What many suspected, is confirmed. TWiT finds fans and pays them pittance until their dream becomes a nightmare. In a medium post [from June 2015] a former TWiT had a lot to say.
"how I ended up at TWiT involves my Leo-fandom from The Screen Savers days followed by me relentlessly emailing..."
"they [TWiT] were interested in discussing a full-time gig. It was less money than I was hoping for"
"I was excited and optimistic and maybe a tad naive."
"But dreams change. Reality sets in"
"~5 months at TWiT. There were ups and downs, periods of bliss, followed by periods of misery. It was only once the frequency of the latter outpaced the former that I knew it was really time for a change"
"....and I’d end up just giving up and staying at TWiT."
The story has a happy ending. Jeff got a job at Meerkat.
"Right now, I’m extremely thrilled to be doing something I love for a company I believe in"
How long until the remaining fans-turned-underpaid see the light?
Pro Tip for Jeff: You do not have to put everything on your resume. Leave off stuff like McDonalds griller, Cineplex usher and TWiT.
Love it when trolls edit stuff to spin it their way.
MollyFa» Quote comment
No, it’s extracting key points. Nothing is misrepresented.
Elgum level analysis.
GhostDog» Quote comment
An Elgum level analysis would include a gender discrimination angle as standard, does anyone know what gender Needles is?
Plob» Quote comment
Total Spin.
You wrote TWiT paid Needles a “pittance,” but Needles never said anything like that. He only said that the TWiT job offer was “for less money than [he] was hoping for.” When someone has expectations for higher compensation than that actually offered (a very common occurrence), the lower offer may still be (and is more than likely to be) far more than a “pittance.” Typical Total Drama intentional distortion of the truth.
Needles only said that for reasons having to do with his personal and professional growth, the job that was a perfect fit as his first job after college at 22 became progressively less perfect over time until it had frequent periods of “misery.” This is common and normal, and it is a distortion of what Needles wrote to imply that the job dissatisfaction was a result of mistreatment by his employer. Needles didn’t say any such thing, and because he never said it, you should not imply it.
Jasper Delacorte» Quote comment
It’s called being a class act.
Often much more can be said with subtlety than outright vitriol.
But in the end what irritates the most isn’t the cult-like defense from the blind TWIT faithful but the political tactic of ignoring subtext and focusing on the literal.
Go read the bible that way and you end up having god sanction the beating of your wife and the murder of your children.
Digital Dynamic» Quote comment
The problem with you blind trolls is all you do is hate. You haters are totally blind. Stop being haters and get out for a while.
MollyFa» Quote comment
I call BS on you. I believe you’re a shill .
I say that because nobody can possibly be that stupid.
Digital Dynamic» Quote comment
“…the job that was a perfect fit as his first job after college at 22 became progressively less perfect over time…”
Did he even work at TWiT full-time for a year?
Needless is either a weasel or an idealist. If he was employable he wouldn’t choose his jobs based on who his childhood TV idol was or by becoming the number one shill of a new app.
Jimmy Jam» Quote comment
Total Fact
Pittance means inadequate.
The fans who work at twit would probably admit they could make more elsewhere.
Patrick, JammerB, Effen, Bear, Russel etc
Leo pay is really low. There is a quote from him, back when he was in the cottage saying, that when he had seven employees. His total annual cost for ALL expenses was 350K That included rent utilities, salaries etc. Do the math.
His entire business is built on people working cheap and appearing on his shows for free. Unlike a talk show where there is a mutual benefit, most people realize that they will not receive any benefit. Yea, if you have 100 followers on twitter its worth it but people like Nilay Patel and Molly are not going on TWiT.
GhostDog» Quote comment
“His entire business is built on people working cheap and appearing on his shows for free. Unlike a talk show where there is a mutual benefit, most people realize that they will not receive any benefit. Yea, if you have 100 followers on twitter its worth it but people like Nilay Patel and Molly are not going on TWiT.”
Exactly. A few weeks ago, Tom Merritt was on TWiT and actually lost patreon supporters. Since then, he’s gotten well under the $16k goal he’d reached.
The only ‘notable’ people who ever appear anymore are the ones who expect to be paid to be there — JCD, Becky Worley, etc. Others might try it once or twice, then they notice that their plugs didn’t have any real impact, and never show up again.
On the broader note about Needles — I think he was probably paid waaay less than he’s worth. Especially for a Bay area company where the cost of living is exorbitant. I’d say probably $40k max. And let’s face it — with his education and the experience he was quickly getting (both at TWiT and his other co-ops and internships), he was already way more qualified to be the freaking CEO than the actual CEO whose U of Phoenix diploma mill degree is utterly worthless in the real world*. She probably realized that he was actually a threat to her and that’s when things got less exciting for him there.
(* I work in academia, and if anyone ever applied to my department with so much as an associates degree or certification from this piece of trash place, their application would be posted in the faculty lounge to give everyone a good laugh. I’d seriously be embarrassed to publicly admit I’d ever had any affiliation with U of P.)
JAS» Quote comment
Actually, this has me thinking… I mentioned that Needles was a threat to CEO because of his education, ability to parse data, degree in business and entrepreneurship, etc.
Does anyone on the TWiT staff have business experience/education other than CEO’s fake degree? I mean, who is her deputy? Who runs the operation when she’s on her three-week, quarterly vacations? Everyone I’ve heard mentioned between shows is either a producer, salesperson, or book keeper. Is there ANYONE with a business background in there?
It’s just kind of funny to me that the one person who’s ever been hired that has a solid business foundation found the place to be somewhat hostile after a while (reading between the lines, but we’ve all seen how Leo and Lisa treat staffers who pose threats to their reputations)…
JAS» Quote comment
I’ve heard the name frederique in reference to office staff.
That was a long time ago.
PMB» Quote comment
On point…well written.
Steve James» Quote comment
JAS – On point…well written.
Steve James» Quote comment
I stopped backing tom because i got tired of the on assignment stuff and getting replacement hosts with poor bandwidth,I still toss some money in the tip jar here and there but as far as a monthly payment? Nah
rocker182» Quote comment
Yeah. I’m also not a fan of half of the co-hosts/contributors he’s hired. Shows with JURY, for example, are pretty unwatchable, and while Scott Johnson is okay, he can be kind of boring.
But the on-assignment stuff. I’ve never been a fan of on-location podcasting. The audio/video quality is always terrible, the content is usually boring, and the podcast is less than stellar compared to what you can find written on blogs, etc.
The example I always go to is the fact that the best CES coverage I’ve ever seen was actually waaay back in the day when GeekBrief was still new and they couldn’t afford to go to the show. So Cali and Neal sat at their kitchen table and podcasted what they saw on Engadget and other tech blogs. Something about the way that was produced was just really engaging. That’s why I’m not one of the ones who were upset when TWiT stopped going to shows. Coverage tends to be better remotely.
JAS» Quote comment
Hummmmmm
why is Jasper Delacorte
going through this topic with a fine tooth comb?????
I smell a Leo or Twit employee in here.
OhNoYetAnotherTroll» Quote comment
Jasper sounds like Jason Cortez who sounds like the intellectual who named himself effendum.
dogpound exec» Quote comment
I admit it I killed the pseudonym owner of Jason Cortez last night because it was actually a piece of shit that I named effendunn nearly ten years ago. I had kept it in a jar that my dog knocked off the counter then and that piece of shit got away. I am sorry to hear that he has been tormenting ya’ll as of late. Well, I promise you this that piece of shit is so smashed and broken right now no one will ever be able to save him.
Ken Sintek» Quote comment
This seems like a variation of the same theme you’ll likely find with just about anyone who’s ever been associated with TWIT. Leo will tell you he teaches them every thing he knows then they screw him over.
Belmont’s Fake Geek Glasses» Quote comment
He puts them under his wing, mentors them, grooms them then when they become a threat to his narssistic delusions, he railroads them out the door.
Rene’s Apple Jizz filled Lips» Quote comment
Wow how did you make it past the first sentence?
Boring, and so full of himself. Make something of yourself before you start giving people tidbits of advice.
Love how the Meerkat guy wants to suck him off by the way.
Jimmy Jam» Quote comment
I’ve been a fan of Leo and TWIT for some time, but I’d be the first person to point out their flaws. Some shows have become intolerable and Leo has gotten more and more egotistical as time has gone on. That being said, I applied for jobs at TWIT a number of years ago. My background is in media, technology and telecommunications. I have over fifteen years experience with streaming as well as being a show producer for a media organization and on screen talent. I’ve been building computers since I was 12, my degree is in telecommunications, I’m an editor, graphic artist, animator, videographer, photographer and production engineer. I’ve been recognized with numerous awards for individual and collaborative work in my industry and my work is promoted on a national scale in television and the web. The TWIT application process requests salary requirements, and mine were reasonable for the type of work that would be performed.
Well, I didn’t even get an acknowledgement for either of my applications. Over time I came to realize that they pay their employees a pittance and my average salary request must have disqualified my application immediately. When you look around their studio the majority of employees look like interns, and the adults professionals look like they just rolled out of bed, that may or may not be a dumpster by the look of their clothing. Either Leo only hires adults that look more like a slob than he does, or he does not pay them enough to bathe and clothe themselves respectfully.
I’m glad that I didn’t get a call back at this point because there is obviously no future for any employees at TWIT, even as Leo brags about record profits. The more I learn about how financials work at TWIT the more I realize that the goal is to make Lisa rich and happy so she can go on creepy photo excursions where she manages to take the most uninteresting pictures in the world.
Andrew» Quote comment
So he went from a crap gig at twit to a startup that’s pretty much on borrowed time.I say he has a skill at picking losers to work for
rocker182» Quote comment
I had to scroll back up to remember who he works for, Meerkat is toast and it will be followed shortly by Periscope, maybe the other way around. Does anyone want to play “Words With Friends”?
Mark Harry» Quote comment
I think because twitter owns Periscope they will be around long after meerkat is gone,But i think twitter will eventually roll periscope into the actual standalone twitter app
rocker182» Quote comment
And here i thought TD could finally have an article free of troll rebuttal.
Sadly, it wasn’t so. Shows you how regular TWIT viewing lowers the IQ.
Digital Dynamic» Quote comment
What this shows is that Leo and his mistress come wife had made their fortune on shafting their regular contributors/hosts and underpaying their work staff.
If they had any ounce of gratitude, they would give everyone past and present (Tom, Iyaz, Amber, Erik’s family etc, but NOT Padre or Elgum) a “golden thank” you payment. Speaking selfishly they should also increase their employees wages by at least 40%.
There is nothing remorseful or humbling about the gold digger / home-wrecker or the fraudster who is theeeee tech guy. It is only a matter of time before their greed destroys the good work that the staff, former, and current presenters created.
T J» Quote comment
Jeff Needles always struck me as a brown-noser. You could always hear him off to the side talking to people on camera…interrupting the show to provide “helpful” info…and using ANY excuse to be on screen. Annoying as fuck! Somehow he got to be producer of Giz Wiz…probably because he wore down people who were sick of telling him “No.”
When he graduated college and came knocking on TWiT’s door, I suspect they intentionally low balled his offer hoping that he’d turn it down. Think of it this way…it’s easier to offer someone a low salary and hope they don’t take it rather than have to turn down the former intern and explain why.
Of course, it’s well established that Needles has wealthy parents. (I recall it being mentioned at least once between shows that he did work for a company his daddy owned.) …so the kid probably took the offer and lived off Daddy’s dime. He’s never had a real job before, so what does he know? Working in an established company where he can’t get away with doing whatever the fuck he wants would likely give him a hard dose of reality.
Eventually, he likely got tired that people weren’t stroking his ego…at the same time that the Meerkat folks were praising him for using their shitty app. (If he’s #1 ranked, that speaks volumes about how shitty it is.)
Needles seems like the kind of guy who wants to be a big fish in a small pond. Leo is TWiT’s big fish…and they’ve got lots of other talent. No room for that runt…so he runs to Meerkat.
…and now celebrities are posting links to live streams on Perescope. Meerkat? It’s going the way of Ello and other hot-for-a-minute shit. We should start a pool on when it will be dead. LONG before TWiT, that’s for sure! Maybe a few months?
Poor ol’ Needles will survive thanks to his Daddy.
Cup O’ Needles» Quote comment