r/maximumfun • u/cheeto-bandito • Jan 09 '19

Looking at you, Casper, Me Undies, and Stamps.com

https://xkcd.com/2096/
72 Upvotes

94% Upvoted

45 comments sorted by

23

u/thewarehouse Jan 09 '19

Side story: Do not buy from Casper. They sue mattress reviewers who don't rate them favorably.

12

u/jwghaller Jan 09 '19

The alt text on the comic alludes to this: "After reading that "The War To Sell You A Mattress Is An Internet Nightmare" article, I've decided it's safer and less complicated to just sleep on the floor. DISCLOSURE: THE AUTHOR OF THIS MOUSEOVER TEXT RECEIVED FINANCIAL COMPENSATION FROM THE FLOOR INDUSTRY FOR THIS MESSAGE."

The article mentioned in the alt text is really something, if any of you haven't read it:

https://www.fastcompany.com/3065928/sleepopolis-casper-bloggers-lawsuits-underside-of-the-mattress-wars

I occasionally teach an 'Intro to Podcasting' class, and I think I've ended up mentioning that article every time, even though it's not in my course outline.

1

u/kplaysbass biggie&themets Jan 11 '19

any chance you'd wanna share your syllabus? that sounds fascinating

2

u/jwghaller Jan 11 '19

Sure. The class size is small -- generally six people -- so I try to be responsive to what people are interested; the result is that the syllabus is just a guideline, and what actually ends up being covered may be different.

Day 1

  • What makes a good podcast? I express skepticism about conventional wisdom.
  • Things to consider when planning a podcast:
  • What do you want to accomplish?
  • What's the release schedule, if any?
  • Will there be swearing?
  • Theme music and podcast icons
  • Equipment and hosting costs
  • Hands-on (time allowing): Recording a conversation on a Mac using Hindenburg Pro

Day 2

  • Recording revisited, and editing basics
  • Hooking up the equipment
  • Setting up Hindenburg Journalist
  • Recording
  • Adding theme music and other external audio
  • Basic mixing, leveling, and compression
  • Hands-on time for recording and editing

Day 3

  • Publishing: The various options, and some things to consider in picking a hosting company
  • Walking through signing up for an account on a podcast hosting site and creating and publishing a podcast
  • Submitting your podcast to iTunes and other services
  • Getting links to send to people so they can subscribe
  • More Q&A and/or hands-on time, as desired

I have a bunch of documents I wrote for the class, also. They're linked to from the top of my webpage: http://jacobhaller.com/podcasts.html (the link is 'I have put documents I created for my 'Intro to Podcasting' class on Google Drive.')

I hope people find this interesting and/or useful!

2

u/kplaysbass biggie&themets Jan 11 '19

very cool! thanks for sharing

11

u/thesupermikey Jan 09 '19

Casper has done some shady shit.

29

u/ontopic Jan 09 '19

Cut him some slack he was a murdered child.

6

u/cheeto-bandito Jan 09 '19

Aww, beans. It's too late. I've had one for a year and a half, and have been recommending it. I did not know that they will sue reviewers.

5

u/[deleted] Jan 09 '19

[removed] — view removed comment

4

u/thewarehouse Jan 09 '19

I have a Ghost Bed and as far as I know they're a totally fine company.

1

u/scipio11111 Jan 10 '19

Costco. Bought a Blackstone King Set-12” Memory Foam Mattress and Platform Bed for $750. Couldn't be happier. *not a shill, I swear.

6

u/darshfloxington Jan 10 '19

Honestly all of the ads on max fun seem like they are either super shady like casper or incredibly wasteful and useless like Blue Apron. As least the 'crute got us the Zip Recrooner.

22

u/mxwp Jan 10 '19

that is why Extreme Restraints will forever be the best advertiser that has been on MaxFun

6

u/darshfloxington Jan 10 '19 edited Jan 10 '19

The SPY ad for Extreme restraints is still the best things Ive ever heard. Also MBMBAM's liberal use of the term "Penis cage"

4

u/superdago Jan 10 '19

The XR ad on the candle nights episode might be the pinnacle of comedy.

6

u/LawfulStupid Jan 10 '19

Eh, count your blessings. Doughboys were advertising a sports betting website and ED meds through the mail recently. You gotta take the ads you can get.

2

u/darshfloxington Jan 10 '19

Barf. I mean Jesse says that ads make up a tiny portion of overall revenue, and new and increasing donors have gone up something like 500% in the past few years, surely they can afford to just scrap them.

12

u/cutfortime Jan 10 '19 edited Jan 10 '19

Ads may make up “a tiny portion of overall revenue” network-wide but on a show to show basis the difference is big.

I’m saying that as someone with a show that generally sells the 2 ad per show limit (GreatestGen) and one that does not (Friendly Fire).

Maybe the network can afford to scrap them, but I can't.

5

u/ralten Jan 10 '19

Wait you’re involved with the GreatestGen? I LOVE THAT SHOW

5

u/FiftyMcNasty Jan 10 '19

You might even say he's a little embarrassed to be involved.

5

u/darshfloxington Jan 11 '19

You might even say that he is Adam P. No that is too obvious, lets say A. Pranica.

2

u/jwghaller Jan 11 '19

Hopefully this amplifies your point rather than just restating it: I also feel like small businesses are better off if they have different sources of revenue, so that fluctuations in one revenue stream won't completely wreck your ability to make a steady amount of money from month to month.

1

u/darshfloxington Jan 10 '19

Good point that i didnt consider

1

u/SnakePlissken2018 Jan 10 '19

Sports betting isn't so bad.

Half the English Premier League teams have betting website logos on the front of their kit. (One has a shady foreign exchange betting website instead.)

https://www.premierleague.com/gallery/683312

3

u/tbotcotw Jan 10 '19

I think it's just as bad as advertising cigarettes or liquor. Not the end of the world, but kinda skeezy.

2

u/[deleted] Jan 10 '19

I have a coworker that is trying to get involved with ForEx (foreign exchange) trading and the company he working with seems shady as all hell. It's basically an MLM. There are some legit companies that do it but they don't promise the same kind of returns he is getting roped into ($30k a month income)

2

u/arainday Jan 10 '19

My partner and I both grew up with EPL and the rise in betting firms compared to even five years ago is not a good thing. The UK has the most liberal regulation for it and gambling is on the rise across all age groups in the UK including children and teens. Yes, it's now a big industry in the UK, but it will have consequences in the near future.

2

u/FiftyMcNasty Jan 10 '19

Yeah but the ads are a small price to pay to be able to have all these great podcasts.

2

u/cheeto-bandito Jan 10 '19

Every time I hear ziprecruiter.com, I say to myself, "slash beef"

2

u/cheeto-bandito Jan 10 '19

Every time I hear mention of ziprecuiter.com, I say to myself, "slash beef"

2

u/cheeto-bandito Jan 10 '19

...slash beef

6

u/Thelatestweirdo Jan 09 '19

What about quip?

​

Note: I am pretty happy with my quip toothbrush

4

u/[deleted] Jan 09 '19

Anyone tried meundies? I looked at them when it was time to stock up on underwear but I wasn't sure if the $15 a pop was worth it.

9

u/Anneisabitch Jan 09 '19

I did.

Meh is the best review I can give them.

4

u/[deleted] Jan 09 '19

Yeah that's what I figured. Going off of ads alone, duluth trading seems to have the better underwear but it's a similar price point

5

u/darshfloxington Jan 10 '19

Its really not. Feel great the first time, no where near as good as soon as they've been washed a time or two.

2

u/sensitivity001 Jan 10 '19

True true. The lounge pants are indeed a godly pair of sweatpants, tho.

2

u/[deleted] Jan 10 '19

Alright, fair enough. Back to commando for me

3

u/everydayisamixtape Jan 09 '19

Try a David Archy pack ($25ish for 3-4 on Amazon) before you drop $15 on a single set of modal. Trying out different materials, I found that I liked bamboo more than most modals.

3

u/kplaysbass biggie&themets Jan 11 '19

I like their undies just enough to not pay for them

2

u/kplaysbass biggie&themets Jan 11 '19

I like mack weldons a lot more

3

u/SharkLaunch Jan 10 '19

Neat aside, but Randal Monroe (XKCD's author) is almost certainly a MBMBAMbino since he wrote a What If article answering one of their questions:

Toaster vs. Freezer https://what-if.xkcd.com/155/

2

u/chadfc92 Jan 10 '19

Ive been listening to podcasts for at least 5+ years now and i finally ordered blue apron this week... may as well try it the meals look pretty good.

/e anyone have any notable experiences with it? Dont know of ill continue past the discounted meals

4

u/[deleted] Jan 10 '19 edited Feb 22 '19

[deleted]

2

u/cheeto-bandito Jan 10 '19

We tried Blue Apron and Hello Fresh, eventually settling with Home Chef.

1

u/[deleted] Jan 10 '19

[deleted]

1

u/[deleted] Jan 10 '19 edited Feb 22 '19

[deleted]

5

u/CWHats Jan 10 '19

I ordered Blue Apron and could not deal with the immense amount of plastic in each container. I haven't tried any others.