Linus takes the final step in abandoning his original audience.

[Ruijin97]

i'll keep it short

1. i miss the days when videos had their noticeably linus touch and personality, videos today feel like they could be advertisements (albeit, very detailed ones)

2. Video upload density is at best one or two a day, i understand it takes longer to make a video but i enjoyed casual, barely edited unboxings, such as back when videos would end.......... but then linus would have something else to add

 

however the WAN show is an absolute joy to watch and the video quality is unparalleled 

 

i think we need a balance. professional videos for some products, casual unboxings for others

[NoctisCrytrix]

Yep I agree and even my friend who said he stopped watching because of this change in content and not focusing on what we originally subscribed for and that is PC hardware stuff not enough of it really. Also I really dont care about the proffessional video quality or whatever aslong as its 1080p thats all that matters to me.

[NimRock]

My 2c

 

You do have a big audience, if only 1% complains that will still be a wack tonne of complaints.

 

Secondly there might be something to the comment that your loosing some spontaneity, at lot of why you have done so well Linus, imho, is your personality, and it doesn't come through as much in a script as in a impromptu video. One idea could be to use the approach a lot of strong public speakers use and loosely script the key points, but come up with the fill in on the fly.

 

Putting a bit less time into scripting might ease you your workload a little too and allow more vids to come out. 

 

What would be the effect of less professional videos on Linus media group as a whole though...

[LinusTech]

You have to understand that HE HAS A FAMILY, a wife and a kid, if you knew anything about video production or business management you would know that Linus doesn't edit, he has a editor and im sure he doesn't work everyday, they have to write scripts, get the time, schedule it, setup, film (needs to wait till the cameraman is in), copy data (the clips have large file sizes, especially on the cameras he uses), he then needs to wait till his editor is in so he can edit and render, then he needs to get it uploaded, also he runs quite a few channels, and if you don't like the guests on the WAN show don't watch... simple as that.... but most importantly...(HE HAS A FAMILY AND NEEDS TO SPEND TIME WITH THEM)

 

Just throwing this out there.

 

Aside from me, I have five full time employees. We all work every workday, and I work at least a little bit every single day - that's 365 dedication, baby.

 

It took me over an hour on my 1000ms ping Internet while I was away on the island visiting family this weekend each night to release my videos.

 

People have NO idea what it takes to maintain a daily release schedule like we do...

[FluffyNuggets]

I subscribed to Linus around a 2 years ago because of the way he talked about PC hardware and his witty unboxings. Now it's just a lot of videos that feel like infomercials trying to tell me why I should buy this or that. The vibe of the channel just felt better before it became his primary source of income. Now it just feels like hes being forced to put out videos and you get a sense he's not as happy as before when working at NCIX.

 

Maybe he's right, maybe I changed since then. I just miss the gold old days of his old videos and his old solo live streams.

 

It's odd that this was posted since I've thought about it recently why I'm not really watching his videos anymore. I guess they just don't really peak my interest anymore since it's been about cell phones and other tech I could care less about seeing. I'd love to see videos about them doing a build project or modding or something that's different than all the millions of other people putting videos out.

 

Just my $.02 so take it however you want.  

[Misanthrope]

Oh and by the way, I'm actually glad Linus didn't go for the Asus videos, my god I love the tek but JJ bores me to fucking tears! I respect the guy he's very knowledgeable and all but I don't need to listen to someone go on and on for 30 and 40 minutes about each different model of motherboard and then do not 1 but 2 extra 20 minute videos just to review the BIOS....it's a BIOS for fucks sake it really isn't as fascinating as JJ thinks it is. 

Plus I just don't think it's very impartial to do product overviews and such with the company rep not only being next to you but taking the lead. I'm not saying Logan is biased but it was definitely a mistake. And yes I've seen the same style of "bring the company guest" on tech of tomorrow which is a disturbing trend so I hope Linus doesn't end up doing something like that even if he get's a tempting offer to do early access on stuff.

[rentaspoon]

I believe our accessibility at Linus Media Group sets us apart.

Any member of our community has a direct line to any employee here through Twitter or other means. We don't always get to every message, but we do our best to read and respond to as much as we can.

That's why we have grown our viewership more consistently over a longer period of time than ANY OTHER TECH CHANNEL ON YOUTUBE EVER. Seriously, I don't make this stuff up. http://socialblade.com/youtube/user/linustechtips

I'll concede that we have never experienced the same explosive growth that some others (notably Unbox Therapy and MKBHD) have, but our slow and steady approach with constantly evolving daily tech content has continued to be a winning formula over the years, and you can expect it to continue for many years to come... Whatever form it might come in...

Are we not in a bit of a dry spell with new pc products atm? A lot seems to be rebrands or rehashes of old products.

While I'll admit I've been a little bit bored with the recent videos like the one Slick has just done about backups (I'm just to lazy) and the speakers (just to expensive), the one you done about the car cam was helpful and atleast I know if I ever need to go back and look at any videos they will be there.

I just had a friend get into pc gaming and I pointed him your way.

Just keep up the good work.

[exousia7]

As for us not going to Computex, quite frankly it's the viewer-base that spoke on this one. Last time I checked our Computex coverage last year got 1/2 as many views as our CES coverage, and cost our sponsors well over twice as much. You guys didn't care, so we aren't going this year.

 

CES 2013 coverage: 

Computex 2013 coverage: 

 

 

It is unfortunate to find that Computex coverage did not get as much popularity as other events. I was really looking to meeting your team in person this year in Computex as I did not have the chance last year, but I guess it's not happening this year either  

[PsychoNitro]

As long as I get my WAN show fix, s'all good bros.

[juretrn]

620 user(s) are reading this topic

 

Fascinating, isn't it?

[angrylemon]

We've had this discussion before. 

 

I like the unprofessional videos, and now it doesn't happen as much.

I miss linus fumbling around.

 

but linus is also trying to present himself and his channel as professional at least semi in the way he does things

(im assuming he does)

[Trollzarz]

i remember when you did that professional watch review, everyone hated it  I like the format now, it's professional but not professional enough to sound like a commercial. 

[Puppet]

You can't please everyone...

 

I have nostalgia for the days of old, but imo everything is actually a lot better now, I have been a long time subscriber but maybe new subscribers have a different perspective.

 

To be honest I like the random little tech gadgets, I like tech as a whole, a lot of members on this site and elsewhere seem to think tech ends at computer parts, it doesn't. There's so many videos offering reviews on the mainstream stuff, I see why Linus has chosen to take the more interesting path. 

 

I actually wasn't impressed in the interim between the old set up and the new, but now I love the videos more than ever so it's each to their own. Hopefully they become more enjoyable for you in the future.

 

There was talk of channel splitting etc, so who knows it might all go in your favour.

[takonic]

I enjoy the videos even the newer style videos, but I do miss the older unboxings review style instead of the newer format, maybe it just feels more like a product review vs a personal review for the product..

that aside, I find the videos for other things such as the PAX coverage really lackluster. the videos feel more like a sneak peak on the product rather then actual coverage..why show off 2-3 indie games? if your gonna show games, SHOW games..the product coverage at PAX just feel like a quick name placement, almost nothing intresting/informational

[Gullerback]

I agree to a point.

 

For me Personally I own a Mionix 3200 NAOS mouse, Its prob not a mouse many people have even heard of.   Why did I buy it?  Cause of a extremely indepth review & unboxing from back in the day from linus, Indepth information from sensor lift off heights to the robustness of the damn feet pads.   And I still have that mouse, It works beautifully. 

 

 

I just think some of the more.... "technical" love has slowly been lost in the last year or so.

 

 

As for the whole "Computex" thing..   Budgets will do that.  Hell I think the only reason they do to a lot of events is they manage to secure sponsors to pay their own way.

[Cryptonite]

Are we not in a bit of a dry spell with new pc products atm? A lot seems to be rebrands or rehashes of old products.

While I'll admit I've been a little bit bored with the recent videos like the one Slick has just done about backups (I'm just to lazy) and the speakers (just to expensive), the one you done about the car cam was helpful and atleast I know if I ever need to go back and look at any videos they will be there.

I just had a friend get into pc gaming and I pointed him your way.

Just keep up the good work.

this exactly, people are fed up with there not being news about tech (PC) but are too narrow minded to figure out for themselves that there is nothing to report news on, I mean what is Linus supposed to do? Invent a product? I also don't think Linus is being too professional, he is quite himself during wan shows etc, but he doesn't go into REVIEWS without actually having REVIEWED the product, I find no problem there. 

[M-ursu]

I kind of agree with OP, LTT video's have changed, but how?

I understand why they unbox things like Lumio book lamp, it is called expanding viewer base and earning money to stay in business, while there is no new hot stuff like new CPU's and GPU's to unbox and show.

I understand how much it costs to pay employees, so i am not complaining if Linus unboxes clothes or something non techy. Also i am little sad about computex, but why to go there if it is not worth?

Dear LTT fans, lets remember that, they have done absolutely great job by delivering amazing video quality and effort to their videos, we all should appreciate the work that Linus have done to grow his channels.

[LinusTech]

I kind of agree with OP, LTT video's have changed, but how?

I understand why they unbox things like Lumio book lamp, it is called expanding viewer base and earning money to stay in business, while there is no new hot stuff like new CPU's and GPU's to unbox and show.

I understand how much it costs to pay employees, so i am not complaining if Linus unboxes clothes or something non techy. Also i am little sad about computex, but why to go there if it is not worth?

Dear LTT fans, lets remember that, they have done absolutely great job by delivering amazing video quality and effort to their videos, we all should appreciate the work that Linus have done to grow his channels.

 

To address the Lumio video - I don't know where the perception that we were selling out and making money by making that video comes from. 

 

I didn't expect it to get a ton of views and it actually was fairly time consuming to review/shoot/edit.

 

Someone linked me to it when I asked for review requests, and I reviewed it. It really was that simple

[Analog]

I agree with the initiator of this topic to certain extent, but not completely. I do really appreciate the new more professional style of videos, created by LinusMediaGroup, though at many times they are somewhat out of focus, especially compared to before. A couple of years ago, in 2010-2011 I used to watch every single video that Linus uploaded on YouTube, because they were actually interesting and entertaining, not to mention helpful. Now... now I only watch a selected few of the videos, sometimes I don't even watch them at all. Why? - In the past when I was really interested in something I saw a Linus' review on a certain product and I could really a see an unbiased opinion, now every video is like a commercial... Linus presents the obvious aspects of a product just as everyone else.

 

Regarding the phone review, I have only one thing to say - Why??? If I wanted to watch phone reviews I would go and see the infinite number of other channels, which are doing them not only better, but also more in depth. 

 

This channel started as a Computer channel I and I would prefer to keep it this way. Less random irrelevant stuff and more PC videos.  

[wolsty7]

i agree, certainly wont unsub but do miss the lack of PC content, there are many other dedicated sources that cover mobile tech, much prefer the PC related content

[WindyDays]

I've only briefly skimmed through the posts in this thread so sorry if I'm repeating anything or making a point that is already addressed.

I believe that over the years LTT has produced much more professional and detailed videos, but this has come at a small cost: some of the personality from back then is lost in trying to create more professional looking content. This means that the content becomes slightly more similar to other tech channels and thus is not really enjoyable in the same way as before. (Note that I still think the content is very unique and enjoyable) Combine this with the lack of really interesting PC/tech releases in the past year (e.g. compare CES 2013 products with 2014) and this might be why people might be feeling things are a little stale.

 

My suggestion is to mix up the styles a little bit more - and not just like the sausage-style video (which was enjoyable!) that happens once in a while. I think that for benchmarks, graphics card unboxing/reviews, etc. - stick with the current style. However, I think there is room to be slightly less formal in most gadget overviews and maybe parts of longer videos like case unboxings. Hard to describe something that isn't really concrete, but I hope you understand what I mean. Either way, I think the general trend over time for LTT content/interaction is a strong positive. It's just a shame that computex isn't happening - I really like the event coverage (but not so much game coverage at PAX).

[brat137]

When I first started watching Linus' videos and subscribed, I knew nothing about computers or their components and a video of him unboxing a case or a motherboard was perfect because I wanted to know what was included in the box and have a quick overview of the product before ordering from the internet for my first build. Every single component in my machine was unboxed by Linus simply because I wanted to know what I was buying.

Since then I have learned a lot through videos and just playing around with my PC to the point where a simple unboxing video of a motherboard is of no use to me. I can get all that information from the product description and understand it. Its the depth and range of videos and technology that have kept me interested.

 

And I think if I was starting out right now, the videos on TechQucikie would bring me up to speed on the knowledge so that the newer scripted video format would help.

That isn't the content changing its me as a viewer changing. And Linus' has always done weird quirky technology. He attempted to shave his face with a USB razor (5th video), he unboxed and played around with RC toys for about 3 months, he's looked at bags, screwdrivers, AA battery chargers and he has done speakers and headphone unboxings before as well. The technology hasn't changed, just the videos have become better quality.

[jalex3]

I have been enjoying all the content a tonne.     But I would like to see more frequent, personal and less produced videos.  

[Silent Static]

I respectfully disagree with you. I've been watching Linus for almost a year now, and I've always been happy with his content. Sure, his content did change, but I still find it useful for my needs. And the fact that he makes his videos fun and personal, doesn't mean they are not 'insightful'.

[M-ursu]

To address the Lumio video - I don't know where the perception that we were selling out and making money by making that video comes from. 

 

I didn't expect it to get a ton of views and it actually was fairly time consuming to review/shoot/edit.

 

Someone linked me to it when I asked for review requests, and I reviewed it. It really was that simple

I understand that Lumio did not pay you, i am just saying that you get some money from every youtube video, even if manufacture wont pay you making video, and that keeps you in business. ( i might be wrong)

Anyways, keep up the great work!