Misc

Shannon Morse and Patrick Norton doing their own thing

27 Comments

Nothing says, “Fuck you, Leo Laporte!” more than two former co-workers refusing to bow down and grovel before the Ogre of Petaluma. It’s a beautiful thing watching the ever-vivacious Shannon “Snubs” Morse and the also-there Patrick Norton strike out on their own—taking their tech roadshow directly to their fans.

The editorial board here at #TotalDrama has decided to throw our support behind these two and their Patreon page for “TekThing,” even though they’re using a ridiculous typeface for their logo. But so help us if Patrick so much as thinks of wearing a kilt; we’ll pull our support immediately if we see so much as one hairy leg.

Won't you give $1?
Won’t you give $1?

Best of luck, you two crazy kids! Stick it to the man, and don’t ever forget where you came from.

Support them here if you wish. Or not. Whatever.

27 thoughts on “Shannon Morse and Patrick Norton doing their own thing”

  1. Notice on Snubs ‘n Patrick’s Patreon they both fail to list any association to the TWiT shithouse or Leo Laporte!!! Both still??? Do current projects for TWiT and yet they both feel that work history doesn’t merit a mere mention…

      » Quote comment

    Reply

  2. Whenever there are people I support, I will support them on Patreon. If I don’t watch the show, I usually give a small amount. If I do watch, I’ll give more.

    Both of these two have the sense not to work for #soupguzzler so it’s impossible not to support them. Was Patrick having convulsions in the promo video? Take 2 please.

      » Quote comment

    Reply

    1. I wouldn’t expect the higher quality production that Tekzilla got on Revision3 – I think Rev3 actually treated their bigger shows with a decent amount of behind-the-scenes staff and editing work that a small operation like Tekthing can’t possibly recreate.

      Nor should they.

      Part of the appeal of these smaller shows is that they feel like the hosts are doing it for the right reasons – not to be mega shows with the goal of attracting mega sponsors or being bought out like Discovery.

      I think Patrick was good enough for this intro video – it was just a quick plug.

        » Quote comment

      Reply

  3. One year when Twit was at CES and they saw Patrick leo said hi to him but the best part was when he said he was there for his real job not his side one.

    No, one wants anything to do with leo. The diggnation guys did not want him on the show that is why he had to crash it. He would put the show down.

      » Quote comment

    Reply

  4. I always liked Patrick Norton – he seemed like a much more “in the know” guy than Leo ever did — Leo gives off the impression he understands tech, but I think that’s largely a scam.

    Plus, Patrick seems more like a coworker you might have, vs. Leo, who seems like an arrogant boss you might encounter.

    I’ll be supporting this Patreon, as they don’t currently have much financial backing and they aren’t asking for much.

      » Quote comment

    Reply

      1. Pretty sure you needn’t have said that.

        And maybe as a bit of a future reference, if you ever feel the urge to comment on someone’s anatomy in public, don’t.

          » Quote comment

        Reply

  6. If Patrick is basically telling Leo, “Fuck you,” why is he going to be on TWiT today? If he didn’t want to be near Leo, he wouldn’t do any shows.
    You guys need to stop with the hate and get a job and lives instead of following what Leo does. If you hate him so much, why the hell are you even watching TWiT? As I said before, you are a bunch of trolls.

      » Quote comment

    Reply

  7. 2014 saw the emergence of Patreon as a model for funding podcasts. I am beginning to think that 2015 will be the year of “Patreon fatigue”. I bet the same relatively small group of people are funding the Tom Merrit & co setups. And the rest of the listeners are cheap like me and don’t want to pay anything to every scrounger out there, and we are getting sicker of hearing the begging each week. TM is asking for more now to get his buddies on DTNS. I’d rather he just kept it as is and STFU with the pan-handling.

    Then you have the hugely irritating Andrew Zarian begging away on his GFQ shows, despite also taking ca$h from charlatans like Harry’s rip-off razor blades. I guess he needs it for his $1000 per month TV bill. FFS, that’s more than I make per month and don’t even watch TV. What a twat. That reminds me, I must unsubscribe from “what the tech”. Paul Thurrott is sound, but Zarian is an idiot.

    I also stopped listening to the No Agenda show a long time ago because of the hour-long “give us money” begging. I remember a show where Adam Curry was spouting on about how he had just bought a new car, an iphone and an ipad for his wife. Talk about douchebag – here he is, asking me to send him money, when I don’t own a car and at the time didn’t own a tablet or even a smartphone. It was 2011 or so IIRC.

    Now these pair are jumping on the bandwagon. Tekthing.com. Crap name, seems like some temporary scam. They’ll ask for your cash then peter out by about July. Of course they will be happy to take anything you send them if you are a fool with more money than sense. Ugh.

    2015: the year everyone asks for cash on patreon and the whole model implodes.

      » Quote comment

    Reply

    1. You wouldn’t hear people asking for funds unless you listened, so there is a solution for you.

      Patreon can only go so far and I agree it will eventually burn out. Hopefully all these people (not just shannon and Patrick) will get their act together and form a network. Maybe a voluntary subscription model. There is a lot they can do to get content out there free and make membership worthwhile. There should not be 10 different stores and 20 websites and 30 funding platforms. They could also then get ads and hosting and one app for all the content.

      No Agenda never begs, they call you a douchebag freeloader if you don’t pay. So pay them or don’t listen. I listened to two episodes before I was compelled to pay up.

      I do hate the word “donation” though and I like to “contribute” more than “donate.” They all make it very clear (besides No Agenda) that contributing is optional.

        » Quote comment

      Reply

      1. Yeah, I can’t wait for paywalled content with ads.

        That’s the ticket, that’s the saviour, that’s where the wet dream of advertising agencies everywhere.

          » Quote comment

        Reply

      2. Thnks for the reply. You’re right, nice simple solution 😉 I’ll probably stop listening to dtns and avoid this new one too.

        NA is an acquired taste, and they were so depressingly accurate-sounding about the conspiracies that not listening to them was a relief. Like staying ignorant by not taking the red pill in the matrix.

          » Quote comment

        Reply

      3. I have donated to No Agenda in the past, but never in the crazy amounts that get you mentioned on air – I’m just not that wealthy to where forking over $250+ wouldn’t bother me.

        That said, the Patreon thing is something I’m okay with. Not for everyone…but for a few people I like to hear, I’ll do it.

        And just because I may give for the first few months of a show doesn’t mean I’ll continue. Personally, I think reoccurring charges are a pain in the ass to deal with banking-wise. So what I may do is support shows for a month or two, and then cut it off for months on end. Maybe I’ll only donate once or twice per year.

        Regarding GFQ and Andrew Zarian – I’ll admit I don’t like Andrew. He has an annoying way of talking. His knowledge of tech is weak and his buying decisions are questionable most of the time. I listen SOLELY for Paul Thurrott, who makes What The Tech what it is. It gives Paul a chance to speak about non-Windows tech in a way that Windows Weekly doesn’t allow. So I’ll support WTT [just] for that host alone.

        Now regarding what hosts do with the money…I don’t care. I think it’s safe to assume that No Agenda generates about $75-100k annually EACH for John and Adam, and that’s perfectly okay. They do a ton of work for each episode, and they never “phone in” and episode. And the episodes are usually monsters weighing in at over 3 hrs.

        That’s their salary, and it’s obvious it’s their #1 priority. They should be allowed to do whatever they want with the money that’s given. And plus….NO ADS WHATSOEVER. Ads are retarded and rarely work among tech enthusiasts. So if Patreon will keep the vast majority of ads away from content, that’s awesome.

        ———————————-

        Finally, I think Patreon will work wonders for the online personalities who warrant the money people are willing to shell out. For example, FOUR long time and well paid staff from IGN quit recently to start up their own Patreon shows and so far they have TWO…and each one generates over $20k A MONTH. http://www.patreon.com/kindafunnygames That’s $40k!!! But you know what? Divide that among 4-5 people and suddenly they’re each making $100k a year, which is probably what they made at IGN in San Francisco.

        I know higher wages and money like that irk some people, but that’s what those people are obviously worth. Now, in a year or two will they have $20k/ a month for both shows? Probably not. But even if they made half of that or less, they could all still reasonably live in California and do a job that is 100% in their control.

        I think Patreon will only end badly for shows with mere hundreds of supporters. If you have 1000+ supporters, you’ll probably make it through a year or two easily, since you’ll likely lose dozens per month on average.

          » Quote comment

        Reply

        1. I think Patreon is a real danger to the talent, in the same vein that becoming profitable is to start-ups (as cited by the big man), as it puts a real dollar value to their services.

          Now, if this direct 2 consumer model is all you ever plan on doing, this may very well be fine, but the moment your aspirations go beyond that, potential employers now have a pretty good idea what rate to offer you.

            » Quote comment

          Reply

    3. Although you make some decent observations and thought provoking predictions, complaining about the donate model is no different than complaining about the ad model. Being cheap is one thing, being a douche is another. Are they just supposed to provide you content and not eat?

      PS. Most content providers understand if you have no money, in fact Shannon mentions it in the above video.

        » Quote comment

      Reply

      1. There are a few great free podcasts out there that have no adverts nor ask for donations. Just people talking for the love of the topic. If they do it for the money, it isn’t a true passion. Tbh who could love tech news that much, eh? It’s the same shit every week 😉

          » Quote comment

        Reply

  8. I just wish “Norton” would stop taking like a man instead of a valley girl.
    Look for many more podcasts to implode in 2015!
    It’s a failed business model..

      » Quote comment

    Reply

  9. I hate the bullshit begging. Get some solid sponsors. If you can’t then shut it down!

    Reminds me of PBS during pledge week.

    PS Patrick, add a few more shirts to your wardrobe.

      » Quote comment

    Reply

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *