What I come back to often is the line, you have to know the rules to break the rules. And I'm at this stage now where I know those rules well enough that I can start breaking them. This is the Techsploder podcast, conversations with tech professionals about being human in a binary world, episode 23, Becca Farsace. Techsploder is made possible by the financial support of our patrons, like Jesse. If you like what you hear, head on over to patreon.com/jasonhowell to support the show directly, and thank you for making independent podcasting possible.

Hello, and welcome to the Techsploder podcast. I'm Jason Howell, and happy new year. It is 2025. We're starting the new year strong with an amazing guest on the podcast. I am super thrilled to welcome Becca Farsace to the show.

Of course, Becca does correct me in this episode as you will soon hear, says just Becca. Nonetheless, Becca is an Emmy and Webby award winning creator and videographer. Recently got a bunch of attention in the tech tube space when she left her position as senior video producer at The Verge. If you're following The Verge last handful of years, you almost certainly saw her work, both her work behind the camera as well as eventually right around pandemic time and onward, in front of the camera. And she's now moved on from the verge to pursue an independent career.

Becca has a sharp expertise, in camera technology. She has an innate gift of connecting with the audience in a truly authentic way. At least, that's my perspective on Becca. It's one of the things that I really love about her videos. Becca now runs her own YouTube channel where she produces in-depth tech reviews and vlogs.

She's truly a unique creator, and I'm just grateful to have the time to talk with her. So let's get right into it, my conversation with Becca. Hi, Becca Farsace. It's so nice to meet you. It's Hello, Jason.

It's amazing. I'm I'm super thrilled about this because I've been a big fan of following your work, at The Verge and kind of watching Thank you. I hate to use the term, but watching your star rise, but that's kinda what's happened. You went from behind the camera and then you kind of emerged and became a, you know, a video star, I'd say, at The Verge, and now you're independent and you're making it work. That's really high praise.

Thank you so much. I'm just Becca, and I'm just stoked to be here. So thank you so much for having me. But, yeah, it's been it's been quite a journey. I I definitely can agree with you on that.

Yeah. Yeah. Well, one thing that I really so I I like to start this show usually okay. I've I've only had 20 some odd episodes of this show, but I'm always inviting people that I highly respect on this show because I feel like we all work in the world of technology. Even though our stories are different, there's a lot of similarity in how we became who we are and often that ties into our passion around technology.

And, so I always like to start the show by pouring a little praise on on people because I have been following you for a while. And one of the things that I really appreciate about you, and I think and I'm curious to hear what you have to say about this. I think successful content creators are able to be truly authentic, not manufactured authenticity, but really just connect on a human level through the lens to the people on the other side of the lens. And I think some people that comes much easier than others. And one of the things I really respect about you is like when I watch your videos, when I watch your content, I really feel like you're talking to me.

Like, you know what I mean? Like, there's there's, like, a connection there. I hope that doesn't sound weird, but I'm I'm curious to know, like, how authenticity plays into everything that you're building right now and kinda where that comes from. Yeah. This is one of those funny things where I I it's something I never really thought about.

I'm just someone who I'm making something, and I'm and I'm gonna put it out there and hope that it resonates with folks. But lately, that word authenticity has been thrown around a lot, and, I've been hearing it a lot about my content and that's so cool because I am trying to speak to you. I'm trying to have a conversation with you. I'm trying to talk to you like you're my friend, share something with you, hopefully bond with you over something. But it's weird to now think about it.

I've just never been like that self aware about that. Yeah. And so so, yeah, I've been thinking about it more and I've been conscious, more, but I hope that it doesn't change anything by me knowing about it. Well, I think probably probably at the core, it sounds like and correct me if I'm wrong. This this what we see in the content that you're creating and the person who you are in front of the camera and and you being so comfortable being you in front of the camera, which is not a skill that everybody has, you know, maybe you could learn it, but it really seemed it seems to come naturally for you, is just a reflection of who you are.

Like it's not like I said, it's not a matter of of manufacturing authenticity or I'm gonna I'm gonna try really hard today to be authentic. You know, it's just kind of a part of the person that is Becca would would be my guess anyways. Yeah. Totally. And I think you touched on something.

I'm very lucky that I am so comfortable in front of camera. I don't really even think about being in front of camera and I touch on this in the video I made about the iPad Nano's camera. I've just been using video cameras for my whole life. And so it's very natural for me to just look into a lens and talk to it. So if anyone wants to get better at doing that, just start and don't stop.

Just start. And it's just one of those things that you just have to take time to learn and to do and to get comfortable doing. And I've done that. A lot of it hasn't been on YouTube, which is a benefit. But but, yeah, that's I think that's how I got here.

Yeah. It's it's interesting because like, you know, my I have 2 daughters, 14 year old, almost 15, and then 11, and I see their interaction, and exposure to things like YouTube. And, of course, my older daughter, she's now, you know, watching TikTok and some of the content there and it occurs to me that the generation that's coming up right now has a certain skill set around talking into a lens and talking into a camera. That is just inherent on the generation, whereas you, it sounds like and we'll we'll definitely talk about it. You you know, you had from a a young age exposure, but it wasn't part of like the air that you breathe the way it is now.

And definitely Yes. You know, I have a very similar childhood too. You know, these big chunky, camcorders, you know, but, oh my god. It was the best thing in the world that we had a camcorder in the house because I could make movies and, you know, I had a desire. It wasn't part of the oxygen in the air.

100%. It is gonna be interesting that in, like, 10 years what YouTube looks like and how many people, like, that whole being in com being comfortable in front of camera ideas, is that gonna, like, go away? I'm sure it'll never go away, but definitely won't be as prominent. But quick question, when did you decide to allow, like, your daughter to watch TikTok? I don't have kids.

And and I just I this fascinates me, like, the decision of, like, when do you give a kid a phone now? It's a that's a really challenging question to answer because I'd say because I find myself torn as a as a tech a fan of technology since I was a kid. I have the I had exposure to technology when I was a kid, so I don't wanna deprive our kids of that. At the same time, that's balanced with the fact that there are a lot of, like, not so great things about early exposure to social media and stuff. So I guess the the short answer to your question is within the last, I'd say, year and a half, 2 years, we've started to kind of allow little bits here and there.

And at this point Yeah. I I mean, at this point with my 14 year old daughter, the wheels are off. You know what I mean? Yeah. It's gotta be a very slippery slope.

Well, it is a very slippery slope and it's really hard to, like, put that put that genie back in the bottle. Yeah. It's a matter of back. No. No.

And it doesn't. So then it's a matter of, okay, do I feel comfortable with kind of the level or what we're seeing? You know, thankfully, she's incredibly, kind of communicative around what she sees and we talk about it a lot and everything. Try and keep the lines of communication open there so that she isn't led down a a path that, you know, could be dangerous or or whatever, but it's a real challenge. As a technology lover, it's a real challenge because I'm constantly torn between the two sides.

I don't know the right answer for that. Yeah. I don't think anyone does, but I love to ask. It just fascinates me. Yeah.

Like, when I don't know. When I my first cell phone was a flip phone that was black and white. There wasn't Do you know a brand or or, like, with a make and model? Like, what what was it? I'm curious.

It had to be like a Motorola or a Nokia. Right? Like, it had to be. Yeah. I do have an early like, my first, like, smarter phone.

Hold on. I can let me get it. Let me get it. Okay. Okay.

I love it. Yes, please. I've got all my, like, early stuff on the on the, the bookshelf behind me, and I'm constantly given the opportunity to, like, pick through it and pull things out. I love that. Oh my god.

I'm messing up my set too. Oh, no. My set's falling over. Thanks for messing up your set for Yes. It is an an an LG, Verizon branded.

What is this thing now? So oh, let me see here. Is that the is that the chocolate? And does it open up to a keyboard? It's not the chocolate.

No. I don't remember that. That phone. What is that? LG envy?

Is that the envy? Is it an envy? It doesn't it actually does not say the name, but I love this thing. No. I I did have the MV.

Yeah. No. This is different. That's different. I mean, if you think about like, I I found this a month ago.

And if you think about this, it's like we this is this is coming back except these are 2 screens, you know, like, this is this is just a fold. But I loved this thing. And I tried to, like, type on the keyboard and I used to think I was so fast. Yeah. And I'm so slow and so not accurate.

Like, I have forgotten the the chiclet keys. Let me just Yeah. The the tactile approach. Oh, listen to that. Oh my god.

It's so good. Now is the front of that, is it a touch screen or if it was Yes. Working apart from It was. Because I remember sliding not the Envy. Mhmm.

No. It's not an Envy. I would know because I have a bunch of friends who had those and I did not. But, yeah, I love this thing. I should really I should plug it back in, but I'm kind of afraid of, like, do I do I wanna do I wanna know what's on here?

I don't know. Well, the other that's that's a question. That's certainly a question because, like, I have a just a whole host, you know, of the last decade and a half of of smartphones and phones. Half of them, when I boot them up, I can't get into them because they're protected by a PIN code that I no longer know. Yes.

Yes. I don't think this had a PIN code. Yeah. No. That was probably before the time that we cared about security and all that the way we do now.

Are folks mostly listening to this? Should I describe this phone? Sure. You can describe it. Yeah.

I'd say the majority probably listens, but Okay. Well, it it's it's imagine a z know. I know. Imagine well, here, there is an there is, like, a a an a serial number on the back. I'm just gonna type this in.

I am holding an lg ENV touch. Okay. Well, n e n v. I didn't realize that's how it was spelled. Here we go.

And In the in the case yes. There how much could I $34. I'm not selling this. And the case is blue and white. I remember swapping the front of someone else's case because there's 2 pieces.

So somebody gave me part of their clear and I gave them part of my blue, and we swapped part of our cases. And then I used, glittery nail polish to decorate the back with a Key West sticker because we'd gone to Key West that year, I believe. And it has a 3.2 megapixel camera which is probably incredible. Hot. Yeah.

Yeah. There's probably some really high quality pictures on that phone. And to be clear, this this was, yes, this was not my first phone. It just was, like, my first, like, flip like, well, how do you describe because there's other flip phones. My first, like, full keyboard phone.

That's a good way of saying it. Mhmm. I think, yeah, I think probably the, the chocolate or no. Yeah. I can't even remember at this point.

I've lost track of all the pre smartphone phones that I had, and I definitely didn't keep any of them. Why? I have no idea. At at this point, I really wish that I had just to, like, know that I have them, but Yeah. It's a bummer.

Yeah. Yeah. It is. But at the same point, I'm, like, afraid to turn this on. So is it that much of a bummer?

I don't know. I was, like, I was like still look at it, but remember, I guess. Afraid not afraid with this thing. You know, my first crush, like, there's, like, text from my first crush on here. Yeah.

I was gonna say that's that's a time period that maybe you don't want to relive actually in in hindsight. Cringey. Cringey. So, so thank you for digging that out and looking at that. That's the sort of stuff I love because like really like I said, kind of introing here is we all work in tech.

We all have very different lives, but a lot of our stories even though they're different are very similar. We all have that that piece of technology that like oh my goodness. That was the one that got me into such and it sounds like your kind of genre of technology that really got you into it, I'm guessing based on what I've what I've seen, you know, you put out on videos and everything is is video. Right? It's a video camera.

You got a video camera from early on. Was there any technology prior to that that, like, lit that fire for you? I I spent a lot of time thinking about the iPad Touch. That was a big one for me. You know, my first device that didn't really have a lot of buttons, it had some buttons, but in comparison to everything else, it had no buttons.

Mhmm. And I when I had it, it really felt revolutionary. I I just remember, like, even the beer app, like, pouring the beer into your mouth and it, like, knowing where, like, the phone is in space was incredible. I showed all of my friends that. And, like, the bubble wrap app where you just, like, popped bubble wrap, you know, you just used a touchscreen.

Yep. It felt so cool. And I and I still have it. It's actually in my car because my car loves iPods for some reason. It's like a 2012 car and you plug an iPad in and then the logo of my Acura comes up on the iPad.

Like, they talk each other in this beautiful way. Yeah. And Ipods are time capsules without passcodes. So whenever I find 1, I plug it in and just let it go on shuffle and it's always a trip down memory lane. So, yeah, the iPad Touch was a big one for me.

A real a real big one. But other than that, you're right. It was mostly cameras. I started collecting cameras at a really young age. I have so many old and new cameras and I just love to play with them and capturing the moment.

I'm I'm a visual learner and that's how I learned. I I communicated with folks, how I learned things was all through video. So that's always been my core. So when so when so, like, hearing you talk about kind of your early fascination with video cameras, like, I I only have my own story around video cameras was which was that my That's true. Parents got the big huge chunky, you know, camcorder and Love it.

I spent years after that just, you know, inviting friends over or taking the camcorder to my friend's house and making movies. And I've got a whole arsenal of, you know, video cassettes that are just super cringey and no one will probably ever see them, but they mean a lot to me. Like, what was your when you had these cameras, like, what were you doing with them? Like, is is there an analog? Is there a direct line that you can draw between the types of videos you were doing there and the types of videos that you're so good at doing now?

Yeah. Thank you. You're really gonna make me reflect, which is good. I I don't do this enough. So a lot of this is definitely off the cuff.

Good. The videos I was making then you know, definitely making videos with my friends. And the the funniest thing is we did a lot of this, like, newscaster bit where we would pretend that we are newscasters, like, out in the field reporting on something. And I think that's just because that's, you know, what we saw on our TVs and, you know, we weren't gonna be making shows, but we could make the news. So we did a lot of that.

And I often think about that. And what I do now is a lot of, you know, reporting. Like, I'm out talking to people or I'm sitting in front of a camera telling folks about something. And so there's definitely a parallel there. But I think the largest parallel is just the ability to have, like, fun and play in front of a camera.

And I definitely still do that now. Every time I sit down in front of a camera, it feels like like playing and showing off all my toys that I get to use and what I like about them and how can I use this camera to show that in a in a more fun way? So that that's definitely a parallel, and it still is so fun to me. Like, even I'm working on a video right now that will probably be out when this comes out. When does this come out?

It's kinda fluid, but I was hoping by the end of the week, I'll have it out. So this would be Great. You know, somewhere around January 2nd ish, 2nd, 3rd, somewhere around there. Okay. This podcast might beat my video out, but my next video is about the DJI Osmo Pocket 3, which you were talking about earlier.

Love it. Love it. Right there? Is it right there? Oh, yes.

It is right here. Easily, like, my favorite, you know, I only did the independent jump a year ago. Right? So in in some ways, I've I've watched your story and I've really connected with your your pathway and kind of what you're going through because I'm like, oh, yeah. I I remember this point.

You're you're pulling it off a lot a lot more successfully than I am, by the way. On the outside. Not on the outside. Not to be not to compare, but we we could talk about that. But, anyways, I've been doing some reflecting and DJI Osmo Pocket 3 easily, like, the best, I'd say, a most immediate impactful piece of technology that I bought this year.

Like, the second I saw this at, I was at a Google event and a friend, Tim Scofield, had it. And I was like, what the heck is that? And, the second I got it, I immediately found ways to use it, and I love it. It's so easy. It's so good.

You know, the quality is good enough. I don't know. What do you think about it? I agree with you a 100%. What I'm trying to examine in my video is is this camera worth its hype on, like, the grand scale or is it only good for creators?

And is that why it's so popular? And so in the video, I kind of examine this idea of, like, the effect that reviews have and how this camera is great. I love this camera, but how I live in my own bubble, and I don't know if it's good for my mom. And so that's Yeah. Kinda what the video is about.

That's a really great question, because even I, as someone who is looking for opportunities to create, like, I still I still have that that, like, pang of, too much self awareness if I go to a restaurant and I pull out an Osmo Pocket 3, and I'm like, I'm gonna talk to this thing for for this video I'm working on. Like, some people make that look real easy, and I'm I I become really self aware and so it's hard for me. So even from that perspective, I pull this out and I and I actually had this kind of experience recently where I was like, does me holding this immediately draw attention to me? And maybe that's kind of part of what you're talking about. Would your mom pull out an Osmo Pocket 3 and use it?

She she might feel resistance because it looks nothing like a smartphone, which is what everybody's actually used to seeing. Will she know how to use it? You know, my mom grew up in an age before smartphones. She actually knows a camera decently well, but that doesn't look like a camera, and it doesn't look like a smartphone either. So I'm trying to answer that question.

A fun anecdote to the, filming yourself in public, just a quick story. When I I did a video all about iJustine, and while I was doing that video, I was watching all of well, it's impossible to watch all of her videos, but as many videos as I possibly could. And when she started vlogging, she would do this thing where she would put a phone up to her ear. So it looked like she was talking on the phone and not just talking to a camera. And I think of that all the time.

It's a very funny, like, hack that she had for making herself feel more comfortable, I think, and and looking more normal, talking to nobody. That's brilliant. Funny. A funny story kind of a signature. It's kind of a signature.

Right? Like, that's amazing. I mean, she's she is a a I don't know what you wanna call it. Trendsetter, game changer for, you know, everything. She paved a lot of pathways for folks who are doing the creator thing in the kind of modern era of being a creator.

Yeah. That video is great. Yeah. And, actually, I want to I wanna ask you about that, because this is one question that I had when you were creating that because that was was that not your last video at The Verge? It's my last video at The Verge.

Yeah. Okay. So you're doing the IGES team video, and this is about a creator who really has has created so much for the world of creators, stuck the landing by all accounts super successful and, just kind of an icon in in what we all do. And you're producing this video, Does The Verge already if you don't mind me asking, does The Verge already know that you're you're planning to step away? No.

I think at the tail end of that video, they did. I I gave them a 2 weeks. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.

I knew. You knew. So so that that, I guess, is my question. Like, you're doing this video about this icon, and, really, this is kind of, like, the best possible outcome scenario for you as a soon to be independent creator? Like, what was what was that like?

Like, that's that seems like a really unique position to be in. Yeah. There's so much to say about about this moment. I launched my creator series at The Verge in the last spring. And at that time, I had a pretty good idea of what I wanted to do with my career.

And so it kinda worked out so well that I got to go make these videos about creators and do this, like, really in-depth research for both other people, but for me. For you too. Yeah. But being with iJustine was or Justine, she's she's an incredibly nice human being, and and she was so giving with her time. It it was amazing, and it was such a a confidence boost in a way, because yeah.

To watch someone else do what you wanna do and see that there is a path. And I'm not gonna be iJustine. I mean, there's no way. It's impossible. Nobody can be iJustine except Justine.

But it was really great to be with her and to know that, like, this is this is possible, especially for, like, a female identifying person like myself in a very male dominated space. Yeah. It was great. And it was really cool to be able to ask questions that were a bit personal for me, like, you know, to get those answers right from someone like her was incredible. So yeah.

Yeah. An amazing experience. That right there is part of the reason why I love doing this podcast because I get to talk to you. I have the opportunity, you know, this this, like, gateway to invite people who I highly respect and who are doing things that I look up to and want to learn from and grow from and talk, you know, with with full product. Exactly.

It's amazing. It's amazing. I call it, I was also doing a lot of like career interviews is what I would call it where I just call people that I admired, and just ask them a ton of questions. And that's something that anybody could do. Everybody should be doing it.

Just go ask people questions. And I've I found that most folks are really excited to talk about themselves, you know, and and answer these sorts of questions. So, yeah, send send the cold email, send slide into someone's DMs. Yeah. Just ask.

I mean, that that's kind of the beauty of where we're at right now with media in general, and I I hate to use the term like fame, fame at being famous or whatever, but, you know, it wasn't that long ago that fame was defined by something like Hollywood or the major, you know, music artists out there and, you know, their their globe, you know, globe traveling tours and all these things that feel, as I'm having a hard time finding the words for them, feel very out there and not not connected or not close, not achievable, attainable, or touchable or reachable. And it seems like right now there's there's so much more connection. There's so much more ability to actually send, like you said, send that cold email to that person that you respect. And, you know, you're highly likely that they're probably gonna, at the very least, respond or acknowledge, but at the most, you might actually get the thing that you're looking to get, which is advice or whatever that may be. That's that's pretty amazing.

That's one of the things that I love about, you know, working a podcast for as long as I have. It's it's it's a two way street. It's not just a one way street. Yeah. I used to read a lot of the scene called To Brooklyn and Mars.

To Brooklyn from to Mars from Brooklyn? To Brooklyn from Mars? Something like that. And, it was just full of, like, advice. And and one of them was, you know, do do the thing, like, send the email, send the DM, call the credit card company, and ask them to forgive your debt.

If you do that a 100 times and your success rate is 5%, you you've still gotten 5 of the things you want. And so when you when you break it down like that, that that's what that's what pushes me sometimes to to reach out to do the the scary thing. Mhmm. Well, the scary thing, yes. That's and I have to imagine you're you're kind of you're swimming in the the pool of scary thing waters right now, which is, yeah.

I mean, I I know through my own experience, you know, this past year has been nothing but scary things, you know. I I like you, I worked for a machine. Actually, I'm really curious to hear what you what you think about this. You know, I worked for Twit, and it was a full podcast studio with producers, with editors, with marketing team, with all this stuff. And I was allowed to just do what I do, which is produce, write, host, find neat things to talk about or review or whatever, and focus on that.

And then when you go independent, suddenly, you are the master of all things. And I think Marques Brownlee has has the, the octopus analogy, which is, you know, each arm of the octopus belongs to a certain person, but when you're a creator, you are all arms, and hopefully, you get to a point to where you can kind of detach that arm and give that to that person. And I'm curious, coming from the verge, there there has to be some similarity here. You had a full team. Now you're independent.

Like, what is the experience like by comparison? And, how how are those octopus arms doing for you? They're doing alright. I I very much went into this, like, knowing that I couldn't do too much at once. So my big focus was YouTube.

Like, let me get YouTube going. Let me get to a 100 k subscribers. Let me get, a good flow. Let me get better at making these videos top to bottom with absolutely no help, no one reading scripts. And then also let me get kind of the advertising revenue going there.

And I've done that, which is in the amount of times that I that time in the amount of time that I did that, I feel I feel great about it. You should. That was amazing. It was amazing to watch as, you know, having come from the experience where I, you know, I feel like I'm fighting to to get those subscribers. I mean, we're all fighting on our own Yeah.

On our own level, but it was really inspiring to watch your jump. Thank you. Yeah. And I had 7 years of being on camera at The Verge to to take with me. So, you know, some of that was I I had been building that for a long time.

So that was that was like, I knew that I could only do so much. And so I I really focused on that. And my next arm was to get Patreon going. I wanted to start building a community that was like tight knit, and and was a little bit more involved in my my world and seeing more of my day to day, and that's been going well. I think there's changes coming to that space because I've built it and now I'm learning what folks actually wanna see for me and I hope to do more of that in the coming year.

And then my next big stage is to get more social channels going. I barely touch social. I post to Instagram stories every day or at least I try to when I'm when I'm working. And that's been really good. I'm I am building some sort of community there, but I wanna start producing content for that space.

So I have some ideas, and that's gonna be probably like a q two project. But, yeah, that that and getting merch going as well just because I want t shirts and stuff because I love that stuff. So that's kinda it's kind of a personal, thing, but but that's that's coming. My my big goal though is that I don't know. This may sound crazy, but I can't wait to hire my boss.

I I can't wait to hire somebody to manage me. I I'm a terrible manager of other people, but I'm a really terrible manager of my own time. And I'm very excited to yeah. It it I feel like it's the creative, you know, problem. Like, I'm good at making stuff.

I'm not good at at at managing. And so I'm really excited to bring someone in who can kind of see the bigger picture, make sure the train is heading in the right direction, and allow me to just focus on making stuff. So that's that's another huge goal for next year for me. Having some sort or form of collaborator. Yeah.

This is this is you're you're touching on something that's that's been a real, not a struggle, but it took me a while to really get a sense of it for myself, which is the it's so easy in what we're what we're both doing independent obviously of each other, but we're both doing for our business. It's so easy to fall into the I'm I I do everything, therefore, I am alone in all of this, and I am in charge of all things. So I just have to focus and I have to follow my, you know, my gut instinct and my heart and do what I know is right for for my business. But, man, that that external kind of, perspective that can be pulled in through bringing in a trusted partner at least, but like you're talking about someone who can really kind of come in and take a an overall look of the direction of everything and your stated goals and be able to say, alright. How how are we working towards your goal here?

Have you thought about this? You know, it's it's really invaluable to have at least a couple of people that you can talk to about this stuff for sure. 100%. And and I do have those people in my life, and and I use them, but I am getting to the point where it's like, I would I would like to start paying somebody for this. Like, I really feel bad at this point.

Like, I send, you know, every cut to certain people and it's like, like, I I just feel like I'm taking their time. Yeah. And and I'm excited to have more of their time, but also be able to compensate them for the work they're doing. So, yeah, we'll see. Yeah.

I like existing on, like, the week to week level. Like, I really thrive. Like, Monday, I start making a video, and Friday, I publish it. And, like, that I love that grind. I love being creative on the fly.

I hate storyboards. And and so so that's where I wanna live. But when you own your own business and you're, like, running your own channel, you you can't. You can't just live week to week. It's, you know, you gotta have a a bigger picture.

So Yeah. It's interesting that you said that about storyboards because when I watch your content, it almost feels like there was a storyboard. Like, you're very good at kind of chapterizing and having the little breakaways that are like the little mini montage that leads into this next point. I mean, the structure of your videos, I'm I'm really, I'm a huge fan of how you do that, and I've take definitely take inspiration, from that for my own work because my brain doesn't work like that all the time. Yeah.

Yeah. Yeah. It's funny. I've been thinking a lot about creativity as well. It's so what I come back to often is the line, you have to know the rules to break the rules.

And at the verge, I learned the rules. Like, here's how you start a video. Here's how you bridge it to this next thought. Here's how you end it and and leave the audience something. And and I'm at this stage now where I know those rules well enough that I can start breaking them and just kind of living on the edge a little bit more, going out and just vlogging.

Like like, filming as I'm going is something I'm working hard on getting better at right now. And and I'm blessed that since I own my projects from beginning to end, I, the vision can be all up in my head, and and my videos are just like my brain spilling out of my ears into Adobe Premiere, really. Mhmm. And and I'm lucky about that. And I'm glad that it's working Yeah.

Because I'm because I'm really just having fun right now. Is there is there an aspect of what you're doing right now, you know, touching back on the the octopus arms? Is there an aspect of it that you're like, oh, I just I hate that arm? Yes. Yes.

So many things. What that is. Thumbnails, titles and thumbnails. I I think of I think about them a lot, obviously, and I and I change my titles and thumbnails and I try to work at them and, you know, I'm getting so much better at Photoshop, so much better. And Photoshop 2025 is incredible.

Oh my gosh. It's so much easier than everything that came before it. But I can't wait to give that up. You can have anybody, you can have it. That that's a big one.

The other thing is, I like emails. I like talking to people. I love filming and editing. Yeah. I like scripting.

I really enjoy so much of the process. And, oh, what I was trying to get at earlier is that, you know, even there there's some days like Monday, I I took a lot of last week off. And yesterday, I came back into my office and I was really struggling and I was like, ugh, I just can't get through this. And then I remembered, wait, I love to do this. This is so much fun.

This is such a privilege. And then it just flowed out of me again. And and I don't know when that, you know, well, will dry up, but, for now, that's really carrying me far. Yeah. Yeah.

Yeah. I can I can definitely identify, with the the kind of motivation that comes out of spontaneity and, that kind of deep creative layer that that that drives a lot of my decisions? It sounds like you're the same. And yet sometimes I can be led astray by that because like this week in particular, I think I have like 3 videos that I'm working on simultaneously, which is nuts. Oh.

But it's but it's a little bit more like I'm tired for you. Yeah. Well, yes. And then we've got, you know, we were talking before we started recording, got the Consumer Electronics Show next week and Yep. And I often jostle between what I know I really need to be doing right now Yep.

I need to focus on that video or I need to focus on this planning or whatever versus what I really wanna do. I really wanna shoot that b roll, or I really wanna pull out that that piece of technology and get more familiar with it. And that's a you know, and that's being it's like that creative, spontaneity layer can be a a a total gift. It can also be kind of a a detriment at times. I Yeah.

I've I've learned how to make it work for myself. I would say within the last month, I've really tried to be more aware of how I work. And I'm I am someone who, you know, I've I've was diagnosed with ADD at a very young age, and I know that I only have so much, like, span of time before I'm gonna wanna do something else. Okay. If I know that, how can I make that work for me?

And so what I'll do is if I see myself start to get distracted and, like, go on YouTube, that's not something I need to work on. But, okay, I'm seeing that I wanna go do something else. Here's a list of other things I need to work on. I'm gonna give myself an hour and go work on this other thing. And then I find that when I come back to the project that I need to get done the most, I'm way more refreshed and ready to jump in.

Is it the the best way of of doing this? Probably not. But I found that it actually helps me so much in getting done when I need to. Like, I I wanna take a break, let myself take the break. But let me go do something that also is benefiting my time.

That's amazing. Yeah. I've I I only recently, I was looking into ADHD diagnosis for my younger daughter and as I was doing that, I was like, holy moly. This is really answering a lot of questions. And the further down that wormhole I went, the further the more I realized, like, oh, you know, this this works for me too and got diagnosed and everything.

And knowing about that, it's so it's so interesting hearing you say that. Like, knowing that has been very eye opening and very kind of confirming, like, okay. Alright. This really explains a lot. I feel a lot better now.

But I've had to really learn new tools, new ways to keep myself focused. Not to mention, I told you right before we started recording, like, this studio downstairs, there's no door here. It's open to the entire house. It is like distraction central over there. I bet.

And yet, how on you know, I I I envy the fact that you can go into your room and it looks like you have a door behind you. So you can close it behind you and focus. Yeah. I I also like you know, I I'm typically alone during the day too. So I it's incredible.

I was working from my family's house a bit last week, and, oh my god, it was impossible. Like, you know, mom's making cookies, and my sister's on a call and my stepdad's bored and wants to hang out and it was impossible to get anything done. But Yeah. I I was very blessed that when I was diagnosed with ADD in, like, I think it was either in middle school or early high school, I had this incredible pediatrician who said to me, you know, I I was like, I hate reading books. I hate books.

I never wanna read books. And she's like, it's not that you hate reading books. It's just that you don't know how to read them for yourself. Like, you've been taught how everyone else reads books. And you just need to figure out how you can read a book.

And that's how I've approached my my life at large. And, yeah, it works it works really well. You just have to adapt. You know? Mhmm.

Figure out how you can get the most done for yourself with what you're given. Yeah. Indeed. Indeed. Well, you've got a lot of gifts to share.

We all do. And, yeah, being able to find out how to share that is a real gift in and of itself. When you were at the verge and kind of early on in the verge, I mean, it really seems when I when I'm looking back at kind of, like, your time at the Verge, it seems like you started behind the camera and eventually worked your way. I don't know if you did it intentionally or if it was put upon you like, hey, why don't you do this video or whatever? But did you anticipate that that transition?

Was that something that you kinda hoped would happen? How did that all work out for you? No. I I've been very blessed in my life that and I think a lot of it is just intuition. Like, I just let my gut guide me.

But I feel like I post college or even pre college, I just like jumped into the river of life and let it take me. And I've been really, really blessed with all the places that it has. And The Verge, I didn't expect to be on camera. My goal at getting hired at The Verge was to make videos. I just wanted to make stuff.

Because previously, I was servicing camera gear and I was giving the gear to everyone to make stuff, and I was so jealous of them. I was like, I wanna use the gear. I don't wanna service the gear. And so my goal was just to make stuff. And then I got to the verge and I was making stuff and it was great, but I realized working with editorial, like, the writers, they didn't have a lot of time for video.

And I was often, projects were put on hold because they had meetings or they had to pick up something else or, you know, a doctor's appointment, whatever it was. And I just got frustrated by that. So I thought, I guess I'll just start being in the videos. Then the only person holding them up is me. And so that's kind of how it began almost out of necessity.

And, you know, like we touched on at the beginning, I had a lot of experience being in front of camera. So it it just kind kind of was a natural progression for me. Yeah. Do that take a bite for me? Isn't that so cool?

I love it. I love it. Yeah. I mean, I mean, it's very it's very familiar to me once again, like like I've said, and I hope it it's not weird that I keep saying this, but so much of what I've seen in your story has really reminded me of many things in my career. You know, prior to Twitter, I worked at CNET.

And when I was hired at CNET Oh my god. I worked in their podcast department, their one of their earliest podcast, Buzz Out Loud. And through that, you know, I was an engineer behind the mic at the board while the hosts, Tom and Molly, did the show and sometimes Veronica. And Yeah. Then eventually, it was like, why don't you go ahead and turn the mic on and start talking?

You know? And it's just interesting to me that this is how people in front of the camera, in front of the microphone, this is often or, you know, often enough to notice it, how people kind of make their way onto the other side. And it's so it's it's always fascinating to me to hear how that story plays out for other people. Yeah. I've been thinking a lot about to the the question of how to start a YouTube channel in 2025.

Mhmm. And and I I should really just make this a video. Oh, yeah. Go find someone to pay you to do it. Like, go find the CNET, find The Verge, find somebody who needs somebody, and learn how to do it there, and then make your jump.

And you might find out that actually you were gonna be an audio engineer all along, the opposite. You you know, you might you might find something else that you're really good at. But go find somewhere where you can learn on someone else's dime. And it sounds like that's what we did. Yeah.

Yeah. Indeed. No question about it. It's a great it's a great way to, to learn how it all happens. It it can also be a little, you know, kind of like what we were talking about.

It can also be a challenge because when you learn that way, there are other aspects of the business that you don't learn because you have a CNET or a Verge handling. Yeah. Well, there will always be things that you're not learning, and that's True. That's okay. That's okay.

That is absolutely okay. It is okay. I like to kind of round things out by, you know, going a little less specific on, like, background and history and stuff and just go a little bit more kind of tech nerdy sort of thing. Oh my god. Let's go.

So so you you review a lot of of devices. You've you've experienced a lot of technology over the years. I'm curious if you happen to have any tech within reach of where you're at right now that is kinda like this this piece right here. This is this is actually pretty cool. Unfortunate for both of us.

There's so much tech within reach right now. You want something have the beauty. Surprising? Do you want something I want whatever whatever sparks your sparks your fire. Whatever you're like, oh, this this is the thing that I really wanna talk about right now.

Or, you know, I There's, like, 300 things that are sparking my around me. I I need I need I need some of them. Close your eyes and put your hand on one and go, okay, then I guess it's this. I know. I do have a whole, like, the the, like, dresser behind me is full Yeah.

Of tech. Yeah. It's like phones on the 1st drawer, cameras in the second, like, And devices that you've reviewed in the past or had in the past versus things that you're working on content now. Okay. Okay.

Give me actually, give me a second. Okay. Cut out all this dead air. I'm gonna I'm gonna actually look around for a moment. I really, really, really wanna do something with my Apple Quick Take 200.

Oh. It's Wow. It's a gift. Box. Oh, yeah.

I got the whole box. Throwback. Oh, throwback for sure. I I really love, like, old tech and it for a while, like, Tech Tube, you know, tech on YouTube, was so focused on the future. And I'm seeing a real swing in my feeds back to nostalgia in the past.

And I think it's because we're at the sort of plateau with technology and people are getting bored of these small updates, so they're looking back. Love it. Or maybe that's just me searching more vintage things. No. I love it.

I think you're absolutely right. I mean, it's part of the reason why I love doing this show is the nostalgia quality of technology. You know? Yes. Yeah.

This thing's even still, like, wrapped. I have Wow. In a good shape. You are so good at preserving your technology. My goodness.

I'm impressed. I just love it. This this wasn't mine. This was, when I was at Vox Media, The Verge, they did the retro tech series with Marques. Yeah.

So they bought all of this old tech and a lot of it worked. And then when they were done with the show, they quite literally put it on a table and said, take what you want. Yeah. And I I know that move. Yeah.

And I took this. So this only came into my life maybe a year ago. It's fascinating to me because everyone's like, I wish Apple would make a camera, you know, like, detached from the iPhone. And they did. It's this.

And it's it's like, at the time it was very minimalist and it has like all of this, like, Apple ethos to it, yet it is a chunky nineties, early 2000s, nineties camera. And and I just I'm I'm fascinated by it, and I wanna get it working, but there's a couple of problems with that. And one of them is behind the store. This giant SD card. Wow.

It is a Oh, that is It is a That's a a marvel in and of itself. That is Yes. I'm trying to find a normal SD card to put it next to if if you're watching this. That's that's a normal SD card. It's about half the size and it's all but it's also like the the old Apple SD card if you could call it that.

I don't know what it's actually called. It's a Fujifilm MC 2. It is is slimmer, which is interesting. It's also 2 megabytes, which is funny. No.

But I just need to figure out how to get photos and videos off of this thing. And I haven't done a lot of research into it. I'm sure there's a way, but that's kinda been my biggest, like, oof. You know, I have trouble pulling photos from an Android phone to my Mac. What is this gonna be like?

So Yeah. It's it's not gonna connect to your computer with a modern USB interface. I mean, this was Oh god. No. You know, the yeah.

This is probably like, I didn't look up the date, but I'm guessing if that's a 2 meg cartridge, like, about that time, I had a Sony for a job that I was working, a Sony Mavica. Do you remember those? Sony Mavica. Probably about the same size as what you're talking about there, but it took the 3 and a quarter inch, floppy drives as the Yes. Storage.

Yes. Put that into the side. So, you know, 1.4 megs or whatever the size is of the Yeah. Which wasn't an issue because the photos were small. Oh, totally.

The photos were total crap. But but it was amazing that you could. You know, the the quality was not quite as good as a normal photo, but the fact that you could do it was amazing and Yeah. My how spoiled we are now. I know.

I know. How spoiled. Yeah. I mean, 4 k 4 k video on on all cameras on a on a smartphone. I mean, it's just ridiculous where we're at now.

Yeah. 6 k, 8 k. Yeah. Oh, man. That's so cool.

That is a treasure right there, and it really looks like it's in excellent condition preserved. Whoever had that before had that switched away. Look. I even have the software. That you can't find a drive for.

200 software. I know. That that's the thing. It's like, oh, I have all these things that I can't open. But I also have, like, I have an old, like, old Macs.

Like, you know, it it's definitely gonna be a a big project, but I think it would make a great video. And so I this I always it kind of once a month or so, I I remember that I have this box. And I'm like, oh, I gotta gotta do something. Do something with that. I love it.

Well, I look forward to whatever you choose to do with that. Yeah. What about you? Oh, what what do I have? Yeah.

What do you got? Boy, I'm not so used to the 2 things a lot of them. Turned on me. Well, yeah, there's there's I mean, there's plenty of tech back there. Well, you know what?

Hold on. Yeah. Let's see. Let's see what we got. Yes.

Go digging. Go digging. Let's see here. What do we want to pull out? I love we're taking this podcast on the road today.

Yeah. We are out of our chairs and into the drawers. I think the easy one here. I'm gonna pull out some things here. 22 for the price of 1 today, folks.

Because because how do you how do you choose when you just got a a thing? I think the easy one is realizing. Is Google Glass. This this you know what? I pull this out a lot.

It finds ways, finds reasons to make it into the podcast that I do. Oh, sorry. Recently, Google had their Android XR thing. Yep. And I I was able to actually go to the the campus I know.

I saw it. Play around with their stuff, and I immediately thought, you know, with the Project Astra, it's like it's Google Glass 2.0, and they're doing it right. So Yeah. Really Those actually look good on you. Oh.

I'm not Well, you know, it is retro tech. So No. But they look like I if I I mean, I have, like, a very soft spot in my heart for this device. But I don't know. On your face, it looks good.

The the solid bar across, like, it maybe it's that the silver matches your eyes really nicely. Oh, yeah. It's it's kinda perfectly lined up. It's gives me, like, a solid silver eyebrow. Yeah.

And the frame meets, like, the frame of your head. Like, I have a very small face, so glasses always look, like, way too large on me, but those look great on you. Yeah. I I mean, this this is a pretty cool, like, creative, not seen before piece of technology. And I think often it gets ridiculed and probably deservedly so for a number of reasons, but there's no question this was ahead of its time.

We are starting to see how this has created things in the future, and we're in that we're in that future right now. So We definitely are. It's cool piece of that. Yeah. I'm really excited about glasses.

I'm Well, yeah, you just put up a video a few few days ago on that topic. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. I'm I'm pessimistic about, like, how helpful they would be.

I I think accessibility wise for someone who is, you know, doesn't see as well or maybe can't see at all. Like, here's here's a pair of, like, glasses that can see the world for you and tell you what it's seeing and help you, and and many other accessibility uses, very helpful. For the average person sitting at their desk, I don't know. Remains to be seen. Totally.

But I'm excited about it. And if if these companies can get the cost down and the usefulness up, which is maybe impossible, Hill, Yeah. It's it's gonna be exciting. Eventually, long enough distance down the line, yeah, you're probably right. They will get there.

I guess that will the desire, will the need still be there? Well, you know I think that I think that it will. I think that where the where all this technology is converging right now between, you know, the extended reality technology and the fact that you can, with the Project Astra glasses, get a high resolution, high brightness. I mean, the the little Raxiom displays inside of the glasses that you look at looked amazing. They were That's pretty clear.

It it wasn't like a down like a down step in quality of, like, oh, well, I guess it's good for a pair of glasses. It was like, woah. That's sharp. Like, that's that's pretty remarkable. That would Oh, I can't wait to chat.

Mhmm. I was so jealous of all you folks. That that's that's amazing. The only other thing that I pulled out just because it's funny is this tiny little smartphone Love it. The Unihertz jelly, the original Unihertz jelly, which is it's I like, I don't think there's any battery in this thing.

But seeing the Android, operating system on this tiny screen where it can fit, like, maybe 4 icons, I think, on the home screen at any one time is just hilarious. Yeah. Maybe 6. Kinda feels a little Zoolander. You know?

It's 6. Oh my god. That is what it feels like. Good call. Yeah.

It's just a ridiculous little device that I have. Yeah. We we had a blue one of those in the Verge office that we often played with. Yeah. I'm I'm very excited about the Light Phone 3, which, is now looking like probably won't be delivered to most people till April.

I think Yeah. I think they're trying to get some out in January. I'm very excited about that just, I mean, for size, but also for lack of social media on it and such. Reminds me of that phone. There is something to be said about that for sure.

I haven't had a chance to play around with the light phones yet, but I I keep I keep asking. So maybe someday I'll get a review unit. Yeah. I think I'm just I'm I'm think I'm just gonna buy one. I'd like Yeah.

I I actually I like For yourself. My life. Yeah. Yeah. Because do we really need to be updating a 1000000 different social networks and being notified every single second?

I mean, notified to death at this point. It's it's hard. I don't I don't check my notifications. Good for you. That's I I I don't.

Also, I'm I'm right now, I'm on iOS, and I still think the notifications are bad. Android has always had the upper edge with notifications. Mhmm. Mhmm. I gotcha.

I'm I am I am really happy that we, had the opportunity to do this and, that you saw my message and you said, hey. Yeah. Sure. Let's do it. And, Yes.

Thank you so much for having me, Jason. This was so fun. Thank you for, taking time out of your busy creator schedule. I know at the time that we're recording this, it is New Year's Eve. And I was gonna ask you about goals, but you kind of already said them.

You shared them earlier and that's great. Like, it sounds like we've got a lot to look forward to, coming from you. And, I'm I'm totally I know I'm not alone when I say that I'm rooting for you. And I love watching Thank you so much. I love watching cool people, good people, excel and fly and soar.

And it looks like you are doing that right now, and that makes me happy. It. And back at you. We're we're in this together. We're both launching off, man.

And isn't that exciting? Oh my god. I said the other day, I understand why there's, like, people who are, like, serial business open openers because it is so addicting to start something new and just, like, be there for the the beginnings. Like, it is like, I I the analogy I'm using is it it felt like I was like a plane taking off and, like, it's so the the the fast runway into the air is so fun. And now I'm at the spot where it's, like, turbulence is starting to set in and it's not as fun.

But it is still fun. Yeah. Yeah. You've got those moments where where those kind of takeoff moments where the high velocity and you're like, oh, this is exciting. And then every once in a while, you hit that plateau.

Yeah. And you're like, god. Am I doing the right thing? That's when the doubt kinda starts to creep in. It's like, god.

Am I doing the right thing? Am I am I doing something different here? Because things feel a little different. And then, you know Yeah. You you get that you get that, extension again.

It does come back. And, yeah, I could totally I see I completely agree. I can see how people just want to do that all the time. And you'll probably get a lot better at it every time you do it too. So Yes.

Yes. And it also probably gets a little less fun every time. So, you know, I'm gonna savor the one that I had. But, yeah, thank you so much for having me. I'm I'm so stoked for 2025.

It's just Yeah. Oh my god. We're we're we're so lucky to be alive at at a time like this and and unlucky in ways, but also lucky. And and I I'm just stoked for for everything that everyone has to come and just to see what everyone does. So Yes.

Indeed. Lots to look forward to, and, we'll definitely be watching. Becca, thank you again. It's been a real pleasure. Yeah.

Thanks so much. Alright. The biggest of thanks to our guest, Becca, it was such a wonderful inspiring conversation. Had some conversations before and after the recording too that are gonna be really helpful for me as I continue to build out my, independent content creation business. You know, in in many ways, we're kind of on very parallel paths, and she's just doing a fantastic job.

So it's awesome watching her excel. If you wanna follow this podcast and make sure you don't miss anything, really, the main place to go is Techsploder dotcom, t e c h s p l o d e r dot com. Go there. I have new episodes planned in the coming months. Actually, one another episode is recording here in a couple of weeks that'll probably release at the very beginning of February.

Right now, I'd say you can expect at least a new episode each month with the hopes of making more happen as I'm able in my workflow to make more of these happen, I will. I just absolutely get so much from it. I love it. So that's where you need to go, Techsploder.com. You can also go to our Patreon if you wanna support me directly with the production of this show as well as everything on my YouTube channel, that's youtube.com/jasonhowell.

Well, you can go to patreon.com/jasonhowell, and you can support everything that I'm doing right now. You get ad free versions of this podcast, you get access to the discord community, you get exclusive access to the live pre recordings of these very interviews, and just a whole lot more. We also offer the chance for you to become an executive producer of this show and everything that I'm doing on the YouTube channel. You actually get a Textbloder t shirt when you, when you support at that level, and we just really appreciate you. Just like this week's executive producers, Jeffrey Maraccini, John Cuney, and WPVM 103.7 in Asheville, North Carolina.

That's patreon.com/jasonHowell. Thank you, community, for all of your support in 2024. I seriously could not do any of this without you, and I'm looking to grow things even more in the year 2025. So that's my goal. Thank you so much for being here.

I'm Jason Howell. I'll see you next time on another episode of the Techsploder podcast. Bye everybody.

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