Linus's personality - has money changed him?

[Tumwum]

Before you read this, I want to say NO, I don't believe he's changed.  I want to see if anyone else feels like I do about Linus and his personality vs how he's now perceived by viewers.

In this post, I'll go over how I feel Linus's personality originated and why he gets so much negative feedback.

 

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UPDATED: This isn't really about the nexus video and their concerns, but I think it may explain why so many people are willing to jump and pile on with the LTT / Linus hate.  It feels like this has been bubbling under the surface and may shed some light on why it's easy for some viewers to switch to haters?  Just a thought.

 

• OG Linus - The early years of LTT
  • LTT Channel
    • Linus and LTT started off, as everyone should be aware, as a tech review from the perspective of an educated consumer.  Not necessarily the most tech-heavy reviews, but enough details to inform a viewer whether a specific item was worth buying.  His videos had jank and were fun to view as he represented what a tech consumer may do to gain the best performance or best results possible.  It hit a niche that most users wanted, additionally LTT's videos were entertaining to watch which stood him apart from other review channels at the time.
  • Linus's personality:
    • Linus was fun, he didn't mind jank and was able to make fun of himself.  He played a character at the time that would take shots at his staff, he didn't have to wink at the camera that he was joking because LTT was a SMALL team of friends, and it was clear that it was a joke.  We were all in on this joke, and it made Linus's personality pop, as he was that goofy boss we all enjoyed to watch.
       

I believe as the channel went through growing pains from leaving the old home to the new office, people were excited to see this small group of fun personalities finally make it to the big time, their videos continued to be entertaining and educational.  LTT and Linus grew their fan base, and it allowed him to expand into new and existing areas.

 

As his company grew, we started to see the same jokes that were fun in the small home studio start to become misplaced or, at the time, new viewers would just assume Linus being mean or a bad boss.  I think the best example of this kind of his personality can be seen through the INTEL / AMD upgrade videos.  Linus clearly goes through all of his employee's home pointing out stolen items, calling his employee's thieves.  Clearly Linus is joking but at this point, it's not a small company any more, it's a successful 100+ company and these comments from the CEO of a company with real wealth, hits differently then someone in a 5-man company.

 

Additionally, Linus can be seen building computers roughly, treating his employee's new tech with little care, again, I chalk this up as a character hamming it up for a video.  But without context, it's a CEO of a large company building something for his employee with little respect to the employee's home / items.

 

This is just an example, but I think feeds into the root of his personality / perception.

 

• Current Linus - The money bags years
  • LTT Channel
    • Linus and LTT are now huge, the channel is larger than ever, LTT is a +100 person company and their influence on the YouTube platform, review media and companies is beyond anything that Linus would have imaged.  His videos are now broken up into multiple channels, some still hit the fun spot as his original videos, but most are now standard reviews with surface level details (quick reviews).  LTT is in the process of creating labs a high-tech review wing of LTT, their goal to be THE place to go for any and all technical reviews for tech.  This goal seems to clash with the style of jank videos that LTT is known to produce. 
  • Linus' personality:
    • Although I do not know Linus personally, from a viewers' perspective I think his personalty has not changed.  Sure, he's perfected his on-camera character and continues to treat his employees with the same "bro" mentality he did when LTT was a 5-man crew.  He may have the best toys around, but he doesn't seem to let that side of his life influence what he enjoys.

 

IMHO, the problem is that current Linus isn't that young guy who had a small team of friends, he leads a huge company which he should take a step back and acknowledge.  Any fun joke, or inappropriate comment isn't being taken the same from a viewer's perspective and at time comes off as mean spirited or "better than tho" personality.  This isn't because Linus has changed, It's because LTT has changed.  Some of these people ARE Linus's real friends, and that can make things complicated for his on-screen personality.  But he needs to know how OG viewers and new viewers see him.

 

The only thing I will say about Linus and money is that a lot of his conversations or videos are about "LOOK HOW MUCH THIS COST" or him pointing out how much he pays someone. or how much he spent on XXX item for testing.  As someone who knows a lot of people like Linus, I know It's just off jokes, it CLEARLY does not represent how Linus feels, but from a viewers' perspective, sometimes these jokes don't land.  Compounding the issue, Linus's very wealthy home situation and new Porsche paints him in a certain light, whether he wants to or not.  Linus is no longer the common tech fan driving around in a pink Honda, he's a wealthy owner of a huge operation.  We can't relate with him anymore, so the jokes he makes comes from a place of power, not a from a common man.

 

I may be dead wrong, I may be the only one feeling like this.  But I think it may explain a bit of his personality / LTT's changes.

 

I think it's time for Linus to let go some of these jokes, he's a fun person who can come up with new ways to interact with his team.  My goal with this post is to see if this resonates with others? And if so, maybe it's something that Linus can work on for the betterment of himself and his on-screen perception.  As a fan, I hope this is taken as a constructive criticism, as it's intended to be.

 

 

 

Edited August 16, 2023 by Tumwum

[dimforest]

Money changes everybody. Not always for the worse.. but it's near impossible to go from a little bit to a lot and simply remain unchanged as a result. 

[Fasauceome]

Depends strongly on how you define "changed." In Gamers Nexus's recent critique of the actions of LMG, he correctly pointed out that a lot of Linus's remarks are from the perspective of a business owner, and not an average person. In particular, the quote of "how can I justify spending (x amount of money) more on this?" Shows that his values come strongly from the perspective of profit and revenue, at least when it comes to decisions around running the company. 

 

Is that necessarily an issue? Well no, but Steve was right to bring up how it causes an ethical conflict in regards to a number of incongruities between the actual factual nature and quality of the content, vs the expectations. And Linus strongly portrays himself as an Everyman, just a normal dad doing tech stuff. Not that I think this persona is dishonest, because by all accounts that's actually what he is overall, but when he enters business-owner mode, his tech dad side just isn't the one making the choices. But he does protect his own public image pretty strongly, and I think it's coming back to bite him a bit as of late. As for his old content, I don't believe his core persona changed that much. In his old content he was still wowed by high end tech and all the fancy shines, he can just afford to showcase more of it nowadays.

 

Overall, I think the only real change is that Linus is aware of his influence. He has a large influence over the tech industry, and he has a large influence over his employees. But, I don't think he's always aware of the extent of that influence. In the response to this most recent controversy, there was a lot to be desired in terms of acknowledging wrongdoing. The fact of the matter is that in the past, Linus and LMG at large have had times where they handled situations of poor publicity much better, and had a much more mature response. This should have been one of those times, especially since the content from GM was so comprehensive and analytical. I think it should have been a chance for a dialogue and not trying to cover their ass.

[Origami Cactus]

Yeah, I don't think he has changed either, he has always been that arrogant "i am right, you are wrong" kind of guy that does janky things.

Back in the old house where everyone were friends, they were better at keeping him at bay, and also as you say, they were actually making fun videos where it didn't really matter they were janky, that is what he was known for.

You can see that arrogant personality slip out of Linus in even the old videos, but then there was Nicky V or someone else back at him with a quick jab or a joke for acting like a douche. Now he only has Luke who really can't control him anymore.

[ColonelSupremePizza]

The answer is obvious: Yes.

 

He cares about his bottom line more than anything, and he can't stand when he isn't getting paid for things he sees that he deserves, like calling Adblock Piracy because people don't want to watch over sexualized gambling ads.

[Tumwum]

Hmm, i would ask is it because he's greedy and wants money? or is it because he has +100 people to pay?

 

It's hard to say at this point based on how lavishly he lives, but I'm willing to error on the side of his fiscal responsibilities rather than being greedy.

Beside the nexus concerns, i wanted to know if everyone felt the same about how Linus is perceived

[fohatadri]

5 minutes ago, ColonelSupremePizza said:

The answer is obvious: Yes.

 

He cares about his bottom line more than anything, and he can't stand when he isn't getting paid for things he sees that he deserves, like calling Adblock Piracy because people don't want to watch over sexualized gambling ads.

Explain to me like i'm five, why and how Adblock is not piracy.

[ColonelSupremePizza]

3 minutes ago, fohatadri said:

Explain to me like i'm five, why and how Adblock is not piracy.

Explain to me why I should be subjected to NSFW ads, mobile casinos, crypto scams, and straight up malware? Tell me why I should accept that I need to see that or have it play in the first place.

 

If it was blocking Billy Mays telling me about Oxyclean, an Axe Body Spray commercial, or even a Swiffer one, that'd be an entirely different conversation as those are actual commercials.

[FK FOSS it is Socialism]

7 minutes ago, fohatadri said:

Explain to me like i'm five, why and how Adblock is not piracy.

 

[Nucleosynthesis]

Linus chose money over quality, so yes. LTT doesn't have to grow this fast; it's his decision, and therefore, criticism is warranted.

 

I was really hoping that the GN video would kindle competition for quality in the hardware review space. Instead, we got a childish response from an entitled millionaire with a victim complex.

 

 

This is not the Linus from 10 years ago that I really liked! - I hope he will manage to turn the ship around...

[Applefreak]

2 minutes ago, fohatadri said:

Explain to me like i'm five, why and how Adblock is not piracy.

Removing ads is cutting into profit margins of websites. That has nothing to do with the definition of piracy. That term is widely being used by the media to make things sound more dramatic. What they meant to say is theft. However you would need to provide evidence of intent to make that claim. A lot of ads on the web use tracking algorithms and even infect your system to "harmlessly" track your usage data. That may very well include financial data as well as login credentials and so on. What do you call that?

[fohatadri]

4 minutes ago, ColonelSupremePizza said:

Explain to me why I should be subjected to NSFW ads, mobile casinos, crypto scams, and straight up malware? Tell me why I should accept that I need to see that or have it play in the first place.

 

If it was blocking Billy Mays telling me about Oxyclean, an Axe Body Spray commercial, or even a Swiffer one, that'd be an entirely different conversation as those are actual commercials.

Then don't watch videos at all. I could understand not wanting ads on big channels because well I think they can survive without you, but smaller channels? They suffer from this a lot. So many media creators get absolute pennies from YouTube and because they are so small they cannot get any sponsorships.
 

[fohatadri]

4 minutes ago, Applefreak said:

Removing ads is cutting into profit margins of websites. That has nothing to do with the definition of piracy. That term is widely being used by the media to make things sound more dramatic. What they meant to say is theft. However you would need to provide evidence of intent to make that claim. A lot of ads on the web use tracking algorithms and even infect your system to "harmlessly" track your usage data. That may very well include financial data as well as login credentials and so on. What do you call that?

Could you elaborate on how do these companies steal your financial data and login credentials as those are encrypted end to end? Just curious.

[ColonelSupremePizza]

6 minutes ago, fohatadri said:

Then don't watch videos at all. I could understand not wanting ads on big channels because well I think they can survive without you, but smaller channels? They suffer from this a lot. So many media creators get absolute pennies from YouTube and because they are so small they cannot get any sponsorships.
 

I don't care. Screw em all. CPM is shit anyways. Trying to tell me that an ad view is worth more than a superchat, subscription, membership, or merch purchase is beyond stupid. If I like a creator, I send them money. If I don't, I'm not obligated to pay them for not entertaining me or making me care. If you're a street performer, I don't have to give you a dime, but because someone is on the internet I all of a sudden have to? Nah, ain't gonna happen chief.

 

I'm not going to subject myself to cancerous, awful, and malicious ads so you can make $0.00001 off of that view. If you want to watch several casino app ads before a video, watch a softcore porn ad in the middle of it, and a malware ad at the end, go for it. I won't and I'll happily block every single one.

The entitlement of content creators is absolutely absurd, and the simping for ads for the sake of smaller channels isn't the answer.

[Applefreak]

2 minutes ago, fohatadri said:

Could you elaborate on how do these companies steal your financial data and login credentials as those are encrypted end to end? Just curious.

If for example you accidently clicked on one of the ads to close it but missed the spot, downloaded some tool for your browser, your system would then be compromised. On most modern browsers that even works without admin rights or user consent. Some pages store your account data like account number in cookies, which are then available to advertisers. Not all forms on the internet are well encrypted and maintained with security fixes. I always advise on clearing all data before opening a sensitive page and newer use a search engine to get there. 

[Supersonicwolfe]

I think yes.

 

Linus was the kind of guy would cobble together a PC with summer lawn mowing money.

 

But just recently when he saw that Alienware R16 motherboard having integrated front I/O, he said "Cool".

I bet old Linus would say... "Err... that's not great" or something like, that given that an integrated front I/O means the case and motherboard can't be used for anything else... unless script or sponsor money forced him, he won't say "Cool"

[AyoKeito]

26 minutes ago, fohatadri said:

Explain to me like i'm five, why and how Adblock is not piracy.

If Linus feels like he can bypass "no ads" feature of YouTube Premium with his sponsor segments, i feel like i can bypass any and all of his ads, whether they are from YouTube or not.

[SolarNova]

Money changes everyone. be it a loss of it, or gaining a lot.

Anyone whom has gone through the gain or loss of wealth to such a degree and then says otherwise, is lying.

Anyone who hasn't gone through such an event and say otherwise, is naive.

 

From my perspective, i've seen an increase in content that includes obscenely expensive products/setups, owing to the fact he can afford it now. its somewhat out of touch of the original viewership, but can still be entertaining to some degree none the less. And as others have pointed out, having a stance on a subject and responding as a (or from the perspective of) business owner is more than a tad different than responding as an average joe consumer.

[fohatadri]

2 minutes ago, Applefreak said:

If for example you accidently clicked on one of the ads to close it but missed the spot, downloaded some tool for your browser, your system would then be compromised. On most modern browsers that even works without admin rights or user consent. Some pages store your account data like account number in cookies, which are then available to advertisers. Not all forms on the internet are well encrypted and maintained with security fixes. I always advise on clearing all data before opening a sensitive page and newer use a search engine to get there. 

If that is the case, just use ESET or any other antivirus - it's cheap. Most of them have their "secure browsers" which open the moment you try to open your bank's website. Also, many banking site/app practices in the USA especially are a joke. Some of them to this day let you have an incredibly insecure password. 

[Applefreak]

3 minutes ago, ColonelSupremePizza said:

I'm not going to subject myself to cancerous, awful, and malicious ads so you can make $0.00001 off of that view.

In the time of 1 512 kbit/s down 64 kbit/s up, ads actually paid money to website creators. However even then it was 0.01 cent per click but payouts started at around 1000 clicks per week / month. Basically is was free adspace for companies. Those ads were usually insurance companies, travel agencies and sometimes tech related. Years later (before multicore cpus), the first video ads were so heavy that it could bring the system to a halt or at least crash the browser on some machines. So blocking them was the way to go. Also with video ads it began the era of annoying overlay ads that made it impossible to visit sites on smartphones and older pcs. At that time payouts began to be truly abysmal. Fixed payments per click were removed instead came watchtime per ad and engagement. However that required the use of tracking cookies and in early days browser addons that came with new updates (smart browsing, suggestions) to allow for better ad revenue, however the creator of the page still got pretty much zero as those credits were now earned by new out of country based LLCs with weird and dubious names.

[fohatadri]

4 minutes ago, AyoKeito said:

If Linus feels like he can bypass "no ads" feature of YouTube Premium with his sponsor segments, i feel like i can bypass any and all of his ads, whether they are from YouTube or not.

How the f*ck would you expect a company like LMG to survive without sponsor segments or ads? From selling water bottles perhaps? Get real, open your eyes for at least one second. Boasting that you use adblocker is not that cool you know.

[AyoKeito]

3 minutes ago, fohatadri said:

How the f*ck would you expect a company like LMG to survive without sponsor segments or ads? From selling water bottles perhaps? Get real, open your eyes for at least one second. Boasting that you use adblocker is not that cool you know.

Solving millionaires problems is definitely not my job. I'm just pointing to the fact that i'm not getting ad-free experience out of LTT videos even if i pay YouTube to get ad-free experience. Plain and simple.

[ColonelSupremePizza]

Just now, Applefreak said:

In the time of 1 512 kbit/s down 64 kbit/s up, ads actually paid money to website creators. However even then it was 0.01 cent per click but payouts started at around 1000 clicks per week / month. Basically is was free adspace for companies. Those ads were usually insurance companies, travel agencies and sometimes tech related. Years later (before multicore cpus), the first video ads were so heavy that it could bring the system to a halt or at least crash the browser on some machines. So blocking them was the way to go. Also with video ads it began the era of annoying overlay ads that made it impossible to visit sites on smartphones and older pcs. At that time payouts began to be truly abysmal. Fixed payments per click were removed instead came watchtime per ad and engagement. However that required the use of tracking cookies and in early days browser addons that came with new updates (smart browsing, suggestions) to allow for better ad revenue, however the creator of the page still got pretty much zero as those credits were now earned by new out of country based LLCs with weird and dubious names.

In the old days, sure. Now? Now it's a pathetically small sum that isn't even worth considering unless you have absurd volume. Even with significant volume, the amount of Adblock users is significantly smaller than you think.

 

The only way to make actual money is subscriptions, memberships, merch, superchats, etc. Trying to tell anyone that adblock hurts your bottom line when any other method of support is exponentially superior in every possible way.

 

The only ads that pay well are porn ads. That's it. You put porn ads on a super active site and you can make absurd cash. Any other form of advertising is beyond worthless for a website or video content.

[ColonelSupremePizza]

4 minutes ago, fohatadri said:

How the f*ck would you expect a company like LMG to survive without sponsor segments or ads? From selling water bottles perhaps? Get real, open your eyes for at least one second. Boasting that you use adblocker is not that cool you know.

Not my problem if they survive. They have to figure that out, not me. They are an over glorified band of street performers. Whether I give them money or not is dependent on if I like their content and want to support them. Ultimately, if it's unsustainable because of adblock, that's on them for not diversifying and coming up with a business model to keep 120+ employees well compensated and get millions of dollars in equipment.

 

You are also beyond delusional if you think ads are as good as a water bottle sale. That water bottle is worth tens of thousands, or likely hundreds of thousands, of ad views. They absolutely should push their merch because then you get something back for supporting them.

 

You have an unbelievably naive way of looking at the world.

[fohatadri]

Just now, AyoKeito said:

That is definitely not my problem. I'm just pointing to the fact that i'm not getting ad-free experience out of LTT videos even if i pay YouTube to get ad-free experience. Plain and simple.

Pretty much every creator on Youtube that is sponsored by some company has a segue to ads. What is your point? Should YouTube ban channels that have integrated ads so channels literally die? Looking at Twitch for shitty practises?