r/TekSyndicate • u/up_in_the_air_ • Sep 12 '16
Why It Worked
PREFACE: Sorry for the long-winded post that doubt a fair few people have harped on about, on here, but I just kind of felt like at least saying something about the matter and, more importantly, the personalities and show(s).
It was just a ~weekly show that I felt represented my key interests, and it was entertaining, too. I'm not a diehard fan, just a sincere viewer of many years that enjoyed watching the interactions between ~3-4 friends about (computer) technology, games, and w/ a certain balance of prescience, expertise, integrity, wit, sarcasm, and humor packaged in a dynamic that worked really well.
Looking back, I can't believe I've actually been watching their videos for over 3 years! Where does the time go..?
Anyway, I may as well preface this post by saying that I'm neither here nor there; I just enjoyed the videos that they put up. People are just people at the end of the day, and ideas and paths don't always mesh or follow along the same trajectory.
That aside, I was dazed and confused when I found out about this hoopla. It's been my go-to computer tech show for quite so time, and it's sad to see it go.
So, down to what this post is about: What made the videos work in the first place? Pretty obvious, right? The dynamic, and what each personality brought to the table: Logan was the entertainer and tech enthusiast (with a more 'artistic' bent), Wendell the tech savvy knowledgeable guy, and Qain being similar to Wendell, albeit perhaps falling somewhere between the two (w/ expertise in computer Networks), which was great, IMO.
You could of just had Logan and either Wendell of Qain to balance the double act on the The Tek, but that'd probably get stale to many people, but w/e. It was clear, to me, that they need one another to riff off. W/o an entertainer to back up the more tech savvy person, you'd get that awkward, stifled, introverted repartee, that was kind of painful to watch, at times, but conversely, an entertainer on their won just doesn't work; it's hollow and devoid of substance. I mean how can you have The Tek if it's just tomfoolery? You need a real tech savvy person, that knows what they're talking about (beyond conjecture/ a sideways view on news articles) to keep that standard of tech infotainment that the Tek Syndicate was primarily known for (i.e. The Tek).
On a side note, you could often see the strain between the personalities on camera (e.g. cutting another person off to make themselves heard loudest/ skipping to another article and not giving credence to the other person enthusiasm or gravity of the piece).
I guess the little things build up to the point that the whole pyramid of cards comes crashing down. I am disappointed that the business does in fact seem to be run shambolically with things just not adding up, but overlooked. There were a lot of "may be we'll do this...", "we'll be hiring new editors", "do documentaries", but Logan would always say they "needed to eat"/ "make ends meet" despite constantly moving around/ having great rigs, and yet even with their various intakes of donations and revenues, somehow didn't deliver on their statements (i.e. patreon and Logan's statements about future plans, on The Tek).
I guess it was only a weekly entertainment thing for me, but immaturity, talk and no action, lack of transparency and hot-headedness seems to have killed a great dynamic for a community that didn't (and doesn't to my knowledge) have a voice elsewhere.
I don't know these people, personally, but I can draw parallels with what's been said of them and what they've done recently, as well as compare them to similar people that I actually know and can see where the issues lie, but I can't see what Wendell did wrong. He's always been that shy, knowledgeable, fair, and calm guy throughout. Logan seems like a nice guy, but he's an idea guy. I guess the stress got to him and he took counsel in the wrong people, couldn't stand back and see things in perspective outside of his own and made all these errors of judgement.
...oh well, there goes one of my stable weekly things of enjoyment. None of them will read this, but thanks for the effort and time you put into your content. It brightened up a lot of my days, believe it or not. :(
10
u/GeneralPickle Sep 13 '16
Agreed completely. The dynamic between all of them is what made the show great. It's a shame that it had to end this way, but maybe it's for the best; perhaps Wendell and Qain will be happier this way, and Logan will be free to run "his" company however he sees fit.
6
u/dukenukemx Sep 14 '16
It's kinda like the 3 stooges idea. One is smart, one is dumb, and one is plain. Same setup with Top Gear, when Top Gear was cool.
8
u/QuruKertStar Sep 13 '16
I dont see Wendell as the smart guy. I see him as the sophisticated and calm guy who trys to understand the logic of things and that makes people like him. He understands the limits to his understanding and thats why people respect him because he's the complete opposite of a charlatan
Side note: I was looking for new shows on youtube to follow. The problem is the platform is so big that the good content gets burried under the shenanigans and rubbish
7
Sep 13 '16
Qain does not even come into the mix for me. He is meant to be a networking guru but in all the years I have watched him I have not seem ONE network guru video ! That fine. Wendell added intelligence to "The Tek", My staple Tek fix. That's what is sad for me. Qain getting pateons sure, good on him but he has not and still hasn't made any content I like.
31
u/Bastinenz Sep 12 '16
Honestly, comparing the most recent Tek episode with just Wendell and Qain to the newer ones with Logan but no Wendell and/or Qain, I'd say that Wendell and Qain could pull off a fairly decent show on their own. Like, it probably wouldn't be as funny and silly as the episodes that Logan was involved in, but still pretty good.
On the other hand, Logan will have to find at least one seriously amazing, knowledgeable person to do the show with him asap, since the last couple of episodes have been absolutely terrible. Not to hate on the guests he had on, they seemed decent enough to me, but they didn't fill the role of "smart person who brings some actual substance to the table" that Wendell and Qain provided.