Shownotes:
When we talk about starting Geek Brief, we use the term “laser focus”. It fits because we were determined to make producing the show our full-time job. For the first time in our lives pretty much, failure wasn’t an option. We absolutely believed it would happen, but since we didn’t know what we were doing exactly, we expected it to take some time. Three weeks in, we were shut down by our hosting company for using too much bandwidth. Again we were watching what PodShow (now Mevio) was doing and we knew we wanted to work with them. They were the only company making it possible for podcasters to go pro. We were also extremely inspired by something called The Strategy Cast.
The Strategy Cast is a long, long, long recording of Mevio founders Adam Curry and Ron Bloom. It was recorded in a hotel room and for almost three hours Adam and Ron laid out their vision for the business of podcasting. A big part of that vision was all about the indie possibilities provided by the medium. We used to fall asleep every night listing the the Strategy Cast recording. When our hosting company notified us that we were going to be shut down, we did two things. One we’ve talked about publicly, and the other we haven’t. We bought a bunch of extra bandwidth so we didn’t have to go down, but we knew getting shut down would make a better story and hopefully help us get Adam and Ron’s attention (we ended up donating the extra bandwidth to The Daily Audio Bible Podcast). We uploaded a show that pushed us over the bandwidth limit and then we emailed everyone we could find who was associated with then PodShow now Mevio. We emailed Adam Curry, Ron Bloom, Dawn and Drew, Madge Winestein, Brian Longest and I think others. Mevio flew us out to San Francisco. We told them we wanted to work with them and wanted them to make it possible for us to quite our job at Extra Space to do Geek Brief full time.
Negotiations were absolutely the most stressful thing we ever experienced, but we worked out a deal and May 23rd, 5 months to the date that we started, we announced that we were going pro. At the time we lived in Highland Park Illinois and produced the show in our apartment above the store where we worked. Quitting the day job meant we also had to move. We choose to come home to Dallas because it’s an inexpensive place to live and we new how to get around town.
The last week at the job, my sister’s husband died of brain cancer. He was diagnosed the same month we started Geek Brief. He’s the guy who convinced us to switch to Mac and he also encouraged us to do the deal with Mevio rather than trying to make it on our own. We threw everything in a truck, dropped everything off in Dallas and then headed to the memorial service in L.A. Everytime we have a meetup where we get to spend time with those of you who watch, we have to look up and say, “Thanks Curtis” because we might not be doing this if it weren’t for his encouragement.
When we started doing the Brief full time, we were working at least 16 hours a day, 6 and sometimes 7 days a week. We had to, and we wanted to. At first it was taking a minimum of 12 hours just to produce the show. On top of the show, there was email, promoting the brand and learning about lighting and editing and equipment. On our last road trip, we heard about something called the 10,000 hour rule. The principle is that it takes about 10,000 hours for someone to do something before they really master the technical part of doing it. We did the math and it worked out to be true for us. We hit 10,000 hours of working on Geek Brief about 6 months ago and after that it was like a total breakthrough. Now it takes about seven hours to get a show done. It doesn’t mean we’re working less, but its given us the flexibility to spend time learning new skills that we hope will help us continue to improve how the show looks.
I have a little more of the story left. I’ll wrap it up on the next Brief. In the meantime, if you want to take a look at the first episodes or the Complete Video Archive (thanks to Dave Peterson for keeping these up!), here are the links:
Watch GeekBrief.TV #1
Watch GeekBrief.TV #2
See Full Video Archives
You can save money on domain name registrations and renewals from GoDaddy.com with discount codes GB1, GB2 and GB3. For an explanation of each code, click here.
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December 25th, 2008 at 11:22 am
Very, very inspirational story. Thank you Curtis. Thank you Cali & Neal.
December 25th, 2008 at 1:51 pm
So, Cali, I enjoyed watching your GB #001 and 002, and I see that your real name is Luria Petrucci? Your reason for the change? Also, as I just discovered GBTV, I have a lot of old episodes to catch up on. I noticed the sexy innuendo on episode 001 is largely missing now, but I don’t miss it. I call your current style as “perky”. I gather that was to help the show appeal to women (a good thing). I thoroughly enjoy it and now my brand new 16GB Nano has about 75 old episodes for me to watch.
Thanks! Gary
December 25th, 2008 at 1:52 pm
Congratulations on achieving your dream! Love the way you are presenting the history / story. Keep up the great work!
Merry Christmas!
Radi
http://twitter.com/technopodge
December 25th, 2008 at 2:01 pm
What’s the LED light behind the display in the background? They look pretty cool! I wonder where I could get one of these.
December 25th, 2008 at 2:42 pm
I just watched the first two episodes, and I’m glad you changed the format to the way it is now. References to rolled up condoms, and the “excited” sounds… being a fan of the show as it is today, that was painful to watch. As for the name change, to answer Gary’s question, according to her own blog, it was because Luria Petrucci was too difficult to pronounce, spell, and most importantly, to Google. Cali Lewis is the name of a character in a fiction book they were writing at the time. Personally, I’d like to hear her say her real name on GB one of these days. I’ve never heard the name before, and I’m curious how she pronounces it.
December 25th, 2008 at 3:26 pm
Enjoyed the show. Touched by your story about Curtis. The 10,000 hour rule is. Ertainly one of interest. The book “Outliers” by Malcolm Gladwell ( the author of Blink) is a good read.
Happy Holidays and restful day.
December 25th, 2008 at 5:56 pm
Luria & Neal,
Thanks for the trip down memory lane. I first met you two back in the days of your Crappy Christian show and have been listening/watching ever since. The years are certainly flying by. I’ve enjoyed watching your success and inspirational story
Michael
December 25th, 2008 at 6:10 pm
got started watching from episode 1 when daughter bought me video ipod now 3 video ipods later still watching so your shows must have something keeps my interest going as retired bought first computer in 1980 so i’ve seen a lot of changes.do like new tech toys but find you lot ahead of us in australia.
keep em coning..trev
December 25th, 2008 at 6:56 pm
Very inspirational. You made some decisions at critical times and took big risks, but your ingenuity is paying off. I continue to share GeekBrief with people I know because in time I think your show will explode in popularity, far beyond what it has thus far. The tech world desperately needs more people who can explain technology to the average person as it becomes more part of every day life.
Dave
December 25th, 2008 at 11:44 pm
I found geekbrief the day you were a caller to Leo LaPorte’s The Tech Guy radio show. I was listening to it as a podcast back then. Neat to see episodes 1 and 2. If anyone else wants to see a “real” Geordi … called Jordy by the manufacturer of this great low vision aid, just look: http://www.enhancedvision.com/index.cfm/pid/218/Products/Enhanced/Vision/JORDY
I’m a low vision specialist eye doctor, so I’ve given this to several patients. Keep up the good work. Neal, keep her working. Merry Christmas / Happy Chanukah.
Dr. Mark
December 26th, 2008 at 3:11 am
I found GeekBrief when you guest co-hosted Call For Help with Leo Laporte.
There was a big improvement in watchability between episode 1 and episode 2, and a huge improvement between episode 1 and episode 483.
December 26th, 2008 at 10:06 am
Gotta question fo you, Cali. Obviously, geekbrief.tv has grown by leaps & bounds between Episode 1 and the present. If you had a time machine (say a “Quantum Leap” accellorator), which podcasts(s) would you like to go back and redo knowing what you know now? Best wishes, happy holidays and a big thank you for being here for us technophiles!
December 26th, 2008 at 10:11 am
Forgot to mention in my previous comment how touched I was by your late brother-in-law’s story! I hope your sisters doing ok these days!
December 26th, 2008 at 11:58 am
Hey guys… Thanks for sharing your story! I have been a follower of your guys show since day one and it has been cool to see you guys get better and better at what you do! Thanks for living the dream! I am looking forward to see where your show heads in the future! I appreciate your fun and insight into the tech world. I find your hands on approach to show us “whats is in the box” type of tech news helpful when I go to purchase products and consider new pieces of technology. I have just jumped into the whole podcasting venture myself and have found your guys story inspiring! Keep up the good work. Marry Christmas and God Bless!
December 27th, 2008 at 7:59 am
Dosbomber,
If I recall from one of their original radio podcasts (The Crappy Christian Show), Luria is pronounced like Lucia (loo-chee-ah) but with the r.
December 27th, 2008 at 11:02 am
So glad you guys stuck with it… i have been watching since brief 11.. and have watch everyone since…
Long may you continue.. best wishes..
MW
December 27th, 2008 at 11:48 am
Love the show, thank you Curtis. The reference to 10,000 hours comes from Outliers…. Just finished listening to it, highly recommend it. Audible.com for the win!
Episode 500 coming up soon, yea….
Peace to all
December 27th, 2008 at 12:26 pm
@Dosbomber and anyone else, if you’re interested in how Luria’s name is pronounced (and an excellent video interview with her, as well) check out her October interview on Martin Sargent’s late, lamented, Internet Superstar.
http://www.geekbrief.tv/cali-on-internet-superstar
December 27th, 2008 at 4:07 pm
Hello Cali,
I just wanted to drop in and say Congrats on the success of the show. I always enjoy watching the show and catching up on the newest things out in the computer world. Do you have any suggestions for a good wireless printer for a Mac?
Happy New Years….
Jose
December 27th, 2008 at 5:12 pm
Thank you for sharing this with us, for hanging in there and doing so with a smile and a giggle. Best wishes and happy New Year to GBTV! – Robert ^..^~
December 27th, 2008 at 8:00 pm
Agree with Gary. I am glad the overt sexual innuendo (from episode 1) is gone. I like the perky wholesomeness that embodies the “Cali Lewis” presentation now. And yes, there is still a little sexiness in the presentation, but only in a geek way. What I mean is: Which guy *wouldn’t* want a girlfriend that was this excited about tech news?? And for that matter, which *person* (guy or girl) wouldn’t want Cali as a *friend* that was this excited about tech news. That enthusiasm is so much better than the episode 1 presentation style. What is the saying ? … “shiny, happy, tech news” … that is perfect. What is the title ? “geek brief tv” … that is perfect. Very very glad the overt innuendo is gone. And congratulations on three years.
December 28th, 2008 at 1:13 am
Congratulations to all the team at Geekbrief keep up the the high standards we are use to. You certainly have come a loooong way from where you started out and it is a pleasure of mine to download your podcasts. I always love the out takes as they only help to show you are human. an aussie geek
December 28th, 2008 at 3:37 pm
Wow! Just watched the 1st gb and I got shocked! That’s not Cali! The girl looks very alike but she SPEAKS SLOWLY!!! That gotta be that Luria gal (Cali’s look alike) trying to fool us!!
lol lol
December 29th, 2008 at 11:15 am
What is the lighting device in the background of this episode? I would really like to add this to my office.
Thanks
December 29th, 2008 at 11:22 am
Those are Mega Bar LED lights.
January 1st, 2009 at 10:13 am
Thank you Curtis! I miss working with him, he’s also had an impact to my love for the Mac. It’s the little things people do that have a big impact to someone else. GeekBrief has come a long way and a long way to go. I wish you and your family the best in this New Year!
January 5th, 2009 at 4:05 pm
Love your show. Almost painful to watch the first show, you talk sooooooo sloooowww.
January 25th, 2009 at 3:28 pm
this is weird http://tinyurl.com/98donj
January 25th, 2009 at 3:30 pm
This is weird unexpected (wait for the poster frame to show up on the video at the top) http://tinyurl.com/98donj
June 23rd, 2009 at 11:39 pm
I like this theme you are using… what is it?