaker 2:Do you want?
Speaker 1:to think about it, because I think some of the stuff you're going to talk about is maybe going to lead to bigger discussions. We received a package in the mail, a mystery package.
Speaker 2:A mystery box.
Speaker 1:It was delivered to our P.
Speaker 1:It was we should put our new po box in the description it's an amazon package, I don't know where it was our old one yeah, I went to our old po box, which is they were very confused about um, but it was just an amazon package. It was addressed to tom and heather with no other information. It's like, okay, what's in there? And what was in there was this which, if you're looking at it I don't't know if I can it's a little wireless mic thing, looks very much like the Hollyland Lark, which is something I made a video on recently, and the reason I don't, so the reason I'm curious.
Speaker 1:I don't know who sent this at all, but I feel like I have a memory of either on the couples table or in the comments to one of my videos, or in the comments from someone I don't. I feel like there might be overlap here with someone who said you should try like one of these very, very inexpensive, like cheap, no-name ones and see how they compare, and I was like, oh, that'd be fun. I feel like someone then sent that because the thing about this it looks like the holly. There's not even a brand name, not even like you know like the Nougou, like six-letter alphabet soup names.
Speaker 1:There's not even one of those, it's just wireless microphone. Even on the barcode it just says wireless microphone. Like there's no brand name, no marketing, it kind of. It looks shockingly similar in a lot of ways to the Hollyland that I reviewed, and so part of me is wondering if that's just to duplicate the holly land or if it's one of those situations where, like you know, once the factory has the, the materials and the plans to make something, then they just go like here we make all the ones for this company and now we just pump out a bunch of other ones and put a different sticker on them. So I'm curious. I feel like this could be a fun thing to just do, like a discovery video on, like let's unbox it and test it out and compare it.
Speaker 2:But if you were the one who sent it, but I'd like to know where it came from.
Speaker 1:If not, that even makes it still fun.
Speaker 2:There's no like name no.
Speaker 1:Like there was no. I thought sometimes you'd get the Amazon thing, a gift receipt or something. There was nothing in the Amazon packet.
Speaker 1:It unpack it. It was just this and I was like, okay, all right, but the thing said tom and heather, so it wasn't like. That's why I feel we feel like it's a couple stable thing, because it's to both of us and we don't, like we don't blast the po box address everywhere, like and we have a po box specifically it is a public address, but like we don't. It's not like in all of my videos or anything. So there's all this fan mail that comes in. It's like it was very confusing.
Speaker 2:Yeah, so if it was you, let us know, let's see. Ono Coffee says it is possible to see the entire show, but the stuff in the West Hall is mostly transmission and not production related. There you go, ono Coffee. I feel like you've gone a couple of years. Let people know if they're going that the show floor Show floor opens on the 6th while the seminars start on the 5th and if you want to hit up Vendors for Deals, you should stay attend on the last day.
Speaker 1:Look at that Inside info.
Speaker 2:Inside info OBS is here. Hey, hey, y'all All right?
Speaker 1:Well, you want to talk about your video. Sure we're going to talk about Canada first, because maybe Canada led to the video.
Speaker 2:Well, I went to Canada and that was super fun. And then he made a video. All right, see you next time. I just I don't want to rehash what was in the video. So basically, um, ah, it's just it's. It's hard because I like don't know how to I can launch into another one drastically different. Um, because I I felt like what was happening last year you know, we mentioned this on the couple's table the end of last year was like real rough for tom and I, not between us, but just like lots of stuff that was happening. We're so stressed out. He was getting migraines, I was getting panic attacks, we were, I remember, telling you like when are we going to be able to come up for air?
Speaker 1:I yeah, I still don't feel like I have.
Speaker 2:You need to go to Canada, um, so anyway, I, I was like I, I just, you know, I feel like I need to. I don't know I need to get out of my element, because I did feel I could feel me. Getting stuck in thought loops is how I'll have like intrusive thoughts and they just kind of repeat and repeat and repeat and I try to catch myself. But it was, it was at the point where I felt so defenseless because I would be like making breakfast or making coffee and before I know it I've already gone through a 10 minute loop of Not positive thoughts. All right, and it was just, I was just stuck Right and I felt like I did it, I couldn't. It was beyond the help of friends and me, you know, I just needed something different and so, I don't know, I was inspired with the idea of visiting Canada, the system, kind of thing, yeah yeah, exactly, um, and it was so much fun, um, it was exactly what I needed.
Speaker 2:It was. You know, I think just you. I mentioned this in the video, but seeing falling snow for the first time, like doing things that were just so such different experiences for me, kind of just allowed me to almost like meet myself again. You know, like, if you drop me in just this random place, like how do I act without thinking and like this is me, I go about the world with just like all the questions like oh my gosh, oh my gosh, oh my gosh, I was telling tom. So all of you guys that deal with snow, um, you know that there's a assault situation that you guys use to deal with the snow, right, um, there's like salt everywhere. This is not something we have ever seen before.
Speaker 1:We've never been assaulted.
Speaker 2:Like Tom has no idea. I have never seen it Right. And I kept asking Kat, like so there's salt everywhere. There's salt in the parking lots, there's salt in the sidewalk, there's salt in the streets. There's just salt, salt, salt salt, you know, and it's to prevent icing or helps the snow melt, blah, blah, um, but I just kept. My question was just like so who puts the salt? How does it happen? Like, is it a big machine? Is it a person who, just like, literally walks every sidewalk in the city and just like, spreads the thing? And on the last day you know we're getting back on the train to leave toronto there was a guy with the salt bucket and it was. You know. I was trying to explain to tom it's like a, it's like a wheel, like a mini wheelbarrow.
Speaker 2:Um, like a lawn seed, just like the thing that puts seed in the grass yes, which that we're very familiar with, because we, because, living in the desert, something that we have to do is change our seeds, our grass species, twice a year, because for one season, because obviously it's a desert right, so you have to use one type of grass for six months and then grass, cold grass yeah, exactly.
Speaker 2:Um, so we reseed that's just this thing that happens in the desert, it's the same thing but with salt. Um, and I was just staring at this guy do his thing and I was like so fascinated cat was just like you know, just I don't know fascinated with my fascination over this very normal thing. But that's just an example of like I am naturally curious, you know, I am naturally just like how do things work? And and I am not naturally a person who gets stuck in negative thought loops Like that's just, that's not who I am. I am very much like a you know what is happening around me and I'm just curious, right. So, just being able to be out of my element, like that and remember that that part of me was, you know, I don't know the wake up call, the snapping out of it kind of thing that I really needed. So, um, when I came back, I made a one hour long video and I was telling Tom like okay, obviously something that you know, this, that and the other was led me to make my voice small.
Speaker 2:You know, I, I I've the the last part of the year so many times I would try to make a video and I would just restart the first line of the video over and over and over and over. Hey guys, it's Heather. Hey guys, like in this video. I'm going to talk about this like hey guys, heather, but I would just like, oh, I have to do it again. Hey everyone, heather here, and let me do it again. Hey everyone, heather here, and I, it would literally, out of the one hour, I would record 50 minutes was just me like starting over, you know, and I was like what is happening?
Speaker 2:What happened? I can't talk, it's torture to make a video. Whereas when I recorded this one hour unedited video, I had no notes, I didn't even know what I was going to say and I just went for it and it, like, despite my ADHD, despite me, you know, being someone who constantly loses her train of thought, I felt like it was, I actually made my point, you know, the whole way, start to finish, and I it just made me realize like, okay, I obviously have it in me, but there was just all these blockages kind of holding me back from being able to speak freely in my own videos. So so, yeah, I don't know, I don't really know it's worth watching, so you don't need to rehash it.
Speaker 1:Like you said, yeah it's a cool video to watch. I mean it's it's one shot, so it's also a cool video to listen to, kind of like a podcast. You don't have to like you're gonna miss, like crazy yeah, on screen messaging or anything like it's yeah, you can listen to it while you're doing other talking um.
Speaker 2:I am surprised at the response um.
Speaker 1:It was affirming yeah, well, it's a very, um, it's a very realistic look at. I mean, it's very open and honest and it's, you know, in in a world of everything having that ai polish and sheen to it, and even without that, people you know always putting their best foot forward on, you know, social media or whatever, this is much more human and much more real and much more like you know it's an exploration of just existing in a phase of life.
Speaker 2:Yeah, and I think, like the thing that I'm really, um, not realizing but, uh, I don't know, cementing in my head is like this that video, right, like that is my uniqueness in the content creator space, like that's the thing that I bring to the table, um, and it it feels really good to be confident in that, especially in the world of AI, especially in, like you know, you have to edit for clarity and edit and edit and add all these layers. And you know, I didn't, I just sat there and talked, that's it, you know, and it's it's like it's nice to be able to know what happens as a you know, know how to make youtube videos, but then also, like here's how I'm gonna do it, like this is the way that I want to make my youtube videos, but see, I'm discovering that, like eight years in, so it's always something to learn.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah uh, cat says. Heather's excitement about snow was contagious. People who were complaining but then heard about her excitement were reminded of the beauty of falling snow. So pretty Melanie's here. Hello, you guys seed grass every six months, yes.
Speaker 1:Well, yeah, there's like in September, october, maybe more October, you do like a full, like they like scalp the lawns down so it almost looks just like dirt, and then full new seeds, and it's a thing that just happens everywhere, um, and then all the birds eat all the bird seed.
Speaker 2:I think like our region is like we have the most golf courses to square footage or something like that. Don't quote me on that there's a lot, but basically, my point is there's a lot of golf courses, so it's not obviously it's our lawn, but there's a lot of grass in this area, despite being a desert, um, and so, yes, the seeding is a thing yeah, but in the going from, like the colder months to the warmer ones, you don't have to do that.
Speaker 1:It's kind of like you can just sort of throw, you can like supplement with existing. That's why I take the little spits, the seeds out everywhere.
Speaker 2:Having had falling snow now for three days and buses always being late, I cannot relate. Heather, I love your nails. I literally just like put the last coat at. I put the last coat like as the countdown was going, but I've learned that the couples table is a perfect time to do my nails, because I have to sit here for an hour and they can dry. Um, yeah, okay, let's see the salter man.
Speaker 1:I just think of the guy from a home alone, the neighbor, because that was the one that they made the rumor about that he was the murderer and he does. He used the salt in his because he had the shovel and the trash can. He dissolved the bodies of his victims. This is a kid's movie, by the way. In the trash can he dissolved the bodies of his victims. This is a kid's movie, by the way, in the trash can, and he was just always out salting everything.
Speaker 2:Oh funny, let's see Fantastic. It's awesome seeing others who don't experience that weather. Fantastic and hilarious. Oh hello, Finally on time. It's good to see you. Rio Pelt Room. Hello, Sean, I live in Arizona and we do rocks.
Speaker 1:There's a lot of rocks.
Speaker 2:We should do rocks. We do have rocks. Yeah, we have rocks too.
Speaker 1:But like with dogs to run around and stuff like grass is nice for us. There's a lot of. What's pretty cool is especially where we're at and something we've learned lately is like all the golf courses and stuff are like oh my God, that's so like wasteful and unnecessary in the desert, but the way that they're like it's so insanely ecologically efficient, efficient the way that they lose no water yeah, it's kind of nuts, like the way they've dialed it in yeah you wouldn't expect it, but it makes sense.
Speaker 1:Obviously it's something people, people think about.
Speaker 2:Yeah, it's like you're a desert where california is always in a drought. How the heck do you do? How do you water all this grass like? How do you? Yeah but like the way that our desert is set up, we actually lose no water it's a weird, unique little area.
Speaker 1:Yeah they've dialed it in anyway it's funny when something is like a huge economic driver, you can find all these solutions to make it work capitalism. Yeah, uh, we did the mystery mic um well, speaking of your video, we've been watching lots of other videos you want to go there?
Speaker 2:yeah, I do um we we I'm very excited to see how you take this, because I yeah it was.
Speaker 1:It was you and Kat in Canada.
Speaker 2:Kat in Canada.
Speaker 1:You were watching. You were like hey, have you ever seen the Vow?
Speaker 2:No, I didn't say that. She said that to me.
Speaker 1:Well, you said that to me.
Speaker 2:Yes, I did.
Speaker 1:Because I was not there. I was here, Well.
Speaker 2:I knew you hadn't seen it, because we hadn't seen it.
Speaker 1:Well, you guys binged basically two seasons of this show in a couple of days, uh, which is all about what is essentially a cult um no, that's what it's about that is. It is what it's about, but it does dive into the like. How could a an intelligent, successful, rational person find themselves in this situation? And be a part of something like this, because it's so easy to be like that's that never happened to me.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and that's the thing, because no one, nobody, intended to find themselves in that situation, and so it's fascinating, uh, it's scary, it's all the things, um, but it's really kind of opened up it like like stepping down from illegal activities and cult and things like that.
Speaker 1:When you, when you go to like just a basic level of people who have influence on other people as online influencers and as many people here are, and as it exists, it does kind of make you think about the power that you have. When you're in a position, it doesn't even matter, like what your position is, it's just you have some kind of voice and some kind of audience and people are listening and that can have an impact, that can have an effect and you know it can be good, it can be negative, um, you know, we see it in our own small way here, but then you see it obviously with like the huge names on some a platform like youtube or whatever, where it's like it gets, like it's not as taboo now. But go back a year, go back six months and criticize Mr Beast online and see what happens, you'll be crucified.
Speaker 1:That's what I'm going to say there.
Speaker 2:Well, ok, so here's where I'm at. So the show we're talking about is an HBO documentary called the Vow. I think it came out during the pandemic, so I can see how it was a thing, that kind of swept. You know, there was nothing else to do, so you're watching animal crossing tiger king, vow yeah, sourdough bread like on its own.
Speaker 2:It is a fascinating documentary. Uh, definitely recommend, but obviously through the filter that that we are watching it and discussing it is, um, I was telling tom, like when you grow up, you learn, you know. Obviously, you learn morality, you learn like what's right and wrong, but I feel like the things that we learn about are very, very extreme, like people who murder people yes, bad, right, anybody can see that that is very black and white.
Speaker 2:That is a bad person, right? Like all those things. I think the thing that is relevant for you know, the thing that you know, aside from Well, I won't get into that, I was going to say whatever. Ok, I think the thing that A lot of people like if you're watching this I think the thing that we are most susceptible to is being influenced online.
Speaker 2:Right, and I am watching this documentary getting a better understanding of my responsibility as a content creator, right, because I think that, like we all, when the internet turned on, we all just went to it. Right, and there was no training. There was no. Hey, this is what's going to happen. Here's how you're going to feel when you see a bunch of your friends from college go on a trip that you weren't invited to, you know, or someone who is starting a youtube channel way after you did, gets more successful, more successful than you, in a shorter amount of time.
Speaker 2:Being bombarded by all of these situations and feelings, and like knowing all these things in a very concentrated amount of time. Um, no one, no human, has ever dealt with this. This is all happening for the first time, right and like. So, not only are we like not being trained on how to deal with all these feelings and emotions. You, and, of course, the thing that everyone tells you to do is just just ignore it or just dismiss it, or it's not that big of a deal, or you know, you kind of like dismiss it. But the flip side of that is like, as content creators, of course, there's no orientation, training of like, hey, you know, when you have this influence, you, you honest, you, you are influencing people's life choices. You are influencing the way that people spend money, um, which we are very aware of. I think Tom and I do, you know, are very, we are very, very conscious of that and that's why we Despite what people say, a lot of times half my videos are me telling people not to buy something.
Speaker 2:We are very transparent and I think we take that, we are conscious of that responsibility and we take it very seriously. I think that is not. I don't think a lot of people are doing that and that's not you know, not something anybody has to do, but when you compulsively check your phone, how many times a day you don't realize that you were being influenced. You know, over and over and over again, um, and that is affecting that. I feel like that is a huge contributor as to why I found myself in these thought loops, that just over and over, because it's like what you can drop me in this literally a week. Drop me in canada and I'm having great time, but here it's like I was. I was just doing my routine Right and getting stuck, and so I don't know. There's just, I think, like the vow I would, I would. It is OK.
Speaker 2:Disclaimer it is about what eventually they discover to be a sex cult, and so definitely not for all audiences, but I do think it is a cautionary tale because you learn about these black and white. Murder is bad type of you know criminals, but someone like a content creator, like the easiest way to start a community nowadays is online, right, and it's like you don't even have to join someone's Discord or buy someone's thing. All you have to do is click, follow and boom. You like now you are constantly seeing someone's content and hearing their thoughts and all that. That is not inherently bad. A lot of times that's good, you know, like, yes, follow us if you like our stuff.
Speaker 2:But I think it's so. You know, if you watch that documentary and be like that would never happen to me. It could be happening to you right now. It's just you're not doing something legal. You're obviously 2025. It's like, you know, it's hard. Sometimes you don't. You don't ever feel like you're being influenced and then sometimes it can really affect your emotions and you don't know where the heck is coming from. I will step off the soapbox now. No, that's all Sorry.
Speaker 1:That's why it's interesting.
Speaker 2:Yeah, jeremy has a question how long does it take to cross the border?
Speaker 1:into calexico. Is that maybe two hours? I would say two hours, maybe. There you go, which is very. It's great because there's there's two border towns on the border of california and mexico. Um, there's, uh, there's mexicali, and then there's calexico, uh, and they're like sister cities that are kind of split by the border and mexicali is the mexican, it's wait, no, no, mexicali is like a mexican town in california and calexico is like a california town in mexico, is it?
Speaker 1:backwards, mexico, it's, it's something like that. Um, it's like how, in LA there's the Wiltern theater theater that's at the corner of Wilshire and Western, so it's the Wiltern theater. It's like it's, I don't know, it's fun.
Speaker 2:Uh, I'm still including a snowplow in my next video, a snowplow with a soldier attached to the back. I saw one. I screamed.
Speaker 1:Kat one, I screamed. Cat was like, there it is.
Speaker 2:And I was like oh my gosh, it's not like the tooth fairy, like they're not hiding. Uh, this is all happening for the first time, wow, so true, um, cat says a problem is that we rarely step away to think critically about what we really think and feel this this okay. So, like you know, typically when I do put my face on, get camera ready, I listen to a podcast, I listen to a YouTube video. Today, I put on music because I was like you know what I don't have, it's not somebody else's thoughts, it's just like I feel a way about music and it like charges my energy positively, obviously because I listen to music that I like, and I was like I feel like I need to do more of that.
Speaker 2:It's hard because with content, especially when it's your job, it feels like your job right to to log in to, to be aware, right like. Obviously you don't want to be ignorant, um, and you want to participate in conversations and all that. But I think the thing is all of all of the internet moves so freaking fast like, and the world moves so fast now and it's like things that were used to be such a big deal, that would be like, you know, like 9-11.
Speaker 2:Do you remember anything else from that year, that's the thing like from that now it's like we have one of these insane, crazy events every other week, it seems and like be able to process all of that. Uh, and that's just like the you know world news. What about everything that's happening in your life? So I don't know. I, I, I feel like I have a thesis happening in my head.
Speaker 1:I feel like stuff's being formulated and put together.
Speaker 2:Yeah, anyway, that's very true. The activity now replaced by watching ping pong turtles on TikTok. Chris music heals the soul in a way. Other stuff can't sometimes.
Speaker 1:Absolutely.
Speaker 2:Yeah 10,000% love that. How are you? I'm over here yeah yeah how's, um, I don't know how's that your youtube channel going? How's your video podcast? Because you've put out a couple episodes now yeah, that's going great.
Speaker 1:Um, I've gotten really really nice feedback on that, which is super cool. Um, and it really did it changed things, like obviously it's a different workflow, but it's nice because it sort of changed the structure of the show, which I feel helped make it a little bit better and like in terms of like maybe a little more focus, and I don't know. I like it. I like the way that it is. However, I'm actually not going to be able to do one this week because I ran out of time.
Speaker 1:Um, so this, because of all the videos and all the other things I just haven't, I've been a little uh overwhelmed lately and that just has to get chopped out of the thing this week because the the um and not the downside. But uh, consequence of doing something like that is it takes a lot more planning, a lot more preparation. I have time to do the show, I have time to sit down and record it, but I haven't had time to actually plan it or prepare it. I have time to sit down and record it, but I haven't had time to actually plan it or prepare it. So I have nothing to sit down and record.
Speaker 2:You have to think about it and I could do that.
Speaker 1:I could do that today, I could do that through the weekend, I could do whatever, but I actually don't think that's what's best, so I'm not going to do one this week, yeah.
Speaker 2:Tom and I have to how we do content creation. This is why he has never missed a week in years. Every Thursday, 5.15 am, pacific Standard Time, you will see a video from Tom Buck Months go by on my channels. I have three and still months go by. But I like that about us. I like that we do have very different approaches because we could say there's not one way to do it. Um, also, we're really cute apparently we are very cute.
Speaker 1:That's true, we're cute. At least 50 of us is cute um, let's see.
Speaker 2:Do you want to talk about this?
Speaker 1:well, actually, um, there's something I don't know. Let me see if I can find the link, actually, because there's a video that popped up in my feed. This is one of those things where, like you know, your life is is dictated by algorithms, um, and sometimes that's good and sometimes that's bad. Uh, let's see here.
Speaker 2:Oh my God, so many of my YouTube recommendations are Tom.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I see my face all over this here. You look so cute. Oh, that's so nice. Okay, oop Doop.
Speaker 2:Oh, this is the guy. Yes, here. Let me switch to this.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I'm going to put this link in the chat. Um. Switch to this. Yeah, I'm gonna put this link in the chat. Um, this is video that's popped up. Honestly, it's because I was looking up stuff for my car and then I think youtube was like car repair. But you're also a youtube creator. You should watch this video about a youtube creator who runs a car channel and it was actually super interesting. Um, it's what's interesting about it is. So this is someone I've actually never seen his videos. So he does car repairs, car stuff like that car restorations, um, but he's got a 1.3 million subscriber channel. Um, in the world of car youtube, that's.
Speaker 1:I think it's on like the smaller end, because the main car channels have way more than that well, because cars, it's like you do a camera channel, but each of your cameras could potentially cost, you know, 100 or 200 000, you know right and what he talks about. What's interesting is is the guy in the video is a solo creator, so does everything himself on his own 100 and um, he sort of talks about. There's just it's interesting to hear what someone at that level because to me a plus one million subscriber channel is just massive yeah like it doesn't even like, even if you feel like your channel is not doing that well, like just the sheer, you know volume, yeah
Speaker 1:the, the sheer volume of even like one percent is just like, oh my god, it's so much um so to hear his perspective some of the things he talks about. It's so much so to hear his perspective. Some of the things he talks about are it's almost like the trajectory that a lot of car YouTubers have, where it's like, hey, someone starts a channel because they want to work on their car, they do this and it's like the whole thing of like you work on this little project, then you do this, then you move into extreme content, then you get the Lamborghini, whatever they want to see. You work on your 92 Honda Civic and that relatability and the whole thing and time management and life management.
Speaker 2:It sounds very familiar.
Speaker 1:Yeah, there's so much overlap probably with any niche, but I definitely felt some with my niche as well. He even talks about working with companies, like you know, like the thing of, oh, this person's only going to say positive stuff because they don't want to get like blacklisted by the company, which is a thing that happens. But he also talks about like well, how do you provide feedback? If you just say something sucks, it doesn't mean it's honest, like that doesn't help the company, that doesn't help the consumer. So, like how do you provide helpful, critical feedback that's actually good for the audience but also is something the company can take into account and maybe even act upon and also keep your professional relationships intact, and like it's very interesting. Um, so I really like that was like a very fun. Well, not a fun topic, but it's a.
Speaker 1:it's an interesting video to like stumble upon and have recommended to me, which I really really appreciated in the world of creator stuff, because and that ties into the other thing that was on the note that you put there it just says honey, which is not referring to me, but it's referring to the controversy that popped up. A lot of things have happened since then because again there's, you know, five, nine, elevens every week at this point. So the honey controversy, if you remember way back when, is the browser extension.
Speaker 2:Way back, when it was like last month, three weeks ago or something.
Speaker 1:It's the browser extension. The point of the browser extension is that it's essentially supposed to search the internet for promo codes for you. So when you're buying something online, it says like, hey, there's a promo code for this item. Throws it in there and then you get. You know, you basically always pay the cheapest price for whatever you're getting, especially if you've ever ordered something online. And then you do like, well, let me see. And you Google search like promo code, blah, blah, blah, and you find all these weird websites and you put in all these fake codes and maybe something works, maybe something doesn't. Honey is supposed to just help. That Turns out it's a scam and it's been a scam the whole time.
Speaker 2:It's not what it says. It's a scam. It's a straight up scam.
Speaker 1:It's not even like false advertising. It is a scam because basically, what it does, the way a lot of it's just affiliate revenue, right, which is something that we use a lot of. A lot of people here use affiliate revenue. You know, if I say, hey, this keyboard's awesome, here's my Amazon link, you go to Amazon, you buy the keyboard, I get a percentage of that. It doesn't change the price for you, but it's just like you get a commission for referring someone to the product, to the company. It's like one of the most common ways people make money online. There's nothing wrong. It can be abused. People do abuse affiliate programs, but there's also like nothing inherently wrong with it and it can be incredibly helpful. Yeah, so that's a thing. The way that that often works is most companies, the affiliate credit goes to the last link clicked, so for example, if someone Both of us are recommending this keyboard to you right.
Speaker 2:You see it on my channel. You see it on Tom's channel. If you visited my channel first and then you wanted more, more info, you know who's going to give you more info tom's going to give you more and then you click my link.
Speaker 1:Even though you had already clicked your link, mine will overwrite it and I'll get the commission and she won't. So what honey has been doing is um, when they add stuff, so okay, so there's. There's sort of two parts to this. Actually, whenever you click the extension in your checkout thing, it overwrites the affiliate. Say, you clicked my link, you went to a website, you're buying a thing, but then you use Honey at the checkout it actually overwrites my affiliate thing. So now I don't get credit for referring you there.
Speaker 2:They get credit even though they did not refer you there.
Speaker 1:So that's one thing that they're doing that gets shadierier. I'm going to come back to that. The other thing well, the other thing that kind of goes into like what it's advertised to do find the promo code turns out. It's not actually searching for the best promo code turns out, it's only serving you up like pre-approved promo codes from companies and companies. You know, because the company is like searching anything. Yeah, we don't want someone to go find the 25 code here here.
Speaker 2:Give them the 10%, yeah.
Speaker 1:Um, and then they have deals with the companies to do that. So that's their advertised thing is just straight up false advertising. And then the thing with the affiliate clicks, like they're already stealing it there and it and it gets worse. But wait, there's more. Um, it's not just when you use the promo code, it's anytime you click anything in it it will do it. And it's so insidious that it will pop up like if you're checking out, sometimes it will pop up and just say no codes found, click okay yeah, like an alert, almost like a notification, and you click like dismiss the alert.
Speaker 1:Well, you've just clicked and now they get the affiliate revenue. Um, even though they literally did nothing on that, uh and that. So I've never used honey, I've never advertised honey, but for the past several years it's been a hugely common sponsor all over youtube like the biggest youtubers, the biggest youtubers on the millions and millions of subscriber channels that have like insane.
Speaker 2:You know, millions of people uh, many of these youtubers have millions and then it's like I feel like a lot of the people who subscribe to the biggest youtuber subscribe to multiple of the biggest youtuber, so obviously they're seeing this ad multiple times.
Speaker 1:It's working right, I've thought. I've never installed it, but I've definitely. Every time it pops, I'm like you know I may be helpful, but I'm like I hate installing extensions, so I just never did I never even like heard of it.
Speaker 2:So I don't.
Speaker 1:I also don't watch the biggest YouTubers, so I mean, it's also on some smaller channels too, like they they are. It's almost like Squarespace is just everywhere. Right, they, they, they have pretty intense marketing because obviously what they're doing works a little bit. Here's where it gets even crazier. So if you're a giant YouTuber and they paid you to do a sponsorship and now, okay, honey, you're telling people to install it, now the people are telling to install honey, and they're clicking it, now honey is stealing your affiliate revenue after you advertised for them.
Speaker 2:Oh, it hurts.
Speaker 1:So there's that. There's also now a couple of class action lawsuits. One of them is spearheaded by Legal Eagle of the Legal Eagle YouTube channel, because here's where it gets. This is where. Because I saw this and I was like, okay, I've never used Honey, I've never been sponsored or promoted Honey, I've never done anything. Obviously it doesn't affect by me. I'm wrong, because all there needs to be is overlap between my audience and somebody else's audience who has pitched Honey or, like a lot of tech channels, for example, who have pitched Honey in the past.
Speaker 2:MKBHD yeah, probably some overlap. Yeah, a lot of people who watch MKBHD probably watch you.
Speaker 1:Yeah, so it probably means a good like a good percentage of people who watch me could have Honey installed on their browsers. They are interested in gear, they're interested in buying stuff online. Obviously, that's the way to even install something like that. So they click something in one of my videos, something in a video description, whatever they go there. And now Honey despite me not being a customer, not being sponsored, now Honey has stolen my affiliate revenue. So, 100% guaranteed I have lost money. 100% guaranteed I have lost money.
Speaker 1:You've pretty much anyone probably who does affiliate links has probably lost money because of this lost revenue. And it is interesting because something I've noticed is the number of my links being clicked in the past year or so has actually stayed the same, or even increased a little bit, but the revenue has stayed the same, even increased a little bit, but the revenue has stayed the same. Or sorry, sorry, sorry. The revenue has either decreased or stayed the same. So where stuff is going up, the revenue is not going up, and it makes sense that that would happen if it's being taken and I feel like, um, I feel like this, this was.
Speaker 2:I feel like a lot of people in your niche started to talk about it like you're like what is going on here, because you realize yeah, about revenue, like not making sense.
Speaker 1:Yeah, because it's like well, the program didn't change, the traffic's not changing but everyone.
Speaker 2:Why is the revenue changing?
Speaker 1:yeah, like it, it's kind of confusing yeah um and that.
Speaker 1:So that's like and and there's layers because there's there's one of the larger YouTube channels and a little bit of hot water Linus Tech Tips, who. It's one of those things where, like, when someone has to continuously like, go like, oh, no, no, what we did looks really bad, but here's why it wasn't. But it's like you keep having to explain why you're accidentally doing bad things. So they were a huge. They did tons of of honey sponsor videos and actually a long time ago they they discovered this because they're very techie, very smart, as a whole team. It's a huge business, huge, huge business. They sponsor they even sponsor youtube channels, like their youtube channel sponsors other youtube channels. So they're at that level and they discovered this. Like, oh, when we do this, they override our affiliate thing. We're not going to do this anymore, and they stayed silent about it for a while.
Speaker 2:Um, I can see why they wouldn't have thought it was a big deal, because it's probably you know well, it's a big enough deal for them to cancel their sponsorships.
Speaker 1:But it's also like who knows.
Speaker 2:You know, to me I, I don't know, I don't see that as being a big deal just because, like they probably cancel so many sponsorships. It's just like, well, whatever, here's another one. You know I do. Obviously, if we knew we would tell people, we would, we'd have a whole episode about it. But I can see how people don't feel the sense of responsibility they don't.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I mean they just they just did what's in their own interest and you figure it out for yourself.
Speaker 2:Over there is kind of I'm sure that's the attitude sucks, but you know it's not wrong, it's just it's just that thing of like.
Speaker 1:Then, a year later, this all comes out and it's like oh, but you, you knew about the sex cult the whole time, but you just didn't say anything because it didn't matter at the time.
Speaker 2:Okay, maybe you didn't have to, but maybe you actually could have, maybe could have helped somebody if you said something sooner well, the weird thing to me, what I think is like more um more uh shady, in my opinion, are the companies oh yeah, the companies that are paying honey yeah, like, come on, guys, abc company okay, that obviously has an affiliate program.
Speaker 2:You have all your top affiliates, or your top 25 affiliates, and you see their affiliates going down and you see this new affiliate skyrocketing. Why would you not investigate who the hell is this? They don't even have a youtube channel. They don't even have like. Who is this?
Speaker 1:yeah, I don't see, I don't know how any of that works but it's like for them, it doesn't you know? Oh there's, there's so many layers because also honey's owned by paypal. So like, do you need to be picking my pocket like you'd be my pal, not pay enemy?
Speaker 2:oh man andre love how we go from ice alters to cults. So how's your youtube channel going best friday night? Entertainment indeed the honey scam is so horrible. Honey never passed the smell test with me. It smelled fishy, so I never fell for it. Um yeah yeah, it's.
Speaker 1:It seemed like one of those things where it's like no, no, he knew about, they knew about it. They knew about it.
Speaker 2:yeah, they totally knew about it, and they didn't say anything.
Speaker 1:Over a year.
Speaker 2:It's like I don't know. You don't have to say anything Like if you you know.
Speaker 1:Well, okay, I'd say this. You don't have to say anything, but for you to warn. But they've said things about other things in the past. I guess, is it, don't? It's like, when is it convenient, when is it not?
Speaker 2:people are always gonna work in their best self-interest. I think me and you are unique. I feel like people here are unique, but I, I, I feel like most people are not gonna go out of their way to help other people and it's unfortunate. But see, this is the thing, because it's like lioness tech tips you're a huge company, man like probably this thing didn't make a dent, right? Well, obviously it did, because you canceled it. But, like you, the one person youtuber like what do you do?
Speaker 1:losing a significant percentage of affiliate revenue actually makes a huge like it actually really matters yeah, but that's not his problem no, it's not yeah, uh, hi.
Speaker 2:Greetings from fresh off the bus. What's up?
Speaker 1:k-pop comedy ltt is sketch yeah, it's one of those things where it went through. They went from being like wow, great, to like it's the thing of like you keep having to explain to us why the thing you did wasn't terrible. Why do you keep doing things that could be perceived as bad? Maybe it's because you're doing sketchy things and you're jumping through loopholes and jumping whatever here.
Speaker 2:I like that little dance move. Yeah, that was cute.
Speaker 1:That's my YouTuber jumping through loopholes.
Speaker 2:Greg says they might not have wanted to be sued.
Speaker 1:I mean.
Speaker 2:We'll see, I don't know. My point for this whole thing is like. This is how it's hard to be the first generation of content creators. Right, we are discovering these scams because they've never happened before and we are not prepared, we are not equipped. A lot of us are solo entrepreneurs, just like one person business owners. You know what are you going to do, but it's kind of part of the territory it's very, very tricky, tricky things to navigate and figure out. Yeah, it's. Yeah, it's unfortunate. It definitely makes me feel icky, but yeah.
Speaker 1:I feel like. I feel like we've definitely reached the icky phase of the creator economy where it's just like so many, it's not even just people like creators trying to like, be scammy or like. Here's my crappy product.
Speaker 2:Here's a bad sponsor.
Speaker 1:We should all be on the same side, but it's even like now. Giant companies and corporations even more so. Like not just, like we want as much as possible, like I'm gonna just pick every pocket, like I don't care who it is.
Speaker 2:So okay, one of the things I saw. Actually, I was in canada scrolling on my uh youtube and I saw this thing. I took a picture of it. I didn't watch it, so I am definitely jumping to conclusions here, but it was a, a title and a thumbnail in my youtube feed are you gonna try to find? It because I don't want to say something wrong, um, but I showed this to tom and did you?
Speaker 1:you screen that it I screenshot it.
Speaker 2:uh, okay, here's what the channel is called venus theory again. I haven't watched this video, but it says the channel is called Venus Theory Again, I haven't watched this video, but it says the title is AI copyright claimed my last video and the thumbnail says copyright claimed by Suno AI. We might be effed. This is something I feel like we're all going to have to deal with as content creators is because if you have AI companies just constantly copyright claiming all of our videos, how does a human being deal with that?
Speaker 1:It's a David and Goliath. You're one person.
Speaker 2:It's just this army of who's all night, all day, all night, nonstop. Multiple things, just copyright claims, copyright claim, copyright claim. That's scary, scary. That to me is scary. And if we are all just like in our own silos, how are we, how does anyone, how are we gonna win?
Speaker 1:that's where you do need to ask questions about regulation. That's our platform. You need to ask question about platform responsibility and even youtube, like, like, and I actually feel like YouTube has hinted that they've they're not 100% into the AI thing, even though they have, like AI features in studio, which is sort of confusing because it's like, here's a bunch of like, we'll basically AI generate your video for you, for your channel. But they also seem like they kind of recognize that like, if you're, it's going to hurt them if all that it is is AI bots posting videos for other AI bots to copyright claim and that's what their platform becomes. It's probably not good Cause it's probably not going to make them money in the long run. So they want to protect certain things. I would hope I don't know.
Speaker 2:Oh no, coffee says. This is why it's better to listen to reputable. Reputable YouTubers like Curtis Jen Tom, but people with integrity I would say curtis.
Speaker 2:I don't know about the other guy though well, the thing, the, the, the problem with integrity is like how do you know somebody has integrity, right like you can look at linus tech tips and be like, yeah, integrity, yeah, it's like. I think that's the thing that, like you know, back to the thesis, that's for me in my head is like before you go down somebody chance, somebody's, including ours right before you go down the rabbit hole of somebody else's content, and that's the only thing that you like see, and you see it every day. You see it on youtube, and then you go on your instagram, then you see it there too, and then you go on tiktok and then you see it there too. Like I feel like how, just remember to come up for air and make your own conclusions. That's what I'll say you know it's really you got.
Speaker 2:You got it. Like someone said, the smell test yeah, yeah, this is let trust your gut yeah, step away and just do your smell test every now and then with like all the content that you're consuming.
Speaker 1:And a weird thing too. I don't. I don't know where this fits, is the thought I'm having, but it's. There's a strange thing where people online it's almost like, especially people in higher positions, they're almost expected to be perfect in all areas or like you know, like, like how many celebrities do you see? Like, asked about their political opinions.
Speaker 2:I don't care.
Speaker 1:Like that's not what you do, like you can have you're a person, have political opinions, but like that's not your area of expertise, like, and I mean even stuff where it's like literally like computer YouTubers, like oh, they had like an opinion I didn't like on this political thing that's happening.
Speaker 1:Therefore, I can't watch their channel anymore. It's like that is like I understand. Like if someone's doing something horrible, like they're murdering people in their off time and then talking about MacBook pros, I understand you know that, but it's like I do also think it's okay to be like this person is super awesome in this area and I like I'm on board with the way that they approach this, with their views on this, with that like how they talk about this product, this field, this niche, whatever, like I love it. Once we step out of that. No, not so much. And I don't like it's this weird thing where I almost see people looking for, like I need the perfect, like essentially a Jesus figure that is just checking every box with me personally, individually, and then every other of the hundreds of thousands or millions of people that see their stuff perfectly, for them to not be like you know, this person is bad yeah.
Speaker 1:And it's like there's there's nobody on the earth.
Speaker 2:But see, I think that's the. That's the tricky part with social media. Right is like I, I feel like we, we don't have enough time to. This is, this is not how people used to interact, right like and I'm not saying that I'm definitely not the person who's like everyone should just get off their phones and go outside. No, I would never recommend that. I met my husband on this stuff, you know. So it's you know, cat, in canada, I wouldn't have gone if not for YouTube.
Speaker 2:So I, you know, think that the Internet, social media, the phone, all these things are very, very powerful tools. But you know, getting out of the country after an election, and just Everything online is so charged. And then I go to the airport and everyone's just doing to the airport, everyone's just doing their thing, everyone's just doing their thing. Everyone's just leaving work, getting on the airplane, reading a book, just like doing normal things. You know, and I just I feel like everything online is just so charged. It's us versus them. It's like it's so I don, it's so like it's very easy to get riled up. You know, and that's why, even with Linus Tech Tips, whatever, you know, if you're not going to warn everybody, whatever I'm not going to say you're bad, I'm not here to judge, I mean.
Speaker 1:That's just what Andre's saying, though, is they do routinely call out companies doing sketchy stuff, both their own sponsors and non-sponsors roles. Non-sponsors, I'm not doing it. There is weird um and that, like you set the tone for what's expected of you, right, like that's and that's. You know, I don't know. It's like okay, look, I do macbook pro reviews, for example, or I do laptop computer reviews. I always talk about battery life. I always talk about how long the batteries last. This one video I didn't talk about the battery. You get the computer. It turns out the battery lasts six minutes, like everyone's gonna be like why didn't you talk?
Speaker 2:why didn't?
Speaker 1:like no, I didn't have to, I guess, but it is it. I set the precedent. For it to be weird that I didn't right and that's that's where it's like the silence says more than is louder than words uh ono, coffee says.
Speaker 2:I think integrity is demonstrated when stuff goes awry and how they respond. Ldts failed in this respect.
Speaker 1:There you go I'm just like we got a new merch drop greg says there's no such thing as a free coupon or lunch. If there's no product, you are the product that's what I always thought was weird with honey, because it sounds awesome, but like yeah, what is the catch?
Speaker 2:I just assume like you're mining all of my data obviously there's some way like someone wouldn't be in business if they're not probably yeah, it's not obviously there's, something yeah um, andre's, yeah right. Uh, remember what your parents taught you. Certain topics need to be kept private religion, politics and camera preference. I think there was no. Actually, I don Someone. I remember scrolling through comments. Well, see, that's another thing. Comments.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:Comment sections. I feel like I got. I'm not admitted, admittedly, I jumped into the comments so fast. Right, I see something. I think I have gotten to the point where I'm like I can judge, I can have my own opinion on a piece of content. The problem is I go straight to the comments and then that is, it's actually the comment section that has more influence on me than the actual thing, and it just became so habitual.
Speaker 1:Which is funny, because if you go back to real life like there's a number of times've been in, like you know, like I don't know, like the car, like oil change, tire change place before sitting in the waiting room, have someone sit next to me that's just telling me all kinds of stuff I don't need to know about and they're sharing all their opinions and it's like it doesn't affect me because I'm like, okay, like, just like I don't, I don't other than the comedy factor. I don't think about it the rest of the day. But then you see someone write something online.
Speaker 2:I'm like, oh, there's like validity here I recently met up with a friend, okay, who has the exact, the exact opposite political views, worldview. Like we have so many things like not, not like you're on this side, on this side, we are on the opposite sides of the spectrum. I did not sit there feeling charged. I, obviously we are. I consider them still a friend, like I feel like we, we, I feel like there is a way to, like you know, I can empathize with how this person was so passionate about their views. I'm not gonna hold it against them. I disagree, but like I don't know it's not, it's not gonna be me who's gonna change anybody's opinion. You know that is not my mission.
Speaker 1:I well, it's like you said, in your daily life you encounter everywhere you go. You encounter people who have differing and opposite views from you, but most, for the most part, it's just like okay, excuse me, I just need to get over here. Okay, that's, you have a good like, go online if I just normal what they said online, oh, yeah it would have made me feel away, and that is the scary that's.
Speaker 2:That is the thing I'm realizing is like. So actually, my goal is to not my goal is not to decrease social media time screen time, it's.
Speaker 1:I think there is a thing on here that counts how many times you like lift your phone yeah, I remember going through there was my students all went through it one day and this was five before, five years ago. I want to decrease.
Speaker 2:It's like how many compulsively picking up your phone. Sometimes I'm like why am I even picking up what am I? Why am I picking up a phone I don't know? I even had the thought of like I'm just checking the time.
Speaker 2:Okay, you don't need to pick up your phone for that yeah, I gotta watch oh, I don't worry mine anymore, but just because it's like I don't know, I don't, I don't, I'm really just checking my behaviors of like what am I doing compulsively that can affect how I feel that's a good thing to do. Speaking of compulsions.
Speaker 1:yeah, so, tom and I this morning got our blood work done For our annual like doctor checkup. Yeah, see what?
Speaker 2:the numbies say See what the numbies say. Until then.
Speaker 1:I'm fine. Until then it's handles all day, every day.
Speaker 2:Well, not really but yeah, anyway, um, that was a fun episode.
Speaker 1:I feel like yeah, we did talk about all the things. So thanks sharing your thoughts. Don't forget about NAB. Um, yeah, if just something to check out and about time to clear the table.
Speaker 2:I think it's time is the fan mail thing. Is that a Buzzsprout thing?
Speaker 1:Yes, on the audio version of the podcast on Buzzsprout. I think we did enable it. We can't enable it. They have a cool thing where at the top of your description it just says like send a message to the show, and it's basically like sending a text message and just boop. Since, you know, podcasts in audio only format don't have comment sections and things that are easily accessible, usually you can just send a message right to the show. It's pretty cool.
Speaker 2:Yeah, so if you have any uh things that you want to talk about, bring up questions, blah blah, you can always reach out to us through all the things, or, um, if you're listening to the audio version of this podcast, there's a link where you can send us a message at the top of the description.
Speaker 1:So thanks so much. Hope you guys have a safe, happy, healthy, fun rest of your week and weekend. Sorry, heather's Hockey Hall of Fame.
Speaker 2:Oh my God, I'm going to do a video. I am going to do a video with all the footage I recorded in the Hockey Hall of Fame, because I need to make this video for Tom.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I need to see it so yeah, All right guys. Okay.