"Linus" from Linus Tech Tips Retirng? [Update: Not retiring]

[DavidDesu]

It's curious how the turnover of Yotubers might work. We're seeing some huge people earning millions, tens of millions. I don't think I'd be making videos about whatever crap I was doing before once I hit that state. I'd retire for good I think. (Ahhh to dream). I wonder what people like Marques Brownlee are doing. He's literally building a massive studio to presumably review cars and everything else. I almost envision he's eying up creating a Youtube Top Gear for millennials focusing on tech large and small.

Must be nice being able to retire so young set for life. Thing is the more of them leave YouTube then it opens up a bit more space for fresh faces to replace them and so it goes.

 

[Infinity Times Two]

I wonder what people like Marques Brownlee are doing. He's literally building a massive studio to presumably review cars and everything else. I almost envision he's eying up creating a Youtube Top Gear for millennials focusing on tech large and small.

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The power of MKBHDs videos is that they are very accessible. The downside (for me) is that they are very surface-level and the more I watch them the more I realise that I don't learn that much.

In sharp contrast, I've learned so much from LTT, about PC building, how water cooling works, networks, etc.

 

[m_shortpants]

That would be a huge bummer. LTT reminds me of the TechTV Glory days, and Linus is a big part of the personality of his channel.

I have a lot of respect for him. They don't compromise on their principals, and he has built a great company. He really should be proud. I hope he sticks around though.

I never thought I'd be entertained watching videos about storage servers, 10 gig networking, or wiring 240v power to a garage. Linus has taught me a lot.

 

[Deleted member 21709]

There is too much mindless consumerism promotion on some of these channels. Too much of this shit

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You are posting this on a gaming forum?

 

[Dark1x]

Linus has said multiple times, that he doesn't like the stupid thumbnails but they work and at the end of the day, that funds the salaries for his employees, the rent and the quality of the videos. I can't fault that.

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Alas, this is true. I *HATE* those types of thumbnails and various other YT practices but it seems that to be extra successful, you need to do it.

 

[MrKlaw]

Alas, this is true. I *HATE* those types of thumbnails and various other YT practices but it seems that to be extra successful, you need to do it.

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I wonder if they even bother shooting new ones - a selection of poses with transparancy for adding in backgrounds and the subject matter and they're set.

 

[Hasney]

I wonder if they even bother shooting new ones - a selection of poses with transparancy for adding in backgrounds and the subject matter and they're set.

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They do when needed. He's interrupted live streams or the WAN show in the past to get a quick dumb pose in.

But yeah, here's the video where he addresses it:

 

[Pop-O-Matic]

Alas, this is true. I *HATE* those types of thumbnails and various other YT practices but it seems that to be extra successful, you need to do it.

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Next Digital Foundry video to have a thumbnail of you against a starburst background, looking stunned at a sprite with the title "You Won't BELIEVE What They Got Doom To Run On This Time..."

 

[Kneefoil]

Huh... I never realized how big Linus was on YouTube. Good for him, though. He makes good content, even it the titles and thumbnails can be clickbaity. Hopefully he doesn't actually retire for a long time yet.

 

[Vulcano's Assistant]

This past CES for the first time I saw the third guy behind Hardware Canucks doing full videos by himself. I don't know if this is prompted by the changes that LTT have been doing on their channel, but if there is a thing for which I sure respect the hell out of Linus is how he makes sure that writers, producers, editors, etc are also the face of the channel. And If I had a tech channel that is the first thing I would strive for.

 

[Fatoy]

It's curious how the turnover of Yotubers might work. We're seeing some huge people earning millions, tens of millions. I don't think I'd be making videos about whatever crap I was doing before once I hit that state. I'd retire for good I think. (Ahhh to dream). I wonder what people like Marques Brownlee are doing. He's literally building a massive studio to presumably review cars and everything else. I almost envision he's eying up creating a Youtube Top Gear for millennials focusing on tech large and small.

Must be nice being able to retire so young set for life. Thing is the more of them leave YouTube then it opens up a bit more space for fresh faces to replace them and so it goes.

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There are already so many "Top Gears" on YouTube, but none of them have started with anywhere near the reach Brownlee has. He's probably the best-placed person to replicate the kind of live talk-show format Top Gear used to have, and draw in celebrities of a similar tier.

 

[NameUser]

He should just step back, run his company from behind the scenes, and pop in for cameos when something big happens in the tech world.

 

[ameleco]

I never understood why big youtubers just don't retire and do whatever. They must truly love the day to day. If I had millions, I would've retired already and been living off interest lol
That said, I watch Linus' stuff occasionally and its pretty entertaining, but if he stepped away anytime soon, eh. I'd get over it. There's plenty of people there that could do the videos (heck the techquickie and another channel of theirs already do this)

 

[Setsune]

I never understood why big youtubers just don't retire and do whatever. They must truly love the day to day. If I had millions, I would've retired already and been living off interest lol

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The upsetting answer is that even a lot of the bigger ones are still amateurs flying by the seat of their pants with very little guidance or support by YouTube. Some are clever enough to get financial people in to effectively manage their money, but sometimes it's hard to even figure out what you need in the first place. They started off making videos, and they end up managing a small business AND making videos.

Also, YouTube doesn't rake it in quite like it used to. Ad money has cratered, YouTube is hard to predict when it comes to Limited or Full Demonetization on a video you may have spent ages on, Brands are skittish about deals now, merch is full of perils, and they've only just started the "Supporter" service as a mediocre response to Twitch and Patreon.

 

[Deleted member 45414]

Suprised he's got enough money to retire considering how wasteful he can be with it, but I guess that's millionaires for ya.

 

[Zaph]

I never understood why big youtubers just don't retire and do whatever. They must truly love the day to day. If I had millions, I would've retired already and been living off interest lol
That said, I watch Linus' stuff occasionally and its pretty entertaining, but if he stepped away anytime soon, eh. I'd get over it. There's plenty of people there that could do the videos (heck the techquickie and another channel of theirs already do this)

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Inexperience, inertia and fear of algorithms. A lot of these guys, especially the ones who are big but not 10m big, fear the moment they step back and stop putting out scheduled content to feed Youtube's algorithms, their career is over and they'll never get that audience/money back.

Linus, especially over the last couple years, has done a really impressive job of expanding his business beyond Youtube reliance, to the point where its ad revenue is now a minority source of income. Ironically, the reason I stopped watching his channel was all the new regular hosts who imo aren't very good.

 

[OrangeNova]

Linus has said multiple times, that he doesn't like the stupid thumbnails but they work and at the end of the day, that funds the salaries for his employees, the rent and the quality of the videos. I can't fault that.

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Yeah, I was always rubbed the wrong way from the thumbnails/titles, and when he put it that way... I can't argue it.

I like his content because he clearly cares about what he's doing, once you get past the click bait titles, it's actually really good for finding out about tech news.

 

[tokkun]

I never understood why big youtubers just don't retire and do whatever. They must truly love the day to day. If I had millions, I would've retired already and been living off interest lol

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People have a tendency to think "I can retire when I have $X". But when they actually get close to that amount, they just end up doubling it, so it becomes a never-ending cycle.

Kant talks about this a bit in Kapital. In the days when personal wealth was primarily in the form of material goods, it was easier to set an upper limit. Once you have a full set of furniture, you don't think "man, I wish I had twice as many chairs" because they would just get in the way. When wealth is in the form of an abstract number in a bank account, there isn't that balancing force.

 

[Deleted member 9305]

I don't get the "no greater purpose" or "not making a difference". His content made a big difference to that sick kid.

He should really pace himself a little, smell the roses and enjoy the well deserved success.

 

[Arex]

Not gonna lie, I teared up a little when I reached the dying kid part. Anyway I respect him for getting to where he is now doing what he likes. Hope he can slow down a little and not burn out.

 

[Ryuelli]

Love Linus, but when/if the hypothetical situation of him retiring or working more behind the scenes and less on screen ever actually happens, assuming he hands over the reigns to someone on the same crew I think it would work out alright. He's put together such a good team that he's probably one of my least favorite parts of his channel now personality-wise.

Ironically, the reason I stopped watching his channel was all the new regular hosts who imo aren't very good.

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Lol, I feel the exact opposite. I love quite a few of them, it's a much more interesting channel now than what it was when it was just him (or when it was just him and Luke).

 

[Jroc]

The power of MKBHDs videos is that they are very accessible. The downside (for me) is that they are very surface-level and the more I watch them the more I realise that I don't learn that much.

In sharp contrast, I've learned so much from LTT, about PC building, how water cooling works, networks, etc.

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MKBHD videos are sort of like high-quality product descriptions. I check them out when I know absolutely nothing about something. If I want the nitty gritty breakdown about what does and doesn't work then I usually look elsewhere.

 

[Michael B]

Suprised he's got enough money to retire considering how wasteful he can be with it, but I guess that's millionaires for ya.

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How do you know anything about his personal finances to suggest that he is extravagant with his spending?

 

[AaronMT]

Impressed with where he is today. I remember subscribing to NCIX Tech Tips when I was building new PCs and enjoyed his straight forward unboxings and reviews

 

[Deleted member 45414]

How do you know anything about his personal finances to suggest that he is extravagant with his spending?

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I don't know about his personal finances, that was the whole point of my post, lol.

But if you want to know how he's being wasteful with his money, all you gotta do is watch his videos, feel like that was pretty clear when he bought an entire machineshop, huge machinery and all, for like 1 engineer to to do like, questionable engineering for the videos.

 

[Deleted member 11976]

Impressed with where he is today. I remember subscribing to NCIX Tech Tips when I was building new PCs and enjoyed his straight forward unboxings and reviews

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Same. Used to absolutely love his stuff over at NCIX. I think his direction and content has become way too scatterbrained for me since he and his team moved over to YT. Since the tampons/pads stunt and the deluge of awful click bait video titles and thumbnails though, I've I unsubbed and used Chrome extensions to hide all of his content on YT. (I don't care to watch the 13-minute video where he explains why he has to use click bait tactics, sorry.) To me he's already retired.

 

[Jebusman]

I don't know about his personal finances, that was the whole point of my post, lol.

But if you want to know how he's being wasteful with his money, all you gotta do is watch his videos, feel like that was pretty clear when he bought an entire machineshop, huge machinery and all, for like 1 engineer to to do like, questionable engineering for the videos.

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The thing is I don't really think that was for "1" engineer. He runs a lot of services beyond just his YouTube enterprise that we don't see on a daily basis.

 

[Michael B]

I don't know about his personal finances, that was the whole point of my post, lol.

But if you want to know how he's being wasteful with his money, all you gotta do is watch his videos, feel like that was pretty clear when he bought an entire machineshop, huge machinery and all, for like 1 engineer to to do like, questionable engineering for the videos.

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Fair enough, I didn't sense the sarcasm in your post.

All of the equipment he shows in his videos are business expenses. I don't see how those are wasteful if they use the equipment to produce videos that involve machining components that people watch.

 

[Dreamwriter]

I don't know about his personal finances, that was the whole point of my post, lol.

But if you want to know how he's being wasteful with his money, all you gotta do is watch his videos, feel like that was pretty clear when he bought an entire machineshop, huge machinery and all, for like 1 engineer to to do like, questionable engineering for the videos.

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He got the machine shop because custom builds of things have been a significant part of their channel, they had been having a hard time doing some of what they wanted at a good enough quality, and that gives them more options for videos in the future. For a business designed around making tons of videos constantly, that's not a bad way to spend $40k. I mean, it allowed their recent video about water-cooling a Red camera, and I would guess they also made their own tiny water cooling block for the "We water cooled an SSD" video as well.

 

[Lump]

I wish I loved anything in this world as much as Linus loves 10 gigabit Ethernet ports.

 

[Lashley]

People always whine about his thumbnails, but if you actually watch his videos they're entertaining and informative, and you can tell he's a really nice guy.

Glad he isn't retiring, that story was heartbreaking.

 

[Slayven]

He is not going to retire until he does "My media PC is not cutting it anymore, watch as I watercool this quantum compter"

 

[m_shortpants]

My respect for Linus really skyrocketed in a recent video where he addressed why they have so many staff members. He went around and asked everyone to say a few things that they're responsible for. People seemed nervous but Linus knew exactly what each person did and what they contributed to the team, and he was praising each individual for the value they add. That's the mark of an excellent manager/leader IMO.

 

[Molecule]

My respect for Linus really skyrocketed in a recent video where he addressed why they have so many staff members. He went around and asked everyone to say a few things that they're responsible for. People seemed nervous but Linus knew exactly what each person did and what they contributed to the team, and he was praising each individual for the value they add. That's the mark of an excellent manager/leader IMO.

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Can you share this video with me please? Either link it here or pm me. Thanks!

Glad he's not retiring. I don't really watch most of his content but I am a subscriber. The little I do watch is always good. They make good content.

 

[Ploid 6.0]

Reminds me of

https://youtu.be/NBtgqEB8OsM

But Unbox Therapy seems bored of the whole tech tuber thing. Linus sometimes seem not bored since they do crazy weird games and stuff. Hmmm, that tv price game with the dry cereal did seem a bit weird.

 

[inner-G]

Suprised he's got enough money to retire considering how wasteful he can be with it, but I guess that's millionaires for ya.

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Gotta spend money to make money

You won't get 10M subs by making videos about burying your cash in coffee cans.

 

[kami_sama]

Can you share this video with me please? Either link it here or pm me. Thanks!

Glad he's not retiring. I don't really watch most of his content but I am a subscriber. The little I do watch is always good. They make good content.

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I think it's this one:

 

[mutantmagnet]

Yep. That's the one. I already had respect for Linus so I took it for granted how well he appreciated his staff and it's clear that they still have room to grow with the content they create.

 

[Darryl M R]

I watched this live last night about 15 minutes in. I didn't tune in too long, but I think it's safe to say that he should cut back some. The part where he mentioned how he moves the goalpost for his wife was when he looked like he was breaking down the most.

I can relate to telling my partner, "I'm going to go all out this one year so I can get to where I need to be so that I can ease up on things at work." And after I saw that it doesn't really work like that (the reward for hard work is often more hard work), I started making more realistic compromises and making sure her career was being propelled too.

 

[hom3land]

People always whine about his thumbnails, but if you actually watch his videos they're entertaining and informative, and you can tell he's a really nice guy.

Glad he isn't retiring, that story was heartbreaking.

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Which I think he's address before. He doesn't like them either but those stupid thumbnails produce more hits .

 

[C.Mongler]

"Speaking of retiring, this video is sponsored by Voya Financial..."

But for real, while Linus isn't my #1 most-favorite, infallible YouTuber, I would be sad to see him go. I've learned a lot about tech & gadgets from his videos, and often find myself putting them on in the background while I do work around the house. Hope he finds a balance that works for him.

 

[m_shortpants]

Can you share this video with me please? Either link it here or pm me. Thanks!

Glad he's not retiring. I don't really watch most of his content but I am a subscriber. The little I do watch is always good. They make good content.

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Actually turns out it was almost a year ago! So much respect for him because of the way he talks about his employees.

 

[tsef]

My reason to appreciate Linus can be resumed to this image :

https://imgur.com/SCBCh9e

 

[Lashley]

Which I think he's address before. He doesn't like them either but those stupid thumbnails produce more hits .

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Yeah, he made a vid saying they get more clicks and he has employees to pay for, so it makes sense.

 

[M3z_]

Linus has never been my tech YTer of choice, but regardless his growth and expansion into building his channel into a business in which he has created multiple jobs for people to also share in his love for tech has been the one thing that I've really respected from afar. I really don't care whether he makes content that meets my tastes because there is plenty of variety on YT for that. I genuinely respect that he has turned his personal success into a platform for other people to build a career working in what is probably a pretty fun industry to work in and it seems as though he values the people who work for him so hats off.

 

[Deleted member 21709]

I don't know about his personal finances, that was the whole point of my post, lol.

But if you want to know how he's being wasteful with his money, all you gotta do is watch his videos, feel like that was pretty clear when he bought an entire machineshop, huge machinery and all, for like 1 engineer to to do like, questionable engineering for the videos.

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At least some of that huge machinery was second hand, I'm pretty sure. Questionable engineering?

Also, a lot of the hardware they use/demonstrate in videos is on loan. And as far as being wasteful, he is creating content/providing employment.

 

[Deleted member 21709]

Can confirm that Linus is his real name, so no need for those quotation marks!

 

[selfawarekeyboard]

The power of MKBHDs videos is that they are very accessible. The downside (for me) is that they are very surface-level and the more I watch them the more I realise that I don't learn that much.

In sharp contrast, I've learned so much from LTT, about PC building, how water cooling works, networks, etc.

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It's hard to know with MKBHD - I like his reviews and his channel, but is it the production values or the content. The set up is rriduculus and still cannot fathom how it pays.
LTT perplexes me no end as to how it funds that many staff.

 

[copelandmaster]

#10 on yt trending. I guess its a good thing that a lot of people seem to genuinely care about how he's feeling and are happy for him, dystopic click based youtube algorithmic social media commentary aside. Dude looks so upset, its really sad.

I think its nice that he managed to make a small difference in one family's crushingly difficult ordeal. The emotional toll is probably just another straw on his back as a small business owner and he needs a vacation, at least in the short term.

 

[efr]

LTT perplexes me no end as to how it funds that many staff.

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Sponsorships, ad revenue from multiple channels, and lower cost of employment because everyone has free healthcare while building and doing nearly everything in the building themselves.