Tom Merritt recounts how internet tooling in late 2013 allowed him to go independent after leaving TWiT.
Insight
Merritt: Audience criticism is rarely about the literal grievance stated
“Usually what they're saying is not what they're mad at. When they're saying like, I hated that you called Apple great. They're not saying I hated that you called Apple great. They're saying you don't cover Android enough. So I try to look at like, okay, but wh…”
Insight
Tom Merritt: ChatGPT struggles with nuance because of its training data
“It's Not good for a lot of the things I do because I am so focused on what we just talked about, like trying to make sure that I've got all the nuances and bringing in the parts of the story that maybe people aren't considering. And ChatGPT is not good at that…”
Insight
Merritt: Creators remember praise for minutes, but criticism haunts them for weeks
“People say something nice to you, like your show is great. You're the best. And people do say that to me, you remember it for. 10:15 minutes. People say you screwed this up for me. I remember that all week and it just haunts me.”
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Merritt: Charitably responding to angry listeners diffuses hostility 75% of the time
“A lot of the times, I would say three quarters of the time, the person comes back with a sort of like,
oh my gosh, you know, I,
I came off so harsh.
What I meant was X or, oh, that's really helpful to hear.
Thank you.
And it turns it all around.”
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Merritt: Daily Tech News Show has never had an unplanned missed episode
“I don't think there's been a day without a show that wasn't planned. Like we take all federal holidays off. That's just, it's my way of not having to have to think about too hard about what days are off. So we're like, yeah, if it's a federal, it's on the fede…”
Insight
Merritt: Tech decisions look far more complex inside than knee-jerk outside criticism
“Human motivations are usually much more complex than that. And I've been on the inside at CNET Where people were accusing us of things and I was like, no, I'm here. I know we're not doing those things. Like, and so I also try to go like, okay, but what are the…”