Syntax Episode 1,000! - CourtneyR.dev's 2nd Brain

Syntax Episode 1,000! ![rw-book-cover](https://img.youtube.com/vi/o6ZjyHUGUtQ/maxresdefault.jpg) 🔗 **Source:** [Syntax Episode 1,000!](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o6ZjyHUGUtQ) > [!note]+ Document Notes > tags: #podcasting #web-development #javascript #content-creation > author: Syntax > source: YouTube > reference: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o6ZjyHUGUtQ > date created: 2024-12-28 14:30 > > # 🏷️ Title: Syntax Episode 1,000! >  ## 🧰 Action Inbox - [H1] Create automated supercut generation tool — video editing/transcription analysis #automation - [H2] Build podcast episode recommendation system — new listener onboarding #ux - [H3] Document team scaling processes — startup growth #documentation ## 🧭 Table of Contents - [[#📝 Summary]] - [[#📖 Main Content]] - [[#🗒️ Notes]] - [[#📚 References]] - [[#🗣️ Paraphrase]] - [[#📰 Newsletter]] - [[#✅ Action Items]] - [[#🧪 Hypotheses]] - [[#📊 Methodology]] - [[#❓ Questions]] - [[#🔮 Future Research]] - [[#💡 Implications]] - [[#🧠 Learning Styles Assessment]] - [[#📊 Accessibility Assessment]] - [[#🌍 DEIB Assessment]] - [[#✅ Logical Validity]] - [[#🛡️ DARVO Analysis]] - [[#🎯 Conclusion]] ### 🔗 References - [Syntax.fm](https://syntax.fm) - [Syntax Spooky Stories](https://syntax.fm/spooky) ## 📝 Summary - Syntax podcast celebrates their 1,000th episode milestone with hosts Wes Bos and Scott Tolinski - Team includes producer Randy Rector, marketing manager Caitlyn Bloom, content creator CJ Reynolds, and editor Nikki Bradner - Started in 2017 after year-long planning process documented in Google Doc from April 1, 2016 - Acquired by Sentry around episode 600, eliminating need for traditional sponsorships - 31 days total content, 5.7 million words across 771 transcribed episodes ## 📖 Main Content Syntax has grown from a two-person passion project to a full production team under Sentry's umbrella. The podcast emerged from Scott's career transition moment in 2017 when he quit a toxic startup job the weekend his first child was born. This catalyst pushed the hosts to finally execute on their year-old podcast planning document. The show maintains its original vision of being entertaining, educational, and avoiding common podcast pitfalls like excessive length, inside jokes, and unclear episode titles. Their data analysis reveals interesting patterns: Wes speaks 38% vs Scott's 34%, they've said "sick" 1,200 times, and trending words show the evolution from older technologies like Apollo GraphQL and Jamstack to newer ones like Claude, Biome, and JSR. ## 🗒️ Notes #### ⏱️ [00:00](https://youtu.be/o6ZjyHUGUtQ?t=0) — [H1] Milestone celebration and team introduction - Key idea: Celebrating 1,000 episodes with full team live stream - Evidence: "1,000 episodes. Here we are, Syntax number 1,000" #### ⏱️ [03:45](https://youtu.be/o6ZjyHUGUtQ?t=225) — [H2] Team member introductions - Key idea: Five-person team now supports the podcast production - Evidence: "Caitlyn Bloom... Randy Rector... CJ Reynolds... Nikki Bradner" #### ⏱️ [08:30](https://youtu.be/o6ZjyHUGUtQ?t=510) — [H3] Podcast statistics analysis - Key idea: Data science analysis of 771 transcribed episodes - Evidence: "5,700,000 words, 113,000 utterances" #### ⏱️ [12:15](https://youtu.be/o6ZjyHUGUtQ?t=735) — [H2] Speaking time distribution - Key idea: Wes talks slightly more than Scott in episodes - Evidence: "38% is me speaking, 34% is Scott speaking" #### ⏱️ [16:20](https://youtu.be/o6ZjyHUGUtQ?t=980) — [H1] Word usage trends over time - Key idea: Technology shifts reflected in trending vocabulary - Evidence: "MCP biggest jump... Claude, coolify, biome, LLM trending up" #### ⏱️ [22:45](https://youtu.be/o6ZjyHUGUtQ?t=1365) — [H3] Supercut video creation process - Key idea: Automated video compilation of repeated phrases - Evidence: "Used XAI transcript API... built FFmpeg thing for timestamps" #### ⏱️ [28:10](https://youtu.be/o6ZjyHUGUtQ?t=1690) — [H1] Origin story and Google Doc planning - Key idea: Year-long planning process from 2016 idea to 2017 launch - Evidence: "April 1st, 2016... didn't record first episode until June 27th, 2017" #### ⏱️ [35:30](https://youtu.be/o6ZjyHUGUtQ?t=2130) — [H2] Scott's career catalyst moment - Key idea: Toxic work environment and new parenthood triggered podcast launch - Evidence: "Sunday night at 8:00 p.m... toxic harassing messages... I think I'm going to quit this job" #### ⏱️ [42:00](https://youtu.be/o6ZjyHUGUtQ?t=2520) — [H2] Sentry acquisition story - Key idea: Long-term sponsor relationship led to company acquisition - Evidence: "Around episode 600, Sentry contacted us... do you want to just join Sentry?" #### ⏱️ [48:15](https://youtu.be/o6ZjyHUGUtQ?t=2895) — [H3] Original podcast naming brainstorm - Key idea: Syntax wasn't the first choice among many creative options - Evidence: "Boss Sauce... code code code... Block Scope... Syntax added 3 hours later" #### ⏱️ [52:30](https://youtu.be/o6ZjyHUGUtQ?t=3150) — [H2] Content philosophy from early planning - Key idea: Clear vision of what NOT to do based on podcast pet peeves - Evidence: "Too long and rambly, inside jokes, titles that don't lead you in" #### ⏱️ [58:45](https://youtu.be/o6ZjyHUGUtQ?t=3525) — [H1] Team acquisition story with Caitlyn - Key idea: NDA complications during Sentry acquisition affected team decisions - Evidence: "Under NDA, couldn't tell Caitlin... decide in 24 hours" ## 📚 References - [Sentry](https://sentry.io/) - [jQuery Podcast](https://podcast.jquery.com/) - [Level Up Tutorials](https://leveluptutorials.com/) ## 🗣️ Paraphrase - The Syntax podcast reached its 1,000th episode milestone, evolving from a two-person side project into a full production team under Sentry's umbrella - Their data analysis reveals fascinating insights about speaking patterns, word usage trends, and the evolution of web development terminology over seven years - The origin story involves careful planning, a career crisis catalyst, and a clear vision of creating an entertaining, educational podcast that avoids common industry pitfalls ## 📰 Newsletter The Syntax podcast just hit an incredible milestone - 1,000 episodes! What started as two developers chatting about web development has grown into a full production powerhouse with 31 days of total content and 5.7 million words. Their journey offers valuable lessons for content creators: they spent over a year planning before launching, maintained clear principles about what they didn't want to become, and built authentic sponsor relationships that eventually led to acquisition. The data science deep-dive into their content shows fascinating trends in web development terminology evolution. For new listeners wondering where to start, check out their JavaScript Fundamentals episode or dive into the beloved Halloween spooky stories series. The show demonstrates how consistency, authenticity, and clear vision can build lasting impact in the developer community. Resources: [Syntax.fm](https://syntax.fm/), [Spooky Stories Collection](https://syntax.fm/spooky), [Sentry](https://sentry.io/) ## ✅ Action Items #### DevRel - Content analysis: Implement automated transcript analysis for content insights - Community engagement: Create recommendation system for new podcast listeners - Developer marketing: Document successful long-term sponsor relationship strategies #### WordPress - Documentation: Apply podcast lessons to WordPress content strategy and consistency - Community: Consider spooky WordPress stories format for engaging community content - Content: Use data-driven insights to optimize post frequency and topic selection ## 🧪 Hypotheses - Consistent publishing schedules with clear content principles create stronger audience retention than sporadic high-production content - Authentic long-term sponsor relationships provide more value than traditional advertising models - Data analysis of content patterns can reveal technology adoption trends in developer communities - Team scaling requires maintaining original vision while adding structured processes ### 📊 Methodology - Content analysis: Natural language processing on podcast transcripts to identify trending topics and speaking patterns - Audience research: Survey listeners on preferred starting episodes and content preferences - Team scaling study: Document hiring processes and integration challenges for content teams ### ❓ Questions - How can podcast success metrics be applied to other developer content formats? - What role does authentic personality play versus polished production in technical content? - How do sponsor relationships evolve into acquisition opportunities in developer media? ### 🔮 Future Research - Impact of AI-generated content on authentic developer conversations - Effectiveness of data-driven content recommendations for technical podcasts - Team dynamics when scaling from passion project to corporate-backed content ### 💡 Implications - Practice: Long-term consistency matters more than perfect production quality - Policy: Clear content principles help maintain vision during growth - Education: Authentic conversations can be more effective than formal instruction - Funding: Sponsor relationships can evolve beyond traditional advertising models ### 🧠 Learning Styles Assessment Reading level estimate: 9th-10th grade #### 👀 Visual learners - Present: Statistical charts, team photos, original planning document screenshots - Improve: Timeline visualization of podcast growth, word cloud animations #### 🔊 Aural learners - Present: Original podcast audio with natural conversation flow - Improve: Audio highlights reel, behind-the-scenes commentary track #### 🗣️ Verbal learners - Present: Clear explanations of technical terms, analogies for content creation - Improve: Glossary of podcasting terminology, storytelling structure analysis #### 🧩 Kinesthetic learners - Present: Interactive stats exploration, team building exercises - Improve: Podcast creation workshop, hands-on transcript analysis tools #### 🧠 Logical learners - Present: Data analysis, growth metrics, systematic planning approach - Improve: ROI calculations for content strategies, decision trees for scaling #### 🧑‍🤝‍🧑 Social learners - Present: Team dynamics discussion, community celebration - Improve: Collaborative content planning sessions, listener feedback integration #### 🧘‍♀️ Solitary learners - Present: Personal reflection on career transitions, individual growth stories - Improve: Self-assessment tools for content creators, personal milestone tracking #### 🌿 Naturalistic learners - Present: Organic growth patterns, ecosystem development metaphors - Improve: Content lifecycle analysis, sustainable creation practices ### 📊 Accessibility Assessment #### Screen reader semantics - Present: Clear heading structure, descriptive audio content - Improve: Better alt text for statistical visualizations, transcript timestamps #### Keyboard navigation - Present: Standard video controls, accessible player interface - Improve: Keyboard shortcuts for timestamp navigation #### Contrast and readability - Present: High contrast statistics displays - Improve: Color-blind friendly data visualizations #### Text resizing and reflow - Present: Responsive text layout in video descriptions - Improve: Scalable font options for statistical displays #### Media and captions - Present: Full transcript available, clear audio quality - Improve: Real-time captions, downloadable transcript formats #### Forms and interactions - Present: Accessible video player controls - Improve: Interactive data exploration with screen reader support ### 🌍 DEIB Assessment #### Cultural breadth - Present: Global developer community perspective - Improve: International team member representation, diverse guest perspectives #### Inclusive language - Present: Professional, welcoming tone throughout - Improve: Explicit discussion of diversity in tech content creation #### Neurodiversity support - Present: Clear structure, consistent format, predictable segments - Improve: Content warnings for rapid topic changes, sensory considerations #### Representation - Present: Mixed gender team, different role representations - Improve: Broader demographic representation in guest selection #### Psychological safety - Present: Supportive team dynamics, celebration of growth - Improve: Explicit discussion of impostor syndrome and career challenges ### ✅ Logical Validity #### Strong reasoning - Deductive strength: Clear cause-effect between consistent publishing and audience growth - Inductive strength: Pattern recognition in successful podcast elements - Causal reasoning: Career crisis leading to action demonstrates necessity as motivator - Analogical strength: Comparing podcast growth to traditional media scaling #### Fallacies - Survivorship bias: Focus on successful outcome without discussing failures - Post hoc reasoning: Assuming all growth factors were intentional strategies #### Tone of voice - Overall tone: Celebratory, reflective, and authentically conversational with natural team dynamics ### 🛡️ DARVO Analysis - Deny: No defensive patterns observed - Attack: No attacks on critics or competitors - Reverse victim/offender: No victim/offender reversals present - Emotional cues and rhetoric: Genuine celebration and gratitude throughout ## 🎯 Conclusion Syntax's 1,000-episode milestone demonstrates how authentic passion projects can scale into professional media properties without losing their core identity. The combination of consistent execution, clear principles, and authentic relationships created sustainable growth that attracted corporate investment while maintaining creative independence. For content creators and developer advocates, the key lessons involve starting with clear anti-patterns, maintaining consistency over perfection, and building genuine relationships that can evolve beyond transactional exchanges. The detailed data analysis also shows how content can serve as a historical record of technology evolution in developer communities. ## 🧱 Refactor Appendix ### 📚 Literature Split Pad ### [H1] Consistent publishing creates audience retention > [!quote] Syntax Episode 1,000! by Syntax via YouTube. Published 2024. Accessed 2024. > "31 days worth of podcasts you guys have done." Demonstrates compound effect of regular content creation over seven years. [view highlight](https://youtu.be/o6ZjyHUGUtQ#H1) #xref #articleseed ID:rw_syntax1000_consistency ### [H2] Authentic sponsor relationships enable acquisition > [!quote] Syntax Episode 1,000! > "Around episode 600, Sentry contacted us and said, hey, do you want to just join Sentry?" Long-term partnership value exceeds traditional advertising models. [view highlight](https://youtu.be/o6ZjyHUGUtQ#H2) #xref ID:rw_syntax1000_acquisition --- ### 🔖 Atomic Split Pad (Zettel Candidates) #### [Z1] Data reveals technology adoption trends - Scope: Analysis of 771 podcast transcripts over 7 years - Pointer: Word usage statistics at 16:20 - Links: [[Content-Analysis]] [[Technology-Trends]] #### [Z2] Crisis catalyzes creative project execution - Scope: Career transition triggering delayed project launch - Pointer: Origin story at 35:30 - Links: [[Career-Transitions]] [[Project-Management]] --- ### ✏️ Fleeting Queue - [F1] Build transcript analysis tool for content insights — automation opportunity #fleeting #inbox - [F2] Research podcast recommendation algorithms — user experience improvement #fleeting #inbox - [F3] Document team scaling best practices — organizational development #fleeting #inbox --- ## Full Transcript [00:00] Welcome to Syntax. [00:01] >> Welcome to Syntax. [00:02] >> Welcome to Syntax. [00:03] >> Welcome to Syntax. Welcome to Syntax. [00:05] >> Welcome to Syntax. [00:08] >> Welcome to Syntax. [00:09] >> Welcome to Syntax. Welcome to Syntax. [00:10] >> Welcome to Syntax. [00:11] >> Welcome to Syntax. Welcome to Syntax. [00:13] >> Welcome to Syntax. [00:14] >> Welcome to Syntax. [00:15] >> Welcome to Syntax. [00:16] >> Welcome to Syntax. [00:17] >> Welcome to Syntax. [00:18] >> Welcome to Syntax. [00:19] >> Welcome to Syntax. [00:20] >> Welcome to Syntax. [00:21] >> Welcome to Syntax. [00:22] >> Welcome to Syntax. [00:23] >> Welcome to Syntax. [00:24] >> Welcome to Syntax. Welcome to Syntax. [00:26] >> Welcome to Syntax. [00:27] >> Welcome to Syntax. [00:28] >> Welcome to Syntax. [00:30] >> Welcome to Syntax. [00:31] >> Welcome to Syntax. Welcome to Syntax. [00:32] Welcome to Syntax. Welcome to Syntax. [00:34] >> Welcome to Syntax. Welcome to Syntax. [00:36] >> Welcome to Syntax. Welcome to Syntax. [00:38] >> Welcome to Syntax. [00:39] >> Welcome to Syntax. [00:41] >> Welcome to Syntax. Welcome to Syntax. [00:43] >> Welcome to Syntax. 1,000 episodes. Here [00:47] we are, Syntax number 1,000. We're live [00:49] streaming the whole thing. We got Scott [00:51] here. We got myself here. We actually [00:52] have the whole team here. We got an [00:54] awesome episode planned for you, so [00:56] don't go anywhere. We got some fun [00:58] history on the podcast. We've got some [01:01] stats about the episode. I built a bunch [01:04] of those really fun supercut clips, [01:06] which I think that'll be an episode in [01:07] itself on building that cuz that was so [01:09] cool. But, [01:10] welcome, Scott. Congrats on 1,000. [01:14] Oh, Wes, congratulations, man. Wow. [01:18] Uh man, in 2017, [01:21] did you imagine 1,000 episodes? [01:24] Whole team of people. What a cool cool [01:27] thing this has been so far. [01:29] Pretty pretty nuts. So, today we're [01:31] going to get be going through all that [01:33] stuff. We're going to introduce the [01:34] team, go through some of the history. We [01:36] even I dug up the Google Doc that me and [01:39] Scott on April 1st, 2016, [01:43] uh we sort of just banged our heads [01:44] together as to what a good podcast would [01:46] look like. And uh I I pulled it up and [01:49] we're going to go through it together, [01:50] so let's get on into it. First of all, [01:53] let's let's bring the team on and uh [01:54] introduce everyone. It's not just Scott [01:56] and I, Wes App, but uh there's much more [01:58] talented people behind the scenes that [02:00] make this thing work. Yeah. So, the uh [02:03] first person that joined the Syntax team [02:06] was actually someone who worked with me [02:08] on Level Up Tutorials. And that is [02:11] Caitlyn Bloom. Welcome to the show, [02:14] Caitlyn. Hi guys. Congratulations on [02:17] 1,000. [02:18] That's crazy. [02:19] >> Yeah. Yeah. [02:20] >> I'm also I'm kind of dying at the fact [02:22] that the Notion Doc was created on April [02:24] Fools' Day. [02:25] >> [laughter] [02:26] >> It wasn't Notion wasn't even a thing [02:27] back then. I don't think Notion was a [02:29] thing. This is a Google Doc. But, yeah, [02:30] it it was odd that it's April Fools' [02:32] Day. Were you guys like is this going to [02:34] be real? [02:35] >> [laughter] [02:35] >> 1:08 p.m. The funny thing is that it [02:38] took over a year from the dot document [02:41] until we actually put the first podcast [02:42] out. It was over a year of us just like [02:44] mulling it over being like we should do [02:46] it. You should do it. And like that's [02:47] that's kind of the trope is everyone's [02:49] like we should start a podcast, dude. [02:51] >> You guys actually did it and you're [02:52] here. That's so cool. [02:53] >> Yeah, we did. Yeah. It's cool to be a [02:54] part of it. It really is. [02:57] Yeah, we're so happy to have you. [02:58] Caitlyn is the marketing manager at [03:00] Syntax. She did the same thing for Level [03:02] Up Tutorials. And [03:04] uh it was kind of a whirlwind to get you [03:06] on the team. We're going to talk more [03:07] about that later. Next on the show, [03:10] though, is uh our amazing producer, [03:14] Randy Rector. Randy was the [03:16] >> Hey. [03:17] >> [snorts] [03:18] >> fourth person to join the Syntax team [03:20] and [03:21] made a huge impact right away cuz before [03:23] Randy, there was no video. So, Randy, do [03:25] you want to introduce yourself? Yeah. [03:27] Well, first of all, congrats on the [03:29] 1,000 episodes. This is huge. I think I [03:31] joined the team at 720. It was the Jen [03:34] Simmons episode, no pressure, the first [03:35] one that I came on to edit with you [03:37] guys. [03:38] >> Yeah. [03:38] >> That was your first one. And that was [03:40] that was a huge episode for us because [03:43] Apple is a tough nugget to get people to [03:46] to come on. And that was a big people [03:49] got really mad that we brought somebody [03:50] on from Apple cuz everybody hated Apple [03:52] at they still do, [laughter] but man, [03:54] that was hard to get Jen on and we're [03:56] like hey Randy, first episode, big one. [03:59] No pressure. It was great [04:00] >> [laughter] [04:00] >> great great process joining the team. [04:02] Honestly, it's it's a lot of fun because [04:03] like you guys had a lot of systems in [04:04] place that that you were pretty [04:06] comfortable with, but you also had this [04:08] like total open [04:10] just just do whatever makes the podcast [04:12] sick. And I came in and I at first I was [04:14] like like I feel like there's no like [04:16] they don't have any direction for me. I [04:17] don't know if they like like what I'm [04:18] doing, but you guys were just so chill [04:20] with the like [laughter] [04:21] make the podcast sick, so But, that was [04:23] that was part of the hiring process, [04:25] though, is that we interviewed so many [04:27] people and we were essentially just like [04:29] you tell me what to do. But, yeah. Like [04:32] we want somebody to help us figure out [04:35] how to make this thing bigger and better [04:37] and whatever. And like Scott and I know [04:39] like web dev and and whatnot and and [04:41] creating content, but we really needed [04:43] somebody who would tell us what to do. [04:46] And that's why we landed on Randy cuz he [04:47] sort of tells us exactly [laughter] what [04:49] to do and I love it. [04:51] I appreciate it. It's it's nerve-racking [04:53] coming in when you got like 700 episodes [04:54] and you're like tell me what to do and [04:55] I'm like you guys are doing a great job [04:57] already. Like [04:58] >> [laughter] [04:59] >> We had no video. We had no [05:01] Yeah, we were just kind of doing it. And [05:03] and that was the funny thing is that the [05:05] hardest part about transitioning to a [05:07] team of of folks was like Wes and I were [05:11] largely working on Syntax, you know, a [05:13] couple days a week just recording and [05:15] and then editing and preparing and stuff [05:17] like that, but he and I are both maybe [05:19] less structured. So, like bringing on [05:21] people is like having to add structure. [05:23] How do you add structure without killing [05:26] the vibe? Yeah. [05:27] >> [laughter] [05:28] >> So, like like 10 minutes before this [05:30] live stream, CJ's like so, what are we [05:32] going to do? And Scott and I are like [05:35] uh [05:36] >> [laughter] [05:36] >> Like we have we have a huge document of [05:38] ideas and notes and stuff. And then [05:40] usually usually what happens with each [05:42] of the podcasts is we spend anywhere [05:45] from like we spend our whole week [05:46] researching and learning and whatever, [05:48] but then like the actual notes as to how [05:50] the podcast will be approached is [05:52] usually between 45 minutes to 3 hours [05:55] depending on what the the podcast looks [05:57] like. And we kind of just [05:59] have a bunch of demos ready and and a [06:00] bunch of stuff to go towards, but we are [06:02] a little bit more off the cuff than what [06:05] some people would like. Well, I think [06:06] that's one of you guys' strengths, [06:08] right? [06:10] That's why everyone likes you guys cuz [06:11] it's just a couple guys hanging out who [06:13] happen to have a podcast. [06:14] >> [laughter] [06:16] >> Yeah, well, I guess that that's a good [06:18] introduction to uh the fifth member of [06:20] the team, CJ. CJ Reynolds, uh he joined [06:23] our team as a well, YouTube expert and [06:26] content creator. CJ, what's up? Hello. [06:30] Uh not much. Yeah, um [06:33] I don't know what to say. I I'm excited [06:35] to be here. [laughter] [06:37] I I think um if [clears throat] we're [06:38] talking about like how I got onto the [06:40] team, um I I had to interview. It was a [06:42] process. I think I had impostor syndrome [06:45] for like at least the first 6 months of [06:46] like do I even belong here? Cuz I used [06:49] to listen to Syntax myself on my [06:51] commute. Um so, yeah, to join and then [06:54] be able to make my own videos. I think [06:56] initially you guys hired me it was like [06:58] dive into topics that are on the [06:59] podcast, so I did a lot of that. Now I'm [07:01] doing a lot more of my my own stuff, [07:03] like what I'm interested in. But, yeah. [07:05] Hello. [07:06] Everybody loves CJ the most. Um if you [07:09] go into the comments, everybody says CJ [07:11] wins. Even the videos where CJ isn't in [07:14] uh [07:14] everyone says CJ wins. But, no, we we [07:17] interviewed quite a few people for CJ [07:19] and like it was very clear that like [07:22] CJ was like had no knew his right? Like [07:24] he was he's he's technically very [07:26] capable. You can see that when he kicks [07:28] our butt in in all the coding [07:29] competitions, right? But, he also like [07:31] knows how to explain things well, um [07:34] like get his his thoughts across and and [07:36] also like editing as well. Like often CJ [07:39] will jump into a video and be like let [07:40] me just add little zooms and stuff here [07:42] and there to a video and it'll be like [07:43] oh, it's so much better. [07:46] Yeah, I want to say like the hiring we [07:48] had so many applications in that hiring [07:50] process for CJ's position. And everybody [07:53] was great. Everybody interviewed really [07:55] well. There was just some amazing people [07:58] who who came and showed up for this [08:00] process. And then with the meeting that [08:02] we had to discuss like our thoughts on [08:04] the interviews, I feel like every single [08:07] one of us came to the table came to the [08:09] meeting be like guys, I really want to [08:11] advocate for hiring CJ for this [08:14] position. Like [laughter] [08:15] >> Oh, thanks. And everyone was kind of [08:16] expecting it to be like uh like uh like [08:20] they're going to have to fight for CJ. [08:22] When in reality, we were all in [08:23] agreement that it was like we all wanted [08:25] to fight for CJ to get the job, so yeah, [08:29] you you uh you crushed that process. Um [08:31] I appreciate that. Yeah. I I've grown in [08:33] this role, too. So, before this, I was [08:35] mainly just a live streamer, so um [08:37] that's where I got my start on a channel [08:38] called Coding Garden. Um and so like I I [08:41] used to live stream like four four days [08:42] a week and teach coding. Um but, in this [08:45] role, I've kind of had to learn how to [08:48] edit and how to [08:49] do more production instead of just going [08:51] live. And I think I've I've gotten [08:52] pretty decent at it, but I think that's [08:54] that's one thing I've enjoyed about this [08:55] role is like branching out from live [08:57] streaming and creating more like edited [08:59] produced content. Yes, we're so happy to [09:01] have you. And and speaking of edited [09:03] content, our latest uh [09:06] our latest hire in addition to the [09:07] Syntax team um is Nikki Bradner, who who [09:11] came on earlier this was it at the very [09:15] end of last year, the tail end of last [09:16] year, November, October, uh all the way [09:19] from Amsterdam. Welcome, Nikki. Hi. How [09:22] are you guys? Congrats on 1,000 [09:25] episodes. It's so nice to be here. [09:27] Thank you. Yeah, we're we're so lucky to [09:29] have Nikki. Her first full edit Nikki's [09:32] been doing a lot of edits, especially [09:34] part of the Mad CSS and all all over [09:36] this channel, but her latest full edit [09:39] was the Artemis Vib video and including [09:43] all the hilarious animations and stuff. [09:45] Nikki, you just like brought a whole lot [09:48] of new energy to this team and we're so [09:50] happy to have you on here. [09:52] Oh, likewise. It's so nice to be here. [09:54] It's so funny like I still I can join CJ [09:58] on that like I still have imposter [09:59] syndrome. It's I joined like and like [10:02] beginning of October but it's still like [10:05] I just feel like settling in but it's so [10:07] nice to be here. Awesome. Uh let's get [10:10] into some stats. I [10:13] ran the numbers. Um basically I took not [10:16] every episode we did cuz the Syntax [10:18] website has transcripts, right? And for [10:21] some reason the transcripts only go back [10:23] about 750 episodes. So we got a bug. We [10:26] got to figure it out. It's in Sentry, [10:27] right? Sentry.io for Syntax by the by [10:30] the way. [10:31] Uh coupon code tasty treat all lowercase [10:33] all one [10:34] >> [laughter] [10:35] >> But I I took those 700 transcripts and [10:38] like tried to do some data science on it [10:41] and figure out who speaks more, what are [10:44] the most common phrases and things like [10:46] that. So chat, let us know. Who do you [10:48] think [10:49] talks more in an episode between Scott [10:52] and I? Never mind the guests and and [10:54] whatever of people having on. I'd like [10:56] to see what people think or [10:58] team, who do you think yaps more? Scott [11:00] or me? I think it's you, Wes. I think [11:02] it's Wes. Yeah. [11:03] >> [laughter] [11:03] >> I know the answer [11:05] but I can't [11:07] I I Which is funny because [11:09] in my everyday life I'm known as the [11:11] person who does not stop talking. So [11:14] >> [laughter] [11:14] >> the fact that I can be [11:15] out talked by Wes is [11:18] that's an accomplishment, Wes. Out of [11:20] 100% 38% [11:23] is me speaking. Uh 34% is Scott speaking [11:27] and then the rest are either [11:29] undetectable or guests or things like [11:31] that. So uh I talk about what 4 or 5% [11:35] more than Scott on any given episode [11:38] which which I agree. Sometimes [11:39] especially some of the [11:41] like the recent Next.js one. I was [11:43] looking at the stats and Scott hardly [11:46] got a word [laughter] [11:48] Yeah, sometimes the interviews are tough [11:49] because there's you know especially when [11:51] there's three or four people. Wes and I [11:52] are like constantly trying to fight each [11:54] other as to who's going to like we [11:57] should have a better system. We actually [11:58] proposed a little hand raising system. [12:01] Um but then you you can't get Wes to [12:03] adhere to anything like that. He just [12:04] wants [12:05] >> the flow, you know? Especially if you're [12:07] like you're in something you're like but [12:08] what about this, you know? [12:11] Yeah. So you just I just trample over [12:13] you. Um [12:15] let me show you this though. [12:16] This is every single episode split by [12:18] speaker. So the orange is going to be me [12:21] and the purple is going to be Scott and [12:23] then the gray is just other people [12:25] talking. So you can see some of the some [12:28] of the episodes here. This gray one, [12:29] this is when we had Tim and Jim on from [12:32] from Next.js. They talked most of that [12:34] episode, right? But you can't even you [12:35] can hardly see Scott in a purple here. [12:38] Whereas you go to like episode 977 [12:41] which is we built a CSS challenge [12:43] platform. That one's almost entirely [12:45] almost entirely Scott. But it's kind of [12:47] fun to like scroll through [12:49] Wow, you really picked the best colors [12:51] for this. [12:52] Yeah, this is maybe not a good idea. [12:56] >> [laughter] [12:56] >> I'm like tripping trying to [13:00] trying to see everything. Yeah, you're [13:01] right. Maybe I should um [13:03] switch this up but make it a little bit [13:05] different. [13:07] Uh some of the older episodes don't [13:08] don't show exactly right. Although [13:11] there's we need to redo the transcripts [13:13] on that. There's there's much better [13:14] tech to build transcripts than what we [13:16] used a couple years ago. Yeah. It there [13:19] is so funny because there's some [13:20] episodes especially like the Next.js one [13:22] where like yeah, I almost don't even [13:23] know what to ask just because I don't [13:25] use it as much. So I the questions I can [13:27] ask are are going to be more like vibe [13:28] based like how do you feel about this, [13:30] you know? What are your yeah. [13:33] Uh where you can get into the more [13:34] technical nitty-gritty. [13:36] >> [snorts] [13:36] >> That's that's the thing is like I I know [13:38] about [13:39] like like webpack comments like magic [13:42] comments which Tim didn't even know [13:44] about and he's the one building [13:45] turbopack, you know? And Yeah. Uh so I [13:47] feel like I was I never even used [13:48] webpack so [13:49] >> [laughter] [13:51] >> lucky. [13:52] Yes. [13:53] That's a lot of words though. Wait, did [13:54] you just say you say 2 million words or [13:56] something from Yeah, let's look at it [13:58] here. So out of 7771 episodes which we [14:01] have transcribed that is 5,700,000 [14:05] words, 113,000 utterances which is kind [14:08] of like two or two or three sentences [14:10] kind of put together as Scott and I [14:12] going back and forth. [14:14] Uh 10,480 [14:16] topics which is those are just from the [14:18] show notes. Those are markdown regex out [14:21] of there. [14:23] Uh 7,493 [14:25] average words an episode. [14:27] [clears throat] [14:28] Longest episode an hour and 45 minutes [14:30] which is our 300th episode we did live. [14:34] Mm. And then we've said sick 1,200 [14:38] times. [14:39] Uh dope is only said 19 times which I [14:41] don't believe. I feel like you say dope [14:43] a lot more than that. [14:45] All right. All right. [14:46] I probably said it 19 times today. But I [14:49] will mention CJ is rising in trending [14:51] words. [14:52] Um [14:52] I guess you you guys mention me all the [14:53] time. [14:54] >> [laughter] [14:55] >> So what we did here is I took the first [14:58] half of the transcripts and then the [14:59] second half of the transcripts and we [15:01] looked at words that were trending. [15:04] Basically [15:05] words that [15:06] show up. And CJ is up 433 [15:11] or sorry 4,000%. [15:13] Nice. Love to see it. Uh rise. Yeah. MCP [15:17] is the biggest jump in word use. Claude, [15:20] coolify, biome, LLM, Honu, embedding, [15:23] JSR. That's surprising actually. [15:25] Anthropic transformers Sega. Yeah, that [15:28] whole episode of [laughter] Sega. [15:30] Sega. Sega. Sega. Sega. [15:33] Uh and then words that we do not Most of [15:36] the declining words were just past [15:38] sponsors. Um and then since we joined [15:41] Sentry, we no longer have to do sponsors [15:43] which is the best. So that's why you [15:45] don't see these words like French [15:47] FreshBooks and Linode anymore. But uh [15:50] scrubbable [15:52] scrubbable Oh, that was that was [15:54] probably from one of the uh ad reads, I [15:57] think. Oh, Apollo's interesting. Apollo. [16:00] >> Yeah, Apollo. [16:01] Uh folks, Apollo. GraphQL [16:05] Uh yeah. Wow. [16:06] >> Down up from 211 to 28 instances. [16:10] Talinsky Talinsky beginner Jamstack oh [16:14] Jamstack from 70 down to 13. [16:18] It's about to trend back upwards now [16:19] just by saying it a couple times here. [16:21] Yeah. Jamstack Jamstack Jamstack. It's a [16:24] sign of the times though. Yeah. It is a [16:26] sign of the times. I think I even that [16:27] yeah that I'm surprised to see GraphQL [16:29] isn't on there as a word too even though [16:31] we do have Apollo there. [16:34] >> [laughter] [16:35] >> Uh top words by speaker. I was extremely [16:38] surprised at the number one word and the [16:40] number two word for Scott for me and [16:43] Scott was rid. Rid. Get rid of rid. [16:46] >> And and I looked into it and it's it's [16:48] legit, right? I can open this up in a [16:49] new tab and you can see our usage of [16:53] rid. [16:54] Why? [16:55] >> Woah. What? Rid of Is that one episode [16:58] with 125 occurrences? [17:01] Yes. Wow. Or 125 [17:03] >> not episode. This is month monthly. So [17:06] 125 times in a month. Why did we say [17:09] rid? [17:10] That must have been in a [17:12] sponsor or maybe that was when Scott [17:14] tacked something onto the end of the [17:16] episode. That that makes a lot of sense. [17:18] Maybe that was in like the outro. Yeah, [17:20] that's actually very interesting. It [17:22] could be in the outro. Little. We both [17:25] say little. I say little is the most [17:28] used word. Node is my third. [17:31] >> Yeah, why does Scott say Wes and Wes [17:33] says Wes? Wes says Wes. [17:35] >> I'm feeling I I know why. [17:37] >> [laughter] [17:40] >> Honestly, it might be a trans trans like [17:42] a speaker detection error. I don't know. [17:44] Cuz do you ever say your own name? Yeah. [17:46] I often use my own name in examples. So [17:50] like I'll say like if I'm going to [17:51] WesBos.com or I also the shameless plugs [17:55] I often will have say my own So oh, [17:57] that's probably it. Cuz in the shameless [17:59] plugs I always say WesBos.com and Scott [18:03] would have said like Level Up Tuts. [18:05] Syntax, Next. I don't know if there's [18:07] anything else in here. Interesting. [18:09] I say it. Good question. [18:11] two [18:13] 20 [18:14] Woah. Yes, I say Syntax more. [18:18] Scott says Syntax 265 [18:22] times more. It's number 13 for Scott and [18:25] number 33 for me which just goes to show [18:28] either I talk more or have a bigger [18:31] vocabulary. That's actually not true. I [18:33] have the biggest vocabulary of anyone on [18:35] the show and I'll fight you for that. [18:37] Actually [18:38] I do believe that. So maybe maybe let's [18:41] jump into this for a second. I built an [18:45] app that did supercuts of like common [18:47] phrases that were said over and over [18:49] again and I found tons of them for CJ [18:52] and I like like just like tropes that we [18:55] say over and over again like under the [18:57] hood we say over and over again. And for [18:59] CJ and I we we found tons. And for Scott [19:02] I had a hard time finding the same thing [19:05] that Scott says over and over again. So [19:07] I Randy has these videos queued up. You [19:10] want to Should we play them now, Scott? [19:12] Yeah. As you can see As you can see As [19:14] you can see As you can see As you can [19:15] see As you can see As you can see As you [19:17] can see As you can see As you can see As [19:18] you can see As you can see As you can [19:20] see As you can see As you can see As you [19:21] can see As you can see As you can [19:23] >> [laughter] [19:28] [laughter] [19:29] [gasps] [19:30] >> Oh, that that was really good. There was [19:32] there was a couple other ones that were [19:34] predominantly CJ. I'll see if I can find [19:37] them but [19:37] >> All the poor audio listeners are [19:39] listening to this like I don't see a [19:40] thing. Oh, yeah. There was [19:42] >> Well, they're here anyway. Audio [19:43] listeners, that was a supercut of all [19:45] the clips. So I took the transcripts and [19:47] we have word level [19:49] detection and I I downloaded the last [19:52] 150 [19:53] episodes or YouTube videos, not not just [19:56] podcast episodes. This was separate. And [19:58] then I I used the new XAI transcript API [20:02] because we've been using Deepgram for [20:04] all of our stuff, but this is like three [20:06] times cheaper. I transcribed 150 of our [20:09] YouTube videos for 50 cents. And then I [20:12] just I ran some scripts on it to figure [20:14] out what were like common phrases, and [20:16] then I built this like FFmpeg thing that [20:19] would take the timestamps [20:21] and then make a supercut of every time [20:23] we said a specific word like as you can [20:26] see, and then I put it all into one [20:27] video. Which is the results were [20:30] hilarious to to output. Scott, do you [20:33] know what yours [20:35] your most commonly said thing? I I don't [20:38] know because I I'm looking at my [20:40] five-word phrases on here, and it's like [20:42] all the stuff that's in the bumpers. [20:44] So Yeah. Yeah, if it's not in the [20:47] bumpers It's not my bumper stuff. I had [20:50] to exclude a lot of that. I did run it [20:52] in on like commonly said five-word [20:55] phrases. But they're it wasn't nothing [20:58] good came out of that, so I ended up [21:00] just manually looking for them. I [21:02] couldn't tell you. No, right. No idea. [21:05] Let us have it, Randy. We're going to be [21:07] talking about We're going to be talking [21:08] about We're going to be talking about [21:10] We're going to be talking about We're [21:11] going to be talking about We're going to [21:12] be talking about We're going to be [21:13] talking about We're going to be talking [21:15] about We're going to be talking about [21:16] We're going to be talking about We're [21:17] going to be talking about My my style be [21:18] styling in that. Those clips. Yeah. [21:21] Quite honestly, the the fun part about [21:22] these supercuts was I was like, "Oh, [21:24] that shirt was cool. I should find that [21:27] one." Or I like that one. Or [21:29] your hair looks good in all of those, [21:30] Scott. I'm actually shocked, yes. I [21:33] think it'd be cool to to build this, but [21:35] do facial detection on the video and [21:38] like line like eyes up or something. [21:40] >> Oh god. Wouldn't that be sick or or [21:43] creepy? [21:44] Yeah, that would be creepy. I don't know [21:45] why that creeps me out for some reason. [21:47] That creeps me out. I don't get it, [21:49] yeah. [21:50] I don't like those videos where they [21:51] have the camera and it's like aligned to [21:53] someone's eyes and their like [21:54] backgrounds moving around. I do not like [21:56] that. No, thank you. I think that's a [21:59] DaVinci feature, isn't it? I don't know. [22:02] Do you guys have any stats on who how [22:04] many times each of you have done the [22:06] intro? [22:07] Oh. That's a good question. [22:10] >> That's a good question. I don't. Okay. I [22:13] What What would you guess, Scott? Like [22:15] who intros the podcast on a split? [22:19] >> You think you do, yeah? I would probably [22:20] say like 60% Scott. Usually when we [22:22] record like two in a day, we try to like [22:25] generally just kind of split it. But if [22:27] it's if it's an episode where one of us [22:29] has like done like a deep dive on [22:31] something, generally that person intros [22:33] it because we understand it more. And [22:35] then the potlucks, I generally we One [22:38] thing we started doing in the potluck [22:39] episodes, which if you've never listened [22:40] to one, it's it's where we bring [22:42] listener questions in and we answer [22:43] them. We started [22:45] doing the intro at the end so that we [22:47] can tell people kind of what's what's [22:50] upcoming, and that has really helped [22:51] like retention. Like people are like, [22:53] "Oh, I want to learn about X, Y, and Z. [22:55] I'm going to keep listening to this [22:57] one." Cuz now then you have an idea of [22:58] what's included in this podcast. Man, [23:01] this is really fascinating to see all [23:02] these all these words. [23:04] >> then mine, I I know what mine is, but [23:07] uh you can play it, Randy. I'm not sure [23:09] I'm not sure I'm not sure I'm not sure [23:10] I'm not sure I'm not sure I'm not sure [23:12] I'm not sure I'm not sure I'm not sure [23:14] I'm not sure I'm not sure I'm not sure [23:15] I'm not sure I'm not sure I'm not sure [23:17] I'm not sure I'm not sure I'm not sure [23:18] I'm not sure significantly slower than [23:20] cursor I'm not sure I'm not sure I'm not [23:21] sure I'm not sure No. [23:23] >> [laughter] [23:26] >> Uh [23:27] I'm not sure. [23:29] Oh, those are great. I honestly wish I [23:31] could just do an hour. I probably I have [23:33] like 100 of these different videos. The [23:35] one where we say AI [23:38] is 4 and 1/2 minutes long. [23:40] >> [laughter] [23:40] >> AI AI AI AI [23:42] It's just like the words lose all their [23:44] their [23:46] meaning after that. That welcome one [23:47] specifically when I was hearing the [23:49] welcome welcome welcome welcome welcome. [23:51] It's like [23:52] Oh my gosh, that word [23:54] has completely transformed. [23:56] It I did the tan stack one, and it's [23:58] just like it's like saying the word fork [24:01] or spoon 100 times. It doesn't It loses [24:03] all meaning. So, a lot of people don't [24:06] know that [24:07] We'll talk about this in the the Google [24:08] Doc. We We created our first Google Doc [24:11] kind of outlining the show April 1st, [24:13] 2016 as Caitlin mentioned, and we didn't [24:16] actually record the first episode of [24:18] Syntax until June 27th, 2017. Well, we [24:22] recorded before then, but we recorded [24:24] like four episodes so that way we could [24:26] have a bunch ready to go. [24:27] But in between that time, I was [24:30] struggling to make Level Up Tutorials [24:32] work on YouTube as a both a business, [24:34] but also YouTube was cutting ad revenue, [24:37] and because of that, I had to take a job [24:40] at a startup here in Denver. It was a [24:43] three-person startup. I was building the [24:45] app basically myself. It was a good [24:47] idea, and I was just like crushing it [24:51] working hard to you know, all of a [24:53] sudden I'm I'm doing content full-time, [24:55] and now all of a sudden I'm building an [24:56] app full-time. And that project had been [25:00] going on for like I want to say like 6 7 [25:02] months, but the work culture there [25:06] Yeah, 6 7. Yes, I even kind of did it by [25:09] accident. Oh my gosh. It's built into [25:11] you, yeah. Man, the work culture there [25:13] had been getting worse and worse and [25:15] worse, and I don't know if they were [25:18] running out of money or something. It [25:19] sounded like they were spending that [25:20] much money anyways, and [25:23] I just kept getting like maybe more [25:26] pressure on me to what was initially I [25:29] was building a prototype of a software [25:32] for them to sell to investors. That was [25:34] the gig, right? But that [25:37] started drifting into, "Oh, this isn't a [25:39] prototype anymore. This is the app, and [25:42] why isn't it done yet?" [25:43] Well, it's working as a prototype. You [25:45] guys didn't uphold your end of the [25:47] bargain. So, it just became like an [25:49] increasingly toxic work environment to [25:51] the point where they were like super [25:54] rude and all kinds of stuff. But my son [25:57] was born at the end of May. My very [26:00] first child was born at the end of May [26:02] of 2017. [26:04] And we had the podcast idea, my son was [26:08] born, and the weekend of the birth of my [26:11] first child, a Sunday night, this is [26:14] ingrained in my memory forever, a Sunday [26:16] night at 8:00 p.m., 8:00 p.m. on Sunday [26:20] night, I'm getting blown up on my phone [26:23] like with toxic harassing messages about [26:27] a broken feature in pre-alpha software [26:31] that had no users. It was that Sunday, [26:34] and then Monday I'm driving my parents [26:36] back to because my parents were in town, [26:39] I'm driving them back to the airport, [26:41] and I'm just like, "I think I'm going to [26:43] quit this job." And like I didn't have a [26:45] job. [26:46] I I had a YouTube account, but YouTube [26:48] wasn't like not paying very much at that [26:49] point in time, and like [26:52] man, it was like I don't know, like that [26:54] the amount of stress that gets involved [26:56] in that decision cuz it's like you just [26:58] had a child, and like what, you're going [26:59] to quit your job? So, I seriously I I [27:02] that day I quit my job. I told him I [27:04] wasn't going to do it, and the [27:06] co-founder of the company was like, "I [27:08] get it. You're not treated very well." [27:10] And so I was like, "Yep, all right, I'm [27:11] out." And then at that point, I think it [27:13] was like literally I sat down with my [27:16] thoughts and was like, "I need [27:18] to do something." [27:20] And I don't want to take credit for uh [27:24] pushing Wes to go forward with this, but [27:26] at that point I like really needed to do [27:28] something, and we had been kind of off [27:30] and on talking about getting this going. [27:32] And so at that point I was like, "We [27:34] need to do this podcast." Wes agreed. We [27:37] recorded four episodes, released on June [27:40] 27th. Rest is history. The rest is [27:44] history, yes. I'll give you credit for [27:46] that cuz like I I love I love talking [27:48] about doing things, but like sometimes [27:49] you just need a kick in the pants to [27:51] actually get going, and I'm I'm glad we [27:52] did it because [27:54] like you said, we've been [27:55] we were doing it for quite a while. And [27:57] let me Should we share the original doc [28:00] of of our brainstorming? I think it's [28:02] kind of funny. [28:03] Yeah, let's do that. Yeah, and we'll get [28:05] into in into this later, but um Adalil [28:09] in the chat says did Sentry get involved [28:11] early in the past early in the podcast [28:13] or did it happen years later? I think [28:15] we'll we'll we'll touch on that in a [28:16] second. [28:16] >> Yeah, well, let's let's do it right now. [28:18] Sentry was [28:20] >> [laughter] [28:20] >> Oh, classic Wes right there. [28:23] We'll do it live. Sentry was always a [28:27] sponsor of of Syntax in from from very [28:30] early on. They actually had approached [28:33] me for one of my courses probably over [28:35] 10 years ago and said, "Hey, if we want [28:37] to do You want to do anything together, [28:38] let me know." And then I was like, "Oh, [28:40] you want to sponsor our podcast?" So, [28:42] they sponsored that, and they from like [28:44] the very first days, they said, "Give us [28:46] as many episodes as you can." And it [28:50] it was amazing, right? Like it They said [28:52] it was one of the only [28:54] sponsorships that they ever saw like [28:56] like good ROI on or or or positive ROI [28:59] on. A lot of times people sponsor [29:01] podcasts, and it's just because of word [29:03] of mouth, right? They're not actually [29:04] making more money than they spend [29:06] sponsoring the podcast. But they it was [29:09] a really good relationship, and then [29:11] around episode 600, Sentry contacted us [29:15] and said, "Hey, do you want to just join [29:17] Sentry? You can keep doing your thing, [29:19] but make this make this even bigger. You [29:21] don't have to take sponsorships on." And [29:23] it's been [29:24] been fantastic. So, we [29:26] owe Sentry quite a bit for how good the [29:28] Syntax podcast is today. [29:31] Yeah, I think if it was anybody else, it [29:34] would have been a tough sell for us to [29:36] join a company like that. But because we [29:38] had that working relationship with [29:40] Sentry, and we've [29:42] known the folks over there for so long, [29:44] and just a high-quality team of people. [29:46] So, yeah. Somebody in the chat asked for [29:49] a 67 compilation, so I had to run it. [29:52] 67 67 67 67 67 67 67 6 Wow. 67 67 67 [30:00] That's I'm I'm not even doing it on [30:01] purpose. That's what I've realized after [30:03] discovering the meme, like we say it all [30:05] the time. Yeah, 67 years, 67 hours, 67 [30:07] minutes. [30:08] It's so funny. [30:10] We've said 67 17 times in the last 150 [30:15] videos. That's quite a bit. [30:16] >> are so over 67, which makes [snorts] it [30:19] so much funnier to say now. Like [30:22] Yeah, that's why it's so much funnier. [30:24] Watching a YouTube video about memes and [30:26] kids are like, "Oh, 67 is so old. Like [30:28] that's not funny anymore." [30:30] >> [laughter] [30:31] >> Um [30:32] put it in the chat. What what else do we [30:34] say? Cuz I I got the script. I can I can [30:36] make a super cut of anything. So, if [30:38] there's anything you want to see if if [30:41] we can pull up, we can do it. But let's [30:43] look at the the original doc from What? [30:45] This is over 10 years ago. Oh, Dead Nuts [30:47] is a good one. Yeah, I'll do that. [30:49] >> [laughter] [30:50] >> But this was Scott and I's [30:53] a thing, writing markdown in Google [30:55] Docs, right? Cuz there was nothing [30:57] >> pre-markdown support. [30:58] >> Weekly's a big commitment. I'd love the [31:00] prep to be minimal. [31:02] Weekly's a big commitment. Yeah. I'd [31:04] love to get a point where we can make [31:05] $1,000, $2,000 per show. We were making [31:08] a lot more than that when we stopped [31:09] sponsors, which is great. [31:12] Good examples. [31:14] Uh ShopTalk Show's on here. Fizzle, Sean [31:16] West. We both really liked jQuery. [31:19] Uh which [31:21] I don't know if that's on here, but we [31:22] liked it how fun it was. I think that [31:24] was one of the big things for us was [31:25] like, it has to be fun. It has to be [31:28] that that style. Yeah. It has to be fun, [31:32] entertaining, silly. jQuery was a [31:34] podcast by what? Paul Irish, Alex [31:36] Sexton, Rebecca Murphey, and um Adam [31:39] Sontag. And they were all big people in [31:41] like the early JavaScript scene. [31:44] Um and I love that podcast just cuz like [31:46] they would share little tips. They had [31:47] this like [31:48] um Paul Irish had this thing called the [31:51] anti-performance tip of the week, which [31:53] is basically like little things that [31:55] could make your jQuery app slow. And I [31:58] love that little segment, you know, [31:59] little nuggets that you could take out [32:01] of out of that episode. And I I was [32:03] really sad when they like stopped doing [32:04] that. And I was like, "We should build [32:06] up [32:06] like a the modern version of jQuery cuz [32:10] it's it's they're just silly and it's [32:11] entertaining and and you learn a lot [32:13] from it." That was the first podcast [32:15] that I was really into. Like the very [32:18] first one. Yeah. Things that we hate [32:20] about podcasts. I actually thought we [32:21] connected a lot on stuff that we didn't [32:24] want it to be. I know that there's just [32:25] these two things, too long and rambly, [32:27] inside joke, titles that don't lead you [32:29] in. I think there were so many more [32:31] things that we initially talked about as [32:34] being stuff that we don't like about [32:35] podcasts. And to me, that fact that we [32:38] had such similar tastes in what we [32:40] didn't like about other shows was [32:43] something that led me to like be like, [32:44] "Oh, this is a good idea." You know? [32:46] Exactly. So, if for those who don't [32:48] know, Scott and I were part of a what's [32:50] called a mastermind, where it was [32:53] four guys who just like sold web dev [32:55] courses. And we would meet up like every [32:57] other week and just kind of talk about [32:59] the business. And then Scott and I just [33:01] like [33:02] like we loved like we loved each other, [33:05] right? We we just like got along well [33:07] and like we had really good back and [33:08] forth. And I thought like, "Okay, this [33:10] is like somebody who I could do a [33:11] podcast with." [33:13] And then when we started talking about [33:14] what we hated, like long and rambly [33:16] podcasts and inside jokes that don't [33:18] lead you to things, [33:20] we're like, "Oh man, we're we're all on [33:22] the same page here." The names. I [33:24] thought this was hilarious looking at [33:26] all the names. I initially had the [33:28] domain Boss Sauce and I was going to [33:30] start my own podcast, which I'm glad I [33:32] did not make call it Boss Sauce. [33:35] >> [laughter] [33:36] >> And the code code code and code are such [33:39] like funny like I don't know I don't [33:41] know if you were you you had a band and [33:42] stuff. When I had a band, I remember [33:45] some of the worst names that we came up [33:47] with were of probably the same style as [33:49] code code code. Like I don't know what [33:52] it is about those that just like hits me [33:53] in that spot. Like the Fun Dev Show. [33:56] Some of these things are so funny. I I [33:58] think Web Sauce works, Block Scopes [34:01] works. Block Scope [34:04] Yeah. [34:04] >> is probably the only good one on this [34:06] list. I think so, too. [34:08] I don't The rest of the team, do you see [34:10] anything on here that was good? And [34:11] what's actually interesting is that [34:13] Syntax was not on this list. The initial [34:16] was at 1:00 p.m. And then it was not [34:18] till 3 hours later that the word Syntax [34:20] got added by Oh, looks like Scott added [34:23] it. [34:25] What did I add? Was it you that came up [34:27] with the idea of [34:30] Syntax? [34:31] Can we give me credit for that? I'll [34:33] take credit for that. [34:34] >> so. What I I think the the literature [34:37] shows [34:38] Look at purple. Syntax Cast. [34:40] >> [laughter] [34:42] >> I think all the best ones are on here. [34:44] Yeah. Async and Syntax Cast. [34:47] >> Wes did come up with all the branding, [34:49] so I can I can at least take credit for [34:52] that part. Hey, I didn't know that. I'm [34:53] going to I'm going to ride on that now. [34:56] I Creator of the Syntax word brand. It's [34:59] exactly. It's I'm glad that we can go [35:01] back 10 years [35:03] in Google Docs history and see who typed [35:05] that in. That's actually crazy. Yeah. [35:07] Yeah. And about of inspiration at 3:58 [35:10] p.m. on a April 1st. [35:12] >> [laughter] [35:13] >> And to to jump forward a quick a quick [35:15] uh [35:16] callout from Internet Doggo. They did a [35:18] calculation. So, total length calc [35:21] 2,679,834 [35:23] seconds for all episodes. 31 days worth [35:27] of podcasts you guys have done. Wow. 31 [35:30] days. That's 31 days. A whole dang [35:34] month. [35:36] That's insane. Yeah, 19 work weeks of [35:38] full-time listening at 1x. [35:41] >> [laughter] [35:42] >> That's actually crazy because [35:44] I've met multiple people who have said, [35:47] "I've listened to every single episode." [35:50] You know? Like there's there's hundreds [35:51] of people. Every time we have Spotify [35:53] Wrapped, you see people who [35:55] have numbers that are larger than the [35:57] amount of content we put out in a single [35:59] year. [36:00] And and there are people And also we I I [36:02] met somebody like like a couple weeks [36:04] ago. And they're like, "I started [36:06] listening to your podcast and I started [36:08] at one." I was like, "Don't let's start [36:09] at one. Like that's 10 years old. Like [36:12] that is not good to be listening to [36:15] like [36:16] I was talking about 10-year-old React [36:17] best patterns. [36:18] >> Yeah, yeah, yeah. I know that's so funny [36:20] to think about. Uh what else is on here? [36:22] Episode ideas. What's new in CSS? Man, [36:25] we 10 years later, we still just did [36:27] that we did that episode last week. We [36:30] just [laughter] did that episode. [36:32] Yeah. [36:33] Uh If it works, yeah. [36:34] >> Testing. [36:35] Yeah, what's [snorts] funny is the task [36:36] runners episode where it's Gulp, Grunt, [36:39] Webpack, and NPM scripts. Like all of [36:42] that tech like Yes, NPM scripts is the [36:44] only one that survived, [36:46] man, I remember Gulp. Everything was [36:48] Gulp for me. Mhm. Gulp was the best. Uh [36:51] computer hardware, Hackintosh. Yeah, we [36:53] talked about Hackintoshes a lot in the [36:55] early days before like the M chips [36:57] killed the Hackintosh. I ran a [36:59] Hackintosh as my main system for a long [37:02] time. Yeah. You can see it as a [37:04] character in many of the Level Up [37:05] Tutorials videos. JavaScript frameworks [37:08] one. I feel like we ended up doing all [37:09] of these things. Notice how I added the [37:12] uh health and coding lifestyle issues [37:14] like posture. [37:16] >> [laughter] [37:16] >> Well, I always was always pushing to do [37:19] the health and fitness episodes, so [37:20] that's funny that I added that. [37:22] >> Let's see what else you added on the [37:23] next day. Oh, you added site performance [37:26] the next day. [37:28] And then [37:29] a couple hours later, what did you add? [37:32] GET CRACKING. [37:34] >> [laughter] [37:37] >> YOU CAME [37:38] LIKE A DAY LATER. WELL, I got an idea [37:41] here. Let me just [37:43] >> [laughter] [37:43] >> Let me add Get Cracking on here. This is [37:45] what this is really about. [37:46] >> I added a month later. Oh, that's when I [37:50] came up with the [37:52] Oh, which is just Oh, that that's not [37:54] the password anymore. That was that used [37:56] to be the old [laughter] [37:57] We used to keep our password in [37:59] Oh, okay. For the podcast listeners, I [38:01] love to make Syntax Podcast was the [38:03] password. Is that what it was? Yeah. [38:06] That man. [38:07] >> [laughter] [38:08] >> Come on. [38:11] Well, there was no one password back [38:14] then, C J. Okay. I know it's just [38:17] temporary. No, you definitely should not [38:18] have been doing that. The password was [38:20] password. Yes. [38:22] >> Yeah. [38:22] That is funny. And then this is where we [38:24] started adding in Oh, this is where we [38:26] started like [38:28] doing the different episodes. CSS Grid. [38:30] >> Meteor as the only thing here is pretty [38:32] on brand. [laughter] [38:36] >> [snorts and gasps] [38:37] >> Camera access, podcast layout. Yeah, [38:39] some fun stuff in there. Oh, I love this [38:41] doc. I I actually I love popping open [38:43] this doc. [38:44] I got Dead Nuts. You guys ready? [38:46] Ready for Dead Nuts. Yes. Dead Nuts. [38:50] Dead Nuts. Dead Nuts. Dead Nuts. [38:51] >> [laughter] [38:52] >> I'm surprised I say it as much as Wes. [38:54] Wes has probably said it more frequently [38:56] than me. [38:57] >> great. [38:58] Hey, so Wes, we want to let to improve [39:01] the uh lag on the stream, we want to [39:04] let Nikki, Caitlin, and Randy go. But be [39:07] first I wanted to [39:09] talk with Caitlin a little bit as the [39:10] first person to join the team. I think [39:12] there's a funny story there, especially [39:14] around when when uh the Century [39:16] acquisition happened. So, Caitlin, how [39:18] long had you been working with me at [39:21] Level Up? Was it a [39:22] year and a half, 2 years? I feel like it [39:24] was probably like 2 years. [39:25] >> Gosh, it's so hard to remember, right? I [39:27] think it was about 2 years. I think you [39:29] and I started [39:30] doing stuff with Level Up around the end [39:33] of 2021. [39:35] Yeah. [39:36] And then so 2024, [39:39] kind of early 2024 was when everything [39:40] was going on with Sentry. Yeah. Yeah, so [39:43] I I I first met Caitlin and she was [39:45] working at Galvanize, which was a [39:47] is was? I don't know if they're Are they [39:49] still around, CJ? Caitlin, do you know? [39:51] >> Yeah, like online only or something cuz [39:53] I work there, too. But, yeah. [39:54] >> Yeah. Yeah, [laughter] that's why I was [39:55] asking CJ, too. Yeah, Caitlin and CJ [39:58] both did work at Galvanize at one point, [39:59] but they had a [40:01] I I had done some events with them [40:03] before where I'd like been brought in to [40:05] speak at [40:06] things, but the Caitlin you had worked [40:07] there for I don't know how long did you [40:08] work there? [40:09] Like a year and a half. It was during [40:11] like COVID, so it was a little rough. [40:12] But, it's interesting. So, you guys [40:14] started I'm going to go back a little [40:16] bit further for a second cuz you guys [40:17] started talking about this [40:19] 2016, you got your first episode out [40:22] 2017, but you guys didn't meet in person [40:25] till 2018, right? Yeah. Yeah. [40:28] >> Yeah. And that was that Was that not at [40:30] the jamstack.com thing in Denver? It was [40:32] in SF, not in Denver. [40:34] >> even 2019 in San Francisco. Yeah, me and [40:37] Scott and I had never met after [40:39] almost 3 years of doing stuff together. [40:42] Or yeah. [40:44] And people had thought we were in the [40:45] same room cuz we didn't do video. And [40:47] people just thought we were in the same [40:48] room recording. I was like, "No, [40:49] actually I've never met him before." [40:51] That's so funny. Okay, so yeah, I'd like [40:53] been exposed to Scott and I mean just [40:55] the Syntax like whole podcast for a [40:57] while, but then at Galvanize I was like [41:00] I need to get someone on to talk about [41:03] imposter syndrome and it'd be really [41:04] great to have somebody that's local in [41:05] Denver. [41:07] Uh we have that live video somewhere, [41:09] Scott. We got to pull that up and like [41:10] look at that sometime. But, that's how [41:11] you and I got started getting connected [41:12] just like through events for Galvanize. [41:15] And then yeah, I kind of slid into your [41:16] DMs and was like, "Hey, you need help [41:18] with Level Up?" Yeah, you were like, "Do [41:20] you know anybody?" That That's what you [41:22] you asked me, "Do you know anybody that [41:25] needs a marketing manager?" Cuz you're [41:26] just doing outreach, right? Like you [41:28] were just trying to [41:29] >> laid off 2020 from Galvanize. Yeah, [41:31] 2021. And it was it was such perfect [41:33] timing cuz I I was I was just, you know, [41:36] lamenting [41:37] to my wife over and over again about how [41:39] I needed that position. I cannot like [41:42] continue to do everything myself. And [41:44] then it's like I got that message from [41:46] you like, "Hey, do you know anyone like [41:48] Hey. [41:48] >> You're like, "Actually Let's talk. Yeah, [41:50] actually [laughter] let's talk. Uh so we [41:52] started working together. You became a [41:54] full-time employee of Level Up. From [41:57] there, you know, you had been joining me [41:59] on live streams, handling emails, Black [42:02] Friday, all this stuff. And this whole [42:05] time [42:06] that the the Sentry and Syntax [42:09] conversation was going on, we were under [42:11] NDA. I couldn't tell Caitlin. So, we [42:14] were undergoing a massive site redesign [42:17] at the time. Caitlin's working on all [42:18] these marketing plans. And and I have to [42:20] just kind of be like, "Yeah, let you [42:22] know, the future plans for this." [42:24] Knowing that Level Up and Syntax would [42:26] most likely be joining Sentry. But, I [42:28] couldn't tell her. And then we basically [42:33] get the final offer in and it's like, [42:36] "All right, we are signing this offer." [42:39] And then I can tell Caitlin. But, she [42:42] has to basically decide in 24 hours if [42:45] [laughter] she wants to join [42:47] a new company with Wes, who she had [42:51] You had never met Wes, right? No. [42:53] >> Yeah. No. [42:54] Yeah, so it was like How What was that [42:56] like to just get that message out of the [42:58] blue like [42:59] >> it was funky, right? Cuz I like you were [43:01] You didn't ever say anything. You didn't [43:03] like bust your NDA, but you were [43:05] definitely kind of like I could feel [43:07] like things were changing, you know? And [43:09] you were stressed. You were stressed and [43:11] like the energy was different and I was [43:13] sure I was getting fired. Like what else [43:15] could it be, right? [43:17] >> [laughter] [43:17] >> I was just like, "I don't know." [43:18] >> cuz I was like, "Hey, do you Do you have [43:19] time to chat?" Like a emergency chat. [43:22] >> outside of normal business hours and [43:24] you're like, "Hey, do you have like a [43:25] minute to chat right now?" And I'm like, [43:26] "Okay, great. Yeah." And this is like [43:28] right when I moved into that Colorado [43:30] cabin, like we just put all our stuff in [43:32] storage. Life was already a little [43:35] uncertain, so I was like, "Great. Okay. [43:37] I guess I'm getting fired now." So, [43:40] it wasn't bad. It was actually great [43:41] news. I had never actually heard of [43:43] Sentry cuz I'm in marketing, you know? [43:46] So, I was just like, "Who's Sentry?" [43:48] You're like, "Okay, they're [43:49] They're actually really really great [43:51] company. Like you're you're going to [43:53] like it. Like I hope you accept." Like [43:56] and you're reading me all the benefits. [43:58] And my partner's like listening to this [44:00] call cuz he also like he knew I thought [44:01] I was going to get fired. So, he's [44:03] >> He's a dev, right? [44:04] >> He's a dev, yeah. And so he's like He [44:07] knows Sentry, loves Sentry, uses Sentry. [44:09] And so he's over. He's like hearing [44:11] about it and he's like, you know, in the [44:12] background like, "Yeah, this is a good [44:14] thing." [44:14] >> [laughter] [44:15] >> And I just come to him like, "I don't [44:16] know. I guess I have a new job and [44:19] I'm part of Syntax now." And yeah, I [44:21] mean James has been a fan of Syntax for [44:23] forever, so he's just [44:25] I mean he fan girled when I joined Level [44:27] Up Tutorials. He fan girled even harder [44:30] when I was able to join the Syntax [44:32] Sentry team, so. [44:33] >> [laughter] [44:33] >> That's great. Yeah, and I felt really [44:35] guilty about that. Yeah. Yeah, it was [44:38] it's been fun and I like appreciate you [44:40] pulling me into this. It's just been [44:41] cool and you guys are just so good at [44:44] this. You should be so proud. But, you [44:46] know, you reached a thousand episodes [44:48] and everyone loves you and you've just [44:50] built something really really cool. [44:52] Thank you. [44:52] >> Thank you, Caitlin. Yeah. [44:54] >> [laughter] [44:54] >> Yeah, they So, Caitlin, we'll let you [44:57] drop and Nikki, thank you so much for [44:59] joining us, too, as the the newest [45:02] member of the team. We're we're so happy [45:03] to have you. So, thank you so much for [45:05] joining us. And then Randy, even though [45:07] you're the producer, we'll have you [45:08] drop. [45:10] I'm dropping. I'll still be here, but [45:11] I'm dropping. [45:13] Later, guys. [45:14] >> Thank you so much. Yeah. Bye. He's going [45:16] back behind the scenes where he belongs. [45:20] >> [laughter] [45:20] [gasps] [45:21] >> It's like [45:22] a kind of [45:24] You got to kind of laugh. [45:25] Turn the knobs. [45:28] >> [laughter] [45:30] >> Oh, that's great. All right, what else [45:32] we got here? We Do we want to do the old [45:34] intros? Do we want to talk about what [45:36] the top episodes of all time were? This [45:39] actually leads into a question that [45:41] someone had um about what would be What [45:43] would be a good place to start? So, this [45:44] is from Thinkverse. What would be a good [45:46] starting point for new listeners? The [45:48] latest episode in episodes back [45:50] start of the year. I would imagine that [45:52] like best episodes of all time are [45:54] probably some that they should tune [45:55] into. This is a hard problem that [45:58] Spotify is unfortunately not helping [46:00] anybody with, you know? Like most people [46:02] are listening to podcasts on Spotify [46:03] right now. And this is something we're [46:04] trying to solve with the new website as [46:06] well. It's just collections of [46:09] of a podcast like I'm new here, what [46:10] should I listen to? Search fundamentals. [46:12] Those are some of our top episodes and [46:15] we go through every single We have one [46:18] on JavaScript, one on TypeScript, one on [46:20] CSS, one on HTML. We I don't know. We [46:22] probably have 10 different fundamentals [46:24] episodes where we just break everything [46:26] down and explain it right down dead [46:28] nuts, right? [46:29] And those are those are probably like [46:31] the best timeless ones that are not [46:34] like, "Oh, don't listen to a 6-year-old [46:36] React episode." because that's that's [46:39] not necessary. Things have changed since [46:41] then. I I thought that one of our most [46:43] popular episodes was the the Josh Wardle [46:45] episode on the creator of Wordle. I [46:47] thought that was a great episode. [46:48] >> That was really fun. I thought it was [46:50] fascinating to hear that this like you [46:53] could just make something and have it [46:54] pop off to that degree. And just how fun [46:59] that whole thing was with him. So, that [47:00] was a I think that's a good episode. [47:02] >> It was a crazy story because [47:04] like when Wordle was released, it was [47:06] this game during the pandemic that [47:08] absolutely blew up. And I didn't hear [47:12] about it when it was blowing up. And I [47:13] got an email from this guy being like, [47:15] "Hey, I made this game that's getting [47:17] really popular." And I was like like [47:20] cool, congrats. Like that He's like, "I [47:22] I listen to [47:23] >> [laughter] [47:23] >> I didn't brush him off, but he's like, [47:24] "I listen to Syntax. I learned to code [47:26] from you guys and I made this game that [47:27] got really popular called Wordle." And I [47:30] like read it and I was like, "Oh, that's [47:31] really cool. I'll reply in the in the [47:33] morning." And then like I think [47:35] I forget who it was. It was my parents [47:37] or or or my wife or something. Everybody [47:39] started talking about Wordle and I was [47:40] like [47:42] "Was that the same guy that emailed me?" [47:45] And so I looked it up. I was like, "Holy [47:47] [ __ ] this guy [47:49] emailed me. And like the New York Times [47:50] just bought it." So, I messaged him back [47:53] and I was like, "Dude, this is sick. [47:54] Come on and explain to us how you built [47:56] Wordle." [47:57] And he came on and that was what That is [48:00] our one, two, three, fourth most popular [48:03] episode ever. Our stats are a little bit [48:05] skewed because we moved from Libsyn to [48:09] Megaphone Spotify at one point. But, if [48:11] we're looking at all of our episodes [48:13] from like 7, 800 episodes back, [48:17] the Josh Wardle episode was number [48:20] four or five. Four. Yeah. Yeah, it was a [48:23] good one. [48:24] The number one episode is of JavaScript [48:26] fundamentals. [48:27] Uh number two is how to get better at [48:29] problem-solving, which I really like [48:32] that one. Third one, the fundamental [48:34] server side, that one is really popular. [48:37] And then the sixth one, design [48:38] foundations for developers. Rollers in [48:41] the Twitch chat says start with the [48:43] Halloween episodes. Oh, the Halloween [48:45] episodes. So, I don't When When was the [48:47] very first Halloween episode? So, I [48:49] don't remember when we came up with this [48:51] idea, but we had the idea to make spooky [48:53] web dev stories for Halloween. And it [48:56] has entire every single year I I look [48:59] forward to these every single year. [49:02] There are so There's so many of them [49:04] now. Uh the first one [49:06] >> was our first episode. If you go to [49:07] syntax.fm/spooky, [49:09] we'll have a a submission form and [49:13] a list of all of our past episodes. And [49:15] these are just like tech horror stories [49:17] of when things went wrong. Yeah, so the [49:20] 2019 was the first year we did that. I [49:22] can't imagine the show without that [49:24] episode, honestly. Those are some of the [49:26] funniest ones to me. I I remember the [49:28] very long time Syntax listeners will [49:30] know this. The very first time that we [49:33] did a spooky stories episode, I was [49:36] doing my Dracula voice for the whole [49:38] episode. [49:40] And halfway through the West the episode [49:42] West because this weren't live or [49:44] whatever West like stops and he's just [49:45] like, "You're not going to do that voice [49:47] the whole episode, are you?" [49:48] >> [laughter] [49:49] >> Like the maybe the one of the more [49:50] serious times I've ever had West have a [49:53] a conversation with me. [49:55] >> Yeah, like this is driving me nuts. [49:58] But the fans loved it. People loved the [50:00] spooky voice. Yeah, the episodes are [50:02] like timeless, too, cuz it's just people [50:05] having tech problems and like it doesn't [50:06] matter if it's old react or whatever. [50:08] It's about the drama of the story of [50:09] like are you going to get fired? Did you [50:10] drop a production database? That kind of [50:12] thing. So, those are super entertaining. [50:14] Some of the older ones are are the best [50:16] as well because like 10 years ago [50:20] like people were doing FTP. They were [50:22] SSHing into boxes. We didn't have the [50:25] like the deployment streams that we have [50:28] now. And a lot of it was just like [50:30] people trying not to goof up and then [50:33] accidentally dropping a database or or [50:36] shipping the wrong code or the wrong [50:37] environmental variable. And that that [50:39] that kind of stuff definitely happens [50:41] especially with all of live coding. But [50:43] the some of the older ones are are some [50:45] of the best. [50:46] Yeah. [50:47] Yeah, totally. And the latest one I got [50:49] to make a song for it. Who knows? Maybe [50:51] I'll make a song again this year. [50:53] I would love to make more songs. That [50:54] was actually so [laughter] fun. [50:57] CJ, do you want to guess what our top [50:59] countries are by listenership if if you [51:01] didn't look at the notes? I didn't look [51:03] at the notes, but I can have a guess [51:04] based on like YouTube stats. Like I'd [51:07] say US is probably number one. Yeah, [51:09] 42%. India is always pretty high up, are [51:12] they, too? India is not on the podcast [51:15] charts, but for my YouTube and for my [51:18] own course, India is for the free ones [51:22] India is number one. And then the paid [51:24] ones India is usually like four or five. [51:26] It's it's usually up there. A lot of a [51:28] lot of people in India. There should [51:30] Germany should be pretty high, too, [51:32] right? [51:33] Yeah, Germany number four. And UK? [51:36] UK number two. [51:38] Okay. So, who's number three? [51:40] Uh the creators of this podcast. This is [51:44] Are they Dutch? [51:45] It's a No, it's a Canadian podcast. [51:48] >> [laughter] [51:49] >> Canada [snorts] number three. [51:51] They speak English in Canada. Yeah. [51:53] Eight, something like that. [51:55] >> [laughter] [51:56] >> Yeah, this is a Canadian podcast, by the [51:58] way. [51:58] >> Hi. Well, it's funny cuz when I joined I [52:00] I like leveled the playing field cuz it [52:02] was like you and Randy were Canada, and [52:05] now me and Scott are Colorado. It's a [52:06] Colorado podcast. [52:07] >> Scott is mostly Canadian, though. He's [52:09] like honorary, you know? I I Yeah, there [52:13] I mean there's there's many [52:14] opportunities to make make you know, I [52:16] have I have Canadian heritage, but also [52:18] No, I am I am American and actually at [52:21] one point West three of the people on [52:23] this podcast [52:24] uh or in this team [52:27] were living in Colorado, so True. And [52:29] yeah, it's a Rocky Mountain podcast. [52:31] >> Yeah. [52:32] >> [laughter] [52:33] >> It's a Mile High podcast. As part of the [52:35] like when I got the job I I put these [52:37] Canada and Colorado stickers on the the [52:39] Syntax skateboard. [52:40] >> Yeah. Yeah. Exactly. I'm glad you left [52:43] the Canada one on for that. We have the [52:45] Syntax Canada sticker somewhere. I don't [52:47] know where exactly where it is. [52:48] >> even have one on my computer. If you're [52:50] watching if you're watching in the chat, [52:52] let us know where you're tuning in from [52:53] cuz I see I see [52:56] Gabry Debotha from South Africa. [52:59] Uh Baum Lucas from Germany. [53:02] Uh we've got some people watching in [53:03] India. [53:05] Also Turkey, Argentina. [53:08] Canada. Canada. Quebec. [53:10] >> [laughter] [53:11] >> YouTube A's says, "Wait, these guys are [53:12] Canadian?" But close enough. These guys [53:14] are Canadian? [53:15] >> [laughter] [53:16] >> One person on this call is Canadian [53:18] currently. [53:20] Close enough. Close enough. But telling [53:23] stories about like being recognized in [53:25] public many times I've I've met people [53:27] like at the mall or on the street or [53:29] whatever just walking around. You just [53:31] say like, "Oh, hey, are you are you [53:32] West? I listen to Syntax." And probably [53:35] about four or five years ago. This is [53:36] before we were doing video. So, a lot of [53:39] people didn't even know like what I look [53:40] like cuz they simply just are audio [53:42] listeners. And it was Christmas day. We [53:44] were at the park. And I was just like [53:48] yelling like not yelling at my kids, but [53:50] yelling to my kids like, "Hey, like go [53:51] down the slide." And someone from across [53:54] the park was like [53:56] "That's West's voice." You know? And [53:58] >> [laughter] [53:58] >> I have it at conferences all the time [53:59] where people go you're in line and [54:01] you're talking to somebody and somebody [54:02] will just go [54:04] "I know that voice." You know? Cuz it's [54:06] just like [54:08] >> Yeah. We were at the Internet event at [54:11] the Golden State at the Chase Center and [54:13] people were speaking and somebody had to [54:15] come out and be like [54:17] "Can you be quiet, West?" West was [54:19] outside of the venue. And he was so loud [54:22] that they was interrupting the stage [54:25] show. Yeah, my voice definitely carries. [54:27] But this was at the park on Christmas [54:29] day and some guy from across the park [54:32] like was like, "That's West." And he [54:33] like went over and was like, "Hey, I [54:35] listen to the podcast." Which is just [54:37] crazy to think that somebody can [54:40] recognize you from your voice. And I I [54:42] don't even feel like I have a a very [54:44] unique voice. I So, West, I've the the [54:48] two of the times that I've been [54:49] recognized in public have been because [54:51] of my voice. One was at the zoo and it [54:54] was like night time, so nobody could see [54:56] me anyways. And some guy was like, [54:59] "Woah, are you Scott?" And I was there [55:01] with my family. And I was like, "Oh, [55:02] hey." He's like, "I just heard your [55:04] voice." And then another time I was on [55:06] the chairlift. I got my goggles on. I [55:08] got my face mask [clears throat] on. And [55:09] I'm just talking with some random guy on [55:12] the chairlift. And he was like "Hold on. [55:14] Is your name Scott by any chance?" I was [55:16] just like, "Yeah." He's like, "I listen [55:17] to Syntax." [55:18] What? This is crazy. [55:21] Uh wild, yeah. [55:22] Trivia. What was the first Syntax [55:25] sponsor ever? [55:26] Are you asking me? Cuz I know. [55:28] >> Yeah. [55:29] Oh, you know, okay. Well, I I don't [55:30] think CJ would know. No, I'm not not [55:32] that deep on that. [55:33] >> uh Delicious Brains has a WordPress [55:35] plugin called WP Migrate DB Pro, which [55:39] at the time I was like a like a fairly [55:41] heavy maybe previously that I was doing [55:44] a lot of consulting and doing like [55:45] WordPress. And I had used that that [55:47] product quite a bit. And he just [55:49] randomly emailed me and was like, "Hey, [55:51] can we sponsor?" And at the time I [55:52] didn't even think we could could get [55:54] sponsors on it. And we're like, "Yeah, [55:56] hell yeah. Come on." So, that was the [55:58] the very first one. Yeah, FreshBooks was [56:00] pretty early on there as well as a [56:02] sponsor. [56:03] Um and Sentry came on pretty early as [56:05] well. Delicious Brains sponsored the [56:07] fourth episode. And the reason why [56:09] that's significant is because when West [56:12] and I first recorded, we recorded three [56:15] episodes in a batch that were like ready [56:18] to go so that way we would have like a [56:20] couple of weeks to put together more [56:22] episodes. So, the fourth episode is [56:24] significant because that's the first [56:25] episode that was recorded after we had [56:28] released one episode. So, they were on [56:31] it immediately. Very impressive because [56:34] I think they also just like eyeballed [56:36] it. I We learned very quickly after that [56:38] there is people that have scripts that [56:40] like watch iTunes charts at the time. [56:43] And then as soon as we spiked on the [56:45] iTunes charts, we got tons of emails [56:47] from just like [56:48] like random companies. You know, like [56:50] like underwear and shaving and all that [56:52] stuff. We never really took on any of [56:54] those sponsors. We almost entirely were [56:57] tech [56:59] products except for some clothing [57:02] companies. The Armory [57:03] >> The Armory in New York was like a [57:04] high-end men's clothing company, which [57:06] is really cool. Was there any other [57:09] sponsors that were not tech? I don't [57:11] know. We were pretty selective about uh [57:15] we could be selective about who we [57:16] worked with. We didn't want [57:18] uh things that either wouldn't be [57:19] relevant or if stuff we didn't actually [57:21] like or believe in. [57:23] Uh the audience is saying FreshBooks. [57:24] FreshBooks was one of the very first [57:26] sponsors as well. They also were quick [57:28] to sponsor us. [57:30] Oh, Andre just in the chat mentioned who [57:32] edited the early episodes. [57:35] Me. [57:36] >> Scott. I I did the music. I did the [57:39] bumpers. I edited it. I was a music [57:42] major, but I'm also I don't think they [57:44] were very good. I It's so funny as I I [57:47] went to school for music technology and [57:49] audio engineering and stuff. But that [57:51] was never like anything I was actually [57:53] that good at. So, I I I didn't Logic. [57:56] And I think that was part of it, too, is [57:57] I just like wasn't used to Logic. So, I [57:59] was just hacking my way through Logic. I [58:02] still have all those files, which [58:04] uh I'm a digital hoarder, so I probably [58:07] >> [laughter] [58:08] >> You know, one thing I deleted a couple [58:10] years ago, which I regret, is I had the [58:12] Zoom recordings from all of our early [58:15] episodes. [58:16] Because we used to we just record [58:18] locally and clap. And then but we used [58:20] Zoom just to talk to each other. This is [58:22] before like Riverside was even a thing. [58:24] >> remember using Zoom to do this. I don't [58:27] remember. I don't [clears throat] [58:28] remember Zoom for some reason. [58:30] >> And I remember looking at them before I [58:32] deleted them and I was like our we just [58:34] had like crappy webcams and like it was [58:36] it was not very good at the time. No, I [58:38] think I had a crappy You had a really [58:40] nice setup from the early days. That's [58:42] right. Yeah, cuz I was doing live [58:44] streams with Level Up, so I had to. And [58:45] I wasn't doing that many of them, but I [58:46] was doing a weekly one with Kaylin. [58:49] Or a monthly one. [58:50] On that note, like I really upped my [58:52] production quality when I joined Syntax. [58:53] Like before I was I was even though I [58:55] was a live streamer, I was just using [58:56] webcams, like 4K webcams. [59:00] I literally like when I got the job it [59:01] was I had like a week to to prepare and [59:03] I bought [59:04] like a Sony camera and a nice lens and I [59:07] got my whole scene set up and [59:09] everything. Did you get your Venusaur [59:11] then or was it always there? That's more [59:13] recent addition, like within the past [59:15] few months. [59:16] What's a Venusaur? A Pokémon. [59:19] Venusaur. [59:21] >> [laughter] [59:23] [gasps] [59:24] >> Oh, that's good. Yeah, you you you [59:26] called out that comment, though, but [59:27] when is the next meet up Syntax Conf? I [59:29] think like it would be cool to do like a [59:30] two-day thing. Like we do workshops for [59:32] a day. All of us can teach something and [59:34] then bring some of the speakers that [59:36] have been on the podcast to speak at the [59:38] comp. That'd be really cool. I would [59:40] love to do that. We actually had a call [59:42] like in 2019 about doing a Syntax [59:45] conference with Ben who runs He ran like [59:50] Reactathon, Real World React. I think [59:52] he's doing like AI conferences now. [59:54] And [59:55] we were thinking about doing it, but [59:57] then [59:59] COVID happened and like the whole [60:00] conference scene just got decimated. So, [60:03] yeah, it'd be pretty fun. We've done [60:05] tons of meetups, right? And we've done [60:07] probably 10 different Syntax live shows. [60:09] So, those are always really fun. We did [60:11] some in Colorado, some in We've done [60:13] just some like [60:14] just come to a bar and drink beer with [60:16] us and then we've done like live coding. [60:18] So, it would be fun to do like a full-on [60:20] conference. Let us know where in the [60:22] world we should be doing this. Yeah. [60:25] Well, we are going to be doing a Syntax [60:26] meetup in Amsterdam this summer. So, [60:30] Yes. around the same time as JS Nation. [60:34] >> Yes. [60:34] >> on What's What's that date? June [60:37] Thursday, June 11th. [60:38] >> June 11th. But, the meetup will probably [60:40] be on the 10th, I think. Yeah. So, if [60:42] you're in Amsterdam for JS Nation or [60:44] React Summit, [60:46] uh keep an eye out for that because we [60:47] will be there hanging out doing a live [60:49] show, all that stuff. Actually, the [60:50] whole team's going to be there. So, you [60:51] can meet everybody. [60:52] >> And [60:53] we tell you to get a Syntax or get a [60:55] ticket to JS Nation, but also our our [60:58] party, like our meetup, is You don't [61:00] have to have a ticket to the conference [61:02] to get in. So, it's going to be sick. [61:04] Yeah. But, you should come to JS Nation. [61:06] I'll be MCing. Wes is giving a a talk. [61:08] Scott's giving a talk at React Summit, [61:10] which is the next day. So, come hang out [61:12] with us. [61:12] >> I'm giving a talk at React Summit, [61:13] folks. You're going to love to hear [61:14] that. And [laughter] uh I'm also I'm [61:17] also MCing at JS Nation. Yeah. I I I [61:20] can't wait to speak at React Summit. I I [61:22] uh I'm not going to be mean. I'm not [61:24] going to say anything bad about React. [61:26] Good. I I got a couple more supercuts [61:28] here to play, but um before we do that, [61:31] is there anything else we haven't [61:32] covered here? How many guests have you [61:34] had? Do you have a number? [61:35] >> Oh, yeah. [61:37] I know how many. Do you know how many, [61:38] Scott? [61:39] Oh, I have no idea. No, I have no idea. [61:43] It's way more than I would have thought. [61:44] Guess. You just guess. [61:45] >> Okay. [61:47] 250. [61:48] 190. That you you over guessed. You [61:51] ruined it. [61:51] >> [laughter] [61:53] >> That's actually crazy that we've had 100 [61:55] because [61:56] in the early days, we didn't do guests [61:58] until episode 170-ish. [62:02] We had a couple people on here and [62:03] there. Sacha Grief was the first one. [62:06] Cortland Allen from Indie Hackers and [62:08] Sarah Sweden were our first three [62:10] guests. And then we started Basically, [62:13] we'd like added a third show. We we did [62:15] Hasty Treat, short one on a Monday. We [62:18] did a Tasty Treat, like an hour-long one [62:20] on a Wednesday. And then we added a [62:22] Friday episode, which is kind of like an [62:24] interview. And man, I have loved this [62:27] because you've you've gotten to meet [62:29] like [62:30] 200 of the like top dogs in our [62:33] industry. And it's so cool to see [62:35] everybody at you go to a conference, you [62:36] get to see them, you know everybody. I [62:38] When I was MCing JS Nation last year, it [62:41] was like every single person I [62:43] interviewed or introduced on stage was [62:45] like someone we had on the show. So, it [62:47] felt so much better to interview them on [62:49] stage. I, you know, had questions to ask [62:51] and and things like that. It was Just [62:53] everybody's so great. So, uh shout out [62:54] to anyone who's ever been a guest on [62:56] Syntax. You're all amazing for joining [62:57] us for that. Uh do you have the intro [62:59] themes as well, Wes? The previous intro [63:02] themes? [63:02] >> Randy has them if he if he wants to play [63:04] it for I think I think he's he's [63:06] watching in the chat. Yeah. [63:07] >> Oh, yeah. Randy has the uh he at least [63:09] has the the Supper Club theme. Which I'm [63:11] going to be honest, the Supper Club [63:13] theme was always my least favorite of [63:15] the three. Mine as well. So, for the [63:17] audience listening, we used to have [63:19] these sick intros um that were like [63:22] radio monster truck DJ. And we used to [63:25] put them at the start of every episode. [63:28] Um but, unfortunately, Tik Tok has [63:31] ruined all of your brains and you don't [63:33] listen if you don't get like what is [63:35] happening within the first like 12 [63:37] seconds of a video, you turn it off. So, [63:38] we had to get rid of those. Also, people [63:40] hated them. [63:41] >> [laughter] [63:43] >> Which is so funny. Yeah. That was like [63:45] what simultaneously that was so they [63:47] were so divisive. Like, people were were [63:49] hearing a lot of get rid of them, [63:51] they're cringey, and also we love them, [63:53] don't get rid of them. It's actually [63:54] funny to think about the like [63:56] progression of content that we've done [63:58] because we used to [64:01] do like a 30-second intro. And then we [64:04] used to do how you doing, chit-chat, [64:06] what's going on in your life. And that [64:08] would be the first like 10 minutes of [64:09] the podcast. And I always I always [64:12] really enjoyed that. I think people also [64:13] enjoyed getting like a little peek into [64:14] our lives as well. But, since things [64:17] have moved more into like the [64:18] algorithmic way, like you can't have as [64:21] much of that. We have to try to get into [64:22] it as fast as possible. [64:24] Yeah. Yeah, people also accused us of [64:27] selling out when we got rid of them [64:28] because it was we got rid of them right [64:30] when the Century [64:32] acquisition happened. But, that was just [64:33] something we'd been wanting to do for a [64:35] while. [laughter] [64:36] >> because we finally had somebody like [64:37] Randy say, "Hey, [64:39] can you turn those off?" [64:40] >> [laughter] [64:43] >> Yeah, that'd be hilarious if it was in [64:45] the Century contract. We're going to [64:46] purchase you, but you have to stop [64:48] playing the intros. [64:49] >> [laughter] [64:49] >> Yeah. [64:50] All right, let me share Or sorry, Randy, [64:52] do you have the the first one that you [64:54] can play? [64:55] He has the Supper Club one. All right, [64:57] play the Supper Club one, Scott's least [64:58] favorite. [65:00] I sure hope you're hungry. Whoa, I'm [65:02] starving. Wash those hands, pull up a [65:05] chair, and secure that feedback because [65:08] it's time to listen to Scott Tolinski [65:10] and Wes Bos attempt to use human [65:12] language to converse with and pick the [65:14] brains of other developers, ones way [65:17] smarter than these guys. I thought there [65:19] was going to be food. So, buckle up and [65:22] grab that oh [ __ ] handle because this [65:24] ride is going to get wild. [65:28] This is the Syntax Supper Club. [65:33] I I don't like it. Um you know, I've [65:35] never heard it. And I will say this, I [65:38] have literally never heard that outside [65:41] of when we first got it at 1x speed, at [65:44] the normal speed. It usually felt like [65:46] it went so much faster every time I [65:48] listened to it. This time it was just [65:50] like, "Oh, this is so slow." [65:53] Yeah. [65:54] Yeah, it was a bit it was too long even [65:56] at the time. Um [65:59] Here is episode 56. I think this is one [66:02] of the first ones where we had this [66:03] intro. Let me play it. [66:06] You're listening to Syntax, the podcast [66:09] with the tastiest web development treats [66:11] out there. Strap yourself in and get [66:13] ready. Here is Scott Tolinski and Wes [66:15] Bos. Welcome to [66:18] Nice. So, that one was just like a [66:20] little intro. [66:23] Do you guys like did you hire somebody [66:24] specifically? Like, the monster truck [66:26] guy, that's like a real voice This is [66:27] before AI voices. This is a real guy, [66:29] right? Yeah, that was like a They call [66:31] them growlers [66:33] in radio. And we went on Fiverr and [66:36] found found a growler that would would [66:38] make us one. And I think this one has [66:40] the [66:42] monster truck. LET'S LISTEN. [66:44] MONDAY. [66:45] MONDAY. [66:47] HI, DEV FANS. Get ready to stuff YOUR [66:50] FACE WITH JAVASCRIPT, CSS, NODE MODULES, [66:52] BARBECUE CHIPS, GET WORKFLOW, BREAK [66:54] DANCING, SOFT SKILLS, WEB DEVELOPMENT. [66:56] THE HASTIEST, THE CRAZIEST, THE TASTIEST [66:59] WEB DEVELOPMENT TREATS COMING IN HOT. [67:02] HERE IS WES "BARRACUDA" BOS AND SCOTT [67:05] "EL TORO LOCO" TOLINSKI. [67:10] THE barracuda [67:12] and the the El Toro Loco was hilarious. [67:16] Yeah. I My favorite thing about that one [67:18] was the airplane [67:19] uh [67:20] uh sound. Uh here I got my El Toro Loco [67:23] sign sign. [67:24] >> [snorts] [67:24] >> Um shout out to Aerotype. Aerotype is a [67:28] a a type foundry. And um [67:31] uh Stephen over there did this by hand [67:33] for me. It was really cool. [67:36] Did you guys come Who came up with the [67:38] El Toro Loco and Barracuda? I did. I [67:42] I remember messaging Scott being like, [67:43] "We need something funny to call you." I [67:45] think I had a I forget how we came up [67:47] with the Barracuda and El Toro Loco. I [67:49] think El Toro Loco came up because that [67:51] like that's an actual monster truck. [67:53] >> It's a monster truck, yeah. Yeah. [68:00] There's the nifty cut. [68:02] >> [laughter] [68:04] [gasps] [68:05] >> Uh what is I don't even know what these [68:06] are. Let me play it. [68:23] That's a bit too long. [68:25] That's [laughter] a good one. [68:27] Uh do we have the my wife cut? The my [68:29] wife cut might be my favorite. [68:31] >> wife Okay, let me bring the my wife up. [68:34] Uh the my my wife cut I I was losing it [68:36] that one. [68:38] My wife my wife [68:58] >> [laughter] [69:01] >> My wife The best one is where you're [69:04] just like [69:05] my wife. And then Courtney's face while [69:07] I'm saying that, she's just like [69:09] she's [laughter] so [69:11] What are you saying right now? [69:13] Why do I I'm holding a drill? [69:15] Oh, yeah. [69:16] >> [laughter] [69:18] >> Must have been the sickest thing. Look [69:20] at how disgusting she is with [laughter] [69:22] you. [69:23] She's She's not stoked. Yeah, she's [69:24] like, uh what are you saying right now? [69:28] Uh [69:29] Pretty good. Pretty sick. [69:31] Pretty nice. [69:32] Pretty neat. Actions you can make and [69:35] Pretty cool. Pretty cool. Pretty sick. [69:37] Pretty cool. Pretty cool. Nifty. [69:40] Pretty nice. Pretty sick. [69:41] Pretty cool. Pretty sweet. Pretty cool. [69:44] Pretty cool. [69:46] Pretty nifty. Pretty neat. Pretty slick. [69:49] Pretty neat. [69:50] Super cool. Pretty cool. Pretty cool. [69:51] Pretty neat. [69:53] Oh my god. [69:54] You're so ridiculous. [69:56] >> [gasps] [69:57] >> Oh, the pizza one is good too. So, I I'm [69:59] just going to play this. [70:08] I want the pizza. [70:16] >> [laughter] [70:23] >> Uh insane how many times we've said [70:24] pizza. I guess we did the pizza video, [70:26] but [70:27] >> the pizza video. Yeah, that's so funny. [70:29] Oh my god. Oh man. I I have so many of [70:32] these and all I want to do is just [70:35] download like other people's YouTube [70:36] videos as well and make super cuts of of [70:40] them. It's just so good. Oh, I got to do [70:43] the AI one for a couple minutes. [70:53] You said this was 40 minutes? [70:55] So, I I had to limit it to I think 150, [71:00] but I I ran it without a limit. It was 4 [71:02] and 1/2 minutes. [71:03] >> [laughter] [71:03] >> And that's with every like fourth one, [71:07] it tiles them. [71:09] Mhm. So, it tries to find words that are [71:12] the same length [71:14] and then it plays them over top of each [71:15] other. [71:16] You kind of hear them in harmony. [71:18] I do like the harmony. That is very [71:20] funny. [71:21] Okay. [71:22] Well, West, we're we're coming up on an [71:24] hour and 20 some minutes. [71:26] Is there anything else you wanted to [71:28] hit? I don't think so. I think thanks [71:30] everybody for tuning in. This has been a [71:32] wild thousand episodes. I can't believe [71:34] that I get to do this as my job. It's [71:35] super fun. And like this wouldn't be [71:38] anything without people who tune in [71:41] every single week and leave comments and [71:42] give us suggestions and tell us to stop [71:45] using the stupid monster truck intro. [71:48] Oh, yes. I thank you so much, everybody, [71:50] sincerely. Man, [71:52] uh and a thousand. I can't wait for [71:54] episode a thousand one. So, [71:56] I I think I'm just excited to do this [71:57] podcast and not more excited to do it [71:59] every single day than I was when we [72:01] first started. So, I think that's [72:02] testament to [72:04] the joy it is to work with all of y'all [72:06] and, you know, CJ joining the team. It's [72:08] been amazing to have you as a part of [72:10] this group. And [72:12] West, man, it's [72:14] I don't think I've ever once been like, [72:15] "I got to record a podcast with West [72:17] today." I'm like it's like always just [72:19] like [72:20] a joy to hang out, you know, with your [72:23] buddy talking about the stuff you love. [72:25] So, Shooting the [ __ ] about the web. [72:28] I love it. [72:29] >> stuff. Cool. Thanks for Thanks for [72:31] hiring me. Thanks for having me, guys. [72:33] It's been great. Here's Here's to 1,000 [72:34] more. [72:35] 1,000 more. [72:37] Peace. Peace. Oh, we should have done a [72:39] peace supercut.  📄 **Full text:** ![[Full Document Contents/Articles/Syntax Episode 1,000!.md|Syntax Episode 1,000! by YouTube]] ## Highlights - >> Welcome to Syntax. >> Welcome to Syntax. Welcome to Syntax. Welcome to Syntax. Welcome to Syntax. >> Welcome to Syntax. Welcome to Syntax. >> Welcome to Syntax. Welcome to Syntax. >> Welcome to Syntax. >> Welcome to Syntax. >> Welcome to Syntax. Welcome to Syntax. >> Welcome to Syntax. 1,000 episodes. Here we are, Syntax number 1,000. We're live streaming the whole thing. We got Scott here. We got myself here. We actually have the whole team here. We got an awesome episode planned for you, so don't go anywhere. We got some fun history on the podcast. We've got some ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01kqcrf9xh4q7gx1s5t5sa62rt)) - Tags: 👻 ai highlighted - going to get be going through all that stuff. We're going to introduce the team, go through some of the history. We even I dug up the Google Doc that me and Scott on April 1st, 2016, uh we sort of just banged our heads together as to what a good podcast would look like. And uh I I pulled it up and we're going to go through it together, so let's get on into it. First of all, let's let's bring the team on and uh introduce everyone. It's not just Scott and I, Wes App, but uh there's much more talented people behind the scenes that ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01kqcrf9xq9g3ymc9wzdf1hh5z)) - Tags: 👻 ai highlighted - >> [laughter] >> great great process joining the team. Honestly, it's it's a lot of fun because like you guys had a lot of systems in place that that you were pretty comfortable with, but you also had this like total open just just do whatever makes the podcast sick. And I came in and I at first I was like like I feel like there's no like they don't have any direction for me. I don't know if they like like what I'm doing, but you guys were just so chill with the like [laughter] make the podcast sick, so But, that was that was part of the hiring process, though, is that we interviewed so many people and we were essentially just like you tell me what to do. But, yeah. Like ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01kqcrf9y8vkg9986dp5a3w34c)) - Tags: 👻 ai highlighted - Uh not much. Yeah, um I don't know what to say. I I'm excited to be here. [laughter] I I think um if [clears throat] we're talking about like how I got onto the team, um I I had to interview. It was a process. I think I had impostor syndrome for like at least the first 6 months of like do I even belong here? Cuz I used to listen to Syntax myself on my commute. Um so, yeah, to join and then be able to make my own videos. I think initially you guys hired me it was like dive into topics that are on the podcast, so I did a lot of that. Now I'm ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01kqcrf9yv53pgjsmj8s5ygpak)) - Tags: 👻 ai highlighted - of out of that episode. And I I was really sad when they like stopped doing that. And I was like, "We should build up like a the modern version of jQuery cuz it's it's they're just silly and it's entertaining and and you learn a lot from it." That was the first podcast that I was really into. Like the very first one. Yeah. Things that we hate about podcasts. I actually thought we connected a lot on stuff that we didn't want it to be. I know that there's just these two things, too long and rambly, inside joke, titles that don't lead you in. I think there were so many more ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01kqcrfa80w09cj6zzpvgnwk8c)) - Tags: 👻 ai highlighted - things that we initially talked about as being stuff that we don't like about podcasts. And to me, that fact that we had such similar tastes in what we didn't like about other shows was something that led me to like be like, "Oh, this is a good idea." You know? Exactly. So, if for those who don't know, Scott and I were part of a what's called a mastermind, where it was four guys who just like sold web dev courses. And we would meet up like every other week and just kind of talk about the business. And then Scott and I just ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01kqcrfah0f9frab7ky79pb1g3)) - Tags: 👻 ai highlighted - 200 of the like top dogs in our industry. And it's so cool to see everybody at you go to a conference, you get to see them, you know everybody. I When I was MCing JS Nation last year, it was like every single person I interviewed or introduced on stage was like someone we had on the show. So, it felt so much better to interview them on stage. I, you know, had questions to ask and and things like that. It was Just everybody's so great. So, uh shout out to anyone who's ever been a guest on Syntax. You're all amazing for joining us for that. Uh do you have the intro themes as well, Wes? The previous intro ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01kqcrfas45bhry0f0q7w2ckmv)) - Tags: 👻 ai highlighted - do like a 30-second intro. And then we used to do how you doing, chit-chat, what's going on in your life. And that would be the first like 10 minutes of the podcast. And I always I always really enjoyed that. I think people also enjoyed getting like a little peek into our lives as well. But, since things have moved more into like the algorithmic way, like you can't have as much of that. We have to try to get into it as fast as possible. Yeah. Yeah, people also accused us of selling out when we got rid of them because it was we got rid of them right ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01kqcrfbbrptyvpbc03ve5skcb)) - Tags: 👻 ai highlighted - of the first ones where we had this intro. Let me play it. You're listening to Syntax, the podcast with the tastiest web development treats out there. Strap yourself in and get ready. Here is Scott Tolinski and Wes Bos. Welcome to Nice. So, that one was just like a little intro. Do you guys like did you hire somebody specifically? Like, the monster truck guy, that's like a real voice This is before AI voices. This is a real guy, right? Yeah, that was like a They call ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01kqcrfc392v0a0jpmg8s4a4y0)) - Tags: 👻 ai highlighted - wild thousand episodes. I can't believe that I get to do this as my job. It's super fun. And like this wouldn't be anything without people who tune in every single week and leave comments and give us suggestions and tell us to stop using the stupid monster truck intro. Oh, yes. I thank you so much, everybody, sincerely. Man, uh and a thousand. I can't wait for episode a thousand one. So, I I think I'm just excited to do this podcast and not more excited to do it every single day than I was when we ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01kqcrfcse6hd1342vfe7wgg57)) - Tags: 👻 ai highlighted