Andrei Chiffa

Ok people, you were all right and I guess I got a bit carried away with the true scale of the drama and owe you an apology.
 

Ok people, you were all right and I guess I got a bit carried away with the true scale of the drama and owe you an apology.
 

The review was made exactly in the same manner as the review for the normal screwdriver and as Project Farm always states at the end of the video, this review as well, was viewer suggested. Project Farm releases videos every Sunday. Given that the stubby was supposed to release on the 17th, the review was scheduled to be released on the 20th. Like with the normal screwdriver, it was put on sale (pre-order) on the 30th of August 2022 and Project Farm's review came on the 4th of September. The only thing that did not coincide now, was the release of the screwdriver, for obvious reasons. In my opinion, I don't believe that Project Farm should have postponed releasing the review. The testing methodology, data collection, etc are pretty solid. To me, personally, it does not seem like a promotional video or an endorsement video for LTT and/or (one of) their products.

I kinda felt that way, but they are both youtubers, so I think its reasonable to collab.

I take issue with 2 things in the project farm video
 
1 the LTT logo being featured in the thumbnail while no otjer manufacturers logos are featured in the thumbnail 
 
2 at the end he thanks LTT for letting him buy the screwdriver early ( he did pay full price ) but it seemed more like a feature our screw driver and promote our product type video
 
 
even that it came in 3rd and was kinda alright this doesn’t sit well with me specially when LMG posted a floatplane  message that they intended to launch the screwdriver on Friday but due to current events that wasn’t happening anymore this review seems more like a promotional video given the timing 

He shouldve tested Hammering a screw into wood or something. Just to make him understand importance of testing properly 
 
If You want the results  (There were two destruction test didnt end up in the ranking Bcz It is not designed to do that You cannot test somethink that its not designed to do and make a verdict on that) 

As the title states, a review of the stubby screwdriver, from a trustworthy source. 
 
 

Matters under legal precedent cannot be commented on in public during an official investigation as it can influence said investigation. And have legal ramifications. Any conjecture outside that is just conjecture. Opinions are still opinions, but vilifying based on conjecture and opinion is a fools errand. FYI.

There are genuine reasons for waiting until after the investigation to share the results. The biggest one being that what is known right now might not be true or representative of what actually happened.

what would you rather have? We have investigated ourselves and found nothing wrong? Works so well for fossil fuel companies. /s

They already addressed it, an investigation is taking place, we won't get anything beyond that.

I can almost guarantee the answer to that is “Our lawyers say we cannot discuss it while the investigation is ongoing.”

Tbh, he should have found a C<X>O for each of his sub-branches and trusted them to do a good job instead of personally reviewing every single draft and video before release.
 
He did it for Mac Address, and it was arguably the best decision he ever made wrt covering Apple products, because his own takes on anything Apple-related are completely clueless. Not that his takes on other topics were highly informed (Twitter, RTX 4090 pricing, unionization, ...).
 
Had he the cover of the other C<X>O, he would have had the excuse of "that's my opinion, but realistically <name> would not allow me to do it if it's not a good idea, in the same way he did it with Yvonne on a WAN show when it came to the Creators Warehouse and Labs investments.
 
I have no idea if Terren Tong was the right person to become the CEO of the LMG, but someone like him was loooooong overdue.
 

LMG started with the right foot: failing a self imposed deadline.
At least it's a change.

I think its a bar everyone should hold youtubers too . I mean i like the fact they dropped anchor as a sponsor . However been apologetic for a sponsors legal statement that hurts consumers is a different story . 
 
As for E-waste . Yes that is a fact . Invalid benchmarks contribute to that . false or botched benchmarks for zeon products do lead to them becoming E-waste . I have watched these videos and yes benchmarks were way off on x-server grade zeons . LTT videos are a gateway into most of the tech world . So a lot of people take benchmarks on Ltt like  gospel . THey shouldn't but they do . I would never use more than one source for all benchmarks . I think everyone should .    

It kind of pains me to see how other YouTubers are posting their "thoughts" about this "drama". None of them have said anything new or meaningful and still make money off of it.
/s (even when true)
 
The only thing Linus needs to "learn" from this all is that he can't reply to something right away when he sees a negative or provoking comment. My understanding is that the less than ideal reply on the forum is main reason why shit hit the fan (and is still flying). I could be wrong though as I havent paid attention that much and in fact I did not even read it.
So, in the future when someone posts a video stating  whatever, Linus needs to leave the computer, have a glass of water and just take time to think it through. Maybe have someone like Luke read it before posting the thing.

I think an important thing to note that everyone seems to gloss over is the fact that LMG now does have two dedicated HR people (that are not Linus or Yvonne). Positions that were not there at the time of Madison, and likely have implemented processes to address things like that in the future.
 
I think "growing up" is exactly what Linus realized needs to happen 6-12 months ago when he began searching for a CEO to take over. It's Linus and Yvonne's company, nobody should forget that. But a proper business minded CEO is exactly what is needed at LMG to curtail issues like this in the future. Linus will forever set the tone for LMG, but Terran is who will make sure it is implemented in a way that avoids shit like the Madison issue from happening again. I imagine in the coming days/months, you will see LMG create a dividing line between the company official positions, announced by Terran, and Linus' personal statements.

Linus is always going to decide where the ship of LMG is going to try and go (the destination), but from here on out, Terran (or whoever is CEO) is who will steer the ship to get it from port to port along the way (determine the route). 
 

If I were Linus at this point, I'd just close shop and move on. Spend time with my family, live off investments, etc. The top management is already set along with himself. Maybe take the money from the sell of the assets and distribute it among the employees, then call it a day. I don't think he'll do this of course, since he really seems to care about what he's built. But, it's most definitely what I'd do! 🙂

Linus has now a negative aura around him, see all the comments pouring down under their What do we do now video and also under this video:
 
 
BTW I do not think that the fact that a Youtube star does not want to talk to all common men is a huge tragedy, but unfortunately it does not work well for him at this moment.
 
I myself also would not want to talk to all men or women, common or uncommon. I am not very sociable. I cannot help it. Does Linus have to be sociable? Is it an obligation in his position?
 

Tbh I don't think that such an environment should be accepted in any workplace (but I am also a European), but IMHO the problem of the LMG is that they build their image specifically as the type of people who would not be doing it.
 
Given the amount of shit Linus gave to other companies that did not do their work properly (starting with cancelling tours and booth visits stories on WAN all the way to Anker), fans listened to LTT's advice and used their guidelines to drive major purchases. 
 
GN's video basically suggests that in some areas they don't clear the bar they set for other companies they set, and Linus' initial response pretty much confirmed all of it, which understandably made a lot of fans with a Manichean vision of the world take LTT off the "Good little guy" list and put them on the "Evil large corporation" one. 
 
So basically GN video by itself could have been a "woopsie, thanks Steve for expressing your concerns and let us look into it and get back to you", followed up with a "yeah, we fucked up with the waterblock and the mouse; here is why it happened, here is how we are ensuring it will never happen again, and how we are making it up to companies that got hurt in the process", leading to  a teary redemption and even more Linus fandom; but instead became a spiraling disaster that cannot be blamed on anyone but Linus because of his knee-jerk reaction.
 
 
However at this stage it is much more about Madison, because LTT does have a reputation for a bro culture and when Madison left, Max (only other strong character young female public-facing employee before her) suggested that she left for the same reasons as Madison.
 
As far as LTT reputation goes, it's hard to do worse.
 
 

What a mess.
 
I think Steve really nutshelled a lot of issues that, to most people that have been watching LTT for awhile, has become more evident. Issues that LTT knew about, and may have been addressing... but addressing in a half-assed manner.
 
Errors in videos happen. They do. But it was the number of errors, the consistency of the errors that was noticeable. Linus and Luke touched on this in the last WAN show, and started spitballing ideas. Great. But this should have been a much bigger internal conversation much sooner. If the accuracy reviews are suffering, and suffering frequently, then there is something fundamentally wrong with your process.
 
This is probably compounded by their production rate of release. It feels like they've doubled down on quantity, and as a result quality has suffered. Noticeably. Linus' own staff have gone on camera, and stated that they find the rate that they need to produce videos is something they have an issue with. I recall someone saying that they're not proud of what they produce, they produce it for the sake of their metrics. LMG produces something like 20-25 videos across all channels per week. Even with 130 staff, not all those staff are involved in production. That's an incredible work load to maintain, while also ensuring what you produce is of high quality.
 
The Billet Labs situation also highlights a number of issues. The first is, obviously, the water block itself getting sold off. And, yes, an auction is still a sale. Dancing around the terminology is worst kind of semantics. This was a fundamental failure in workflow processes. Why was a product review item that was on loan from someone ever coming into contact with items that were LMG property that were not to be retained? I'm not completely clear on the timeline of the back-and-forth between LMG and Billet, so I won't comment too much on that.
The second issue is the review itself. You have a water block meant for one GPU, used on another GPU that the block isn't meant for, and your conclusion upon performance being subpar is that this is a bad product that nobody should buy. And you doubled-down, and refused to test with the GPU it *is* meant for, because it would cost $100, $200, $300, $500 dollars more of staff time. You've just spent seven figures (maybe even eight, at this point) on buying and building out Labs. $500 to ensure that you release an accurate review using accurate testing methodology (like using the correct GPU) shouldn't have been a conversation. Instead, it undermines the *entire point of Labs*. This is the literal definition of penny wise, pound foolish. You spend millions of dollars to improve your reputation for testing accuracy, but a reluctance to spend $500 severely harms that reputation. That response from Linus was baffling.
 
Third, is apologies. Linus has released a few apologies that have come across as... tone deaf. I don't necessarily think he *is* tone-deaf, but rather that he responds with emotion. That a criticism of LMG is a criticism of Linus. The Trust Me Bro thing was one. While I could see his side of things, it feels like he took the criticism of a lack of official warranty as a personal attack. The response from Linus after the GN video dropped was also... again, it felt emotional, and again it felt like he was taking valid criticism as a personal attack. The video response "What Do We Do Now" was... holy crap. Not good. I realize there are certain things and certain humour that are part of the core LMG video identity. But this was the one video and the one time time where the jokes and product plugs were just tone-deaf.
The !two! fake throwaways to the "message from our sponsor", the couple of Colton-gets-fired jokes, Nick plugging the LTT store (no, somebody did *not* need to say it), the actual plug for an upcoming screwdriver iteration, the sixty nine joke... I didn't hate the D-Brand comment as a coda to the video, but it also wasn't necessary.
 
Linus has always seemed like someone who not only wears his heart on his sleeve, but also speaks with an earnestness and a passion that is a big reason why I've followed LMG for a decade. The problem is, this isn't a small channel being run out of someone's house any more. LMG is not just Linus anymore. This is a corporation, with over 100 employees, subsidiaries, and multiple locations. There is absolutely a viewerbase that still sees LMG as a small, plucky little Youtube channel with a handful of employees. But to many... many... more, it's a big company. It will be judged as a big company. Are those judgements always fair? No. Are they never fair? Also, no.
 
I still want to see that earnestness and that passion from Linus. I still want to see a bit of that heart-on-the sleeve. But LMG is at the point where an initial, emotional response is rarely going to improve a situation.
 
As for the Madison situation... the allegations are horrifying, and suggest an exceedingly toxic work culture. I have concerns. Lots of concerns. But we all also know very little beyond the allegation. I'll wait and see, I hope that they're not true, and I hope that the investigation is both honest and thorough.
 
I love LMG. Their videos have been something I've enjoyed for over a decade. Their aspirations with Labs are admirable. But there are some fundamental warts that need addressing. And I really... really... think that they need a proper PR person or PR training. I'm not one, but a single watch through of the accountability video was enough to see that there were fundamental problems with that video. So many people spoke in that video, so many people likely wrote, edited, and filmed that video... and nobody thought to point out some of the fundamental flaws in the messaging.
 
I hope that change... real change is coming. I hope that the emphasis is put back on quality over quantity. If it means a video costs $500 more, or is delayed by a day or two or a week, but a substantially better and more accurate end product is the result, then delay the video or spend the $500. Please.
 
LMG needs real PR help. Not a spin doctor. But someone who can take a look at something like the events currently occurring, take a critical look at the messaging, and catch any further gaffes before they happen.
 
 

Had the same question @McGherkin did an excellent write-up in response: 
 
 
 

Had the same question yesterday, so let me re-link again the excellent @McGherkin's summary
 
 

Had the same question @McGherkin did an excellent write-up in response: 
 
 
 

Had the same question yesterday, so let me re-link again the excellent @McGherkin's summary