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What We've Been Working On
🕑 Added 2022-06-28 08:01:33 +0000 UTCHey everyone!
As you all may know, we recently took a couple weeks of break from working on / publishing big technical pieces so we could refine processes. We keep working during that time, but normally I give the team 5 days off so I can just tie-up loose ends and build some processes for new work going forward. I have to do this 1-2x per year for a few reasons: One is to prevent burnout -- it's hard to manage and also improve the testing methods, increase video quality, and maintain quantity all at the same time. Giving people time off allows me time away from managing the pipeline for the team, which allows me to reinvent methods and get the team new and exciting work to do. Everyone enjoys it and benefits, as it keeps the job fresh and interesting. One recent example was adding the Intel platform testing to Mike's skillset, so now he can do contact frame benchmarks (and we'll likely do other thermal tests with that platform, too).
Another reason is just to push a bunch of old/stuck videos through the pipeline and get them out the door and done, mostly so I can mentally move on from stuff that's been stuck for months. The video where we gave Matt from the bike shop a PC is actually from December, but it got stuck pending some voice-over and cleanup, so I was happy to clear that.
I find that managing content is just as much about the content/testing itself as it is about keeping yourself creative, and for me, that means unburdening myself from whatever old projects are floating around in my head. Even if they won't do crazy views, getting them out there allows me to move on -- and that's where we get to the new stuff.
The PSU transients video was in the plans for a long time, but we were finally able to execute on it. I just put Memory Timings Pt. 2 back on the to-do list for about the 4th year in a row, but I think we can finish it this time now that we have a workflow/pipeline system in place (we're using a new software system to manage projects and it's been working great).
Right now, we're really gearing-up for higher quality rather than just quantity. We used to publish one video a day for about two years (this was a while ago), but as our quality standards went up, that became impossible to maintain. Now, our goal is to publish 4 videos per week: 1 in-depth research piece, 1-2 normal reviews, 1 news video, and a livestream (interchangeable with the second normal review).
As for the in-depth pieces, I'd consider the Thermal Grizzly Contact Frame to be one of those. Although that will lead to "normal reviews" (other frames), this one took a lot of animation work and exploratory/methodological development to get going. So that's in-depth. Transients is another in-depth one. A 'normal' review will be the case review we're publishing Wednesday. The streams are self-evident -- they're fun, healthy for the algorithm, but more importantly, I think they serve as a great internal team building day. Andrew and I love doing streams and grabbing food after, almost like that's part of it. When Patrick joins for the occasional stream, he and I enjoy getting back to basics and just building a PC.
Things are looking good now. This ~4 video cadence will allow me to spend 1 day per week doing methodological development and test engineering, which is more important than cramming one more review through the pipeline (especially since that 2nd or 3rd review was normally not that critical anyway).
I plan to hire more people soon too, but I'm going to wait until after the summer just because I'd like some more time to work in this new system (and also I need a break from training).
That's the update for now! Thank you for all of your support. The additional Patreon and store support have allowed us to really cut down on hardware manufacturer advertisers and have also funded projects like the Transients video. That video took over a month of on-and-off work to make and, if only from a staff time perspective, was very expensive. It'd be impossible to make money on that without external support, as YT ads just don't cut it for that style of video.
Our goal is to make higher quality, smarter content in a way that's accessible (e.g. adding animations), but not dumbed down. We don't want to start our videos screaming and targeting the widest audience, but instead we want to put the time and effort and money into building quality.
Thanks for your support!
PS - the regular reminder of how to connect Patreon to Discord is here: https://support.patreon.com/hc/en-us/articles/212052266-How-do-I-connect-Discord-to-Patreon-Patron- (we get a lot of messages about this and we really don't have the bandwidth to answer them - just follow the directions in the link and you'll be good to go!)
Comments
Richard O'Connor
Keep up the good work. Taking a break and clearing your head is a healthy and responsible thing to do. As much as I hate ads on TV. I don't mind seeing relevant hardware / software advertisements in your videos if it helps pay the bills and assists with content creation.
William Ludwig
Glad to see you starting to live stream again. Curious as to when you plan on doing some OC'ing live streams. I enjoy watching your older OC'ing live streams.
Justin Beard
Thanks for the update Steve. Can't wait for more wonderful content. Hoping to catch a live and not be asleep since I work graveyard.
Ryan MN
The transients and contact frame video were a huge leap in quality and seeing Mike get some air time was awesome he did great. Loving the new content and hopefully we see more Mike on camera, feel like he's a great fit.
Dillon O'Brien
Been loving the more technical content! Id prefer quality over quantity for sure, so i like how things have been going. If any remote positions open up, id be thrilled to apply. I have been tinkering and studying on all things pc for over a decade at this point and there are no signs of it getting old soon! Traveling permanently further south was just recently struck off my list of possibilities because im not going to risk my partner's health and basic autonomy for even the best career. Either way thanks for the update and the great content!
Prepares my resume like: https://youtu.be/WB_q3vGQpwo
I'm really enjoying the in-depth pieces! They look and feel extremely polished with even more of the deep dive technical goodness we've all come to know. Keep up the great work!
Good to hear the team are getting a well deserved break. The animation in the socket retention disparity video was excellent and kudos to the guys to did the work on it.
Since you're doing more contact frame testing I highly recommend doing a comparison against the washer method as well.
Sebastian Sonntag
Tech Jesus, Here's a project idea for you: 1. Sell 1 million square centimeters (100 square meters / ~1100 sqft) of wall space in your testing room for $1 each, like the "Million Dollar Home Page". 2. Buy $1 million worth of testing equipment. 3. Call it the "Million Dollar Testing Room". 4. ??? 5. Profit!
Care to share what project management software you are trying now? Good project management software is hard for everyone to find so I'm sure a lot of people would like a tip 🙂
You and the team should take a holiday - you've earned it.
Do you ever sleep? Back to you Steve
