Premium Member State of the Union + Q&A w/ Will & Norm
We’re here to answer your questions and tell you what we’ve got planned for Premium Memberships. If you’re a Premium Member, you’ll definitely want to check this out.
67 thoughts on “Premium Member State of the Union + Q&A w/ Will & Norm”
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I think a good way to gain memberships may be where you take a video that’s edited and tag it with pre and post roll saying you can get the full xx:xx video access with premium membership. It lets people who want more content know there’s more to have but keeps the same video quality for those that just want the free stuff.
While I missed the live chat, thank your for the updates. I think the upcoming changes will be a good thing.
Overall, I love the channel, and am happy to support
it. However, I cannot help but notice
that you have a gender imbalance. How
about profiling some of the great female makers, cosplayers, and hobbyists?
How do you find out when your going to do these live chats?
I notice a racial imbalance too. How about Tested profile some of the great Asian makers and creatives?
Hi guys, thanks for the Q&A was good to clarify some important points about the premium memberships. People like to know whats going on :o)
Just a thought on the screen print posters, I think it would be great to see a tested poster in the style of the posters from Star Wars/ Indiana Jones. I have no art skills to make this happen just thought it would be cool to see.
Also I would love to see a better way to access old content and/or some more content categories/sub categories, such as RC, Movie related. There is great old content on the site that people just don’t see because it is buried.
Same for the forums would love to see a overhaul of the forum page new lay out, more categories
To see a quad copter build would be great, watching Norm and flying there quads has inspired me to start my own build, parts started arriving today… Yay.
As always guys, love your work keep it up!
Thanks for doing the stand-up thing in regards to resetting the clock on premium memberships.
I’d love to see a blockhead bobblehead, that would be fantastic merch.
I would certainly get a bobblehead.
Have you considered to publish normal video a day earlier for premium member ? I also find the bubble head a great idea! and I would also suggest sticker of the block head.
Seems like talking about stuff coming up for premium would be something you’d want to tell non premium members about…
Not that I plan on signing up when the response to my email about my old wasted Whiskey era time was essentially, “sign up and pay us, it’s great.”
I really liked the build did for the Terada Mokei paper craft models. Continuing with vids like that would be greatly appreciated (except for my wallet!)
As for Merch, the exclusive buy in on Geek Chic was awesome. Any way of doing more things like that, maybe partnerships with artists or companies, in a way that can still help you guys out?
i got into the site through the still untitled podcast a couple of months ago. That led onto the longer podcast and then the site proper. I thought based on everything I was getting out of it, the yearly subscription was fair.
So that’s why I went premium. Im delighted that it looks like more stuffs in the pipeline. An occasional chat in euro time zone would be great too as Im from Ireland so there’s about 8 hours in the difference here. (one a year would be enough, just if ye give plenty of notice that its upcoming)
Seems great. I really like what you have planned, especially the building-stuff part 😉 . I knew you were a small team but never quite realised that it was just the three of you.
I also want to say that I like the 20-30 minute format on the still untitled podcast. I listen to a lot of podcasts, mots of which are between 90 and 120 minutes. It’s great to have the longer ones, but on a short commute or in other limited time situations, the shorter podcasts are really nice.
Looking forward to this Premium upgrade! Twothumbsup.
Thanks guys, looking forward to it.
I really like the length of Still Untitled, the shorter format keeps the conversation fresh.
And looking forward to more of the Phantom Quad copter footage, it’s really incredible.
I’m glad I spent the money to support the site, you guys are one of my daily stops on the web. Looking forward to seeing some more in depth projects. Would particularly love to see a quad or octo copter build from scratch or available components.
I’ve also enjoyed the premium content thus far (especially the dumb stuff like Norm eating 30 year old gum). I’m just happy to support the site.
The play button on the image has a line through it… And does not play! Am I missing something? I am a premium member. Other premium stuff seems to work fine.
Hi guys,
I like the new ideas you have planned to do with the premium support (specially the one-day-build. I my case, I did not became premium for the exclusive content or merch (I am Spainsh, so not really easy to get merch here), I became premium because I enjoy a lot what you guys do and I feel such small contribution is well worth all that I get from this site.
Keep on rocking!
Thanks for the update. Just wanted to say that I realized I was coming to the website everyday and enjoying it very much and when the opportunity came up to help out the little bit I could, I took it. Also, I bought the red shirt with all you guys in 8-bit and when I wear it around, I get some awesome WTF looks and even some verbal questions.
Became a member only because I wanted to support the site, and I’m looking forward to whatever you guys have planned for the future. As for merch, I’d love to see something else other than just shirts. Personally, I’d really like prints of some sort… maybe even a limited run that’s signed?
Another premium member happy to pay regardless of premium content. The stuff mentioned in the chat is a welcome bonus. Thanks for being informative, honest and entertaining. Your content feels like a chat with friends. I love it.
Really appreciate the update, and thank you for the kind gesture of resetting the clock on our renewal.
I hope the site as far as its content is concerned, doesn’t get too polished and too refined, i love the all the tangents that the podcasts go through, I love that it feels just like a chat and not an interview. I can only see this site getting bigger and bigger over the next few years and I hope it keeps its charm.
I may be in the minority on this one but I wasn’t fussed about the inventern, and as Will says, if its a large chunk of budget to do then I’m all for spending that money on other projects.
Keep up the good work.
I’m just happy to be here.
A Tested coffee mug would be pretty cool.
Have Jamie and Adam do the membership drive. They did a pretty good job on the tour.
I’ve been supporting you guys since the Whisky days, love the site and happy to be able to support it. The premium stuff is just icing on the cake.
I agree.
I thought the exclusive offer of the Geek Chic sword was quite cool. It would be great if you have the opportunity to offer anything else like that.
I hope that you go over many of these things in a future podcast so that non-premium members can also hear much of this information, as well.. 😉
Appreciate the response, sadly, I do not have your site up 24/7 – perhaps an email message to the premium members (another advantage for joining) so we have a chance of joining in.
I just wanted to say, I love visiting the site and I love the content that is always posted up. So signing up for premium content was a no brainer! I would love to buy more merchandise for sure!
I think (like other members has suggested) the lure to non premium members with a quick plug on free content may help.
Anyway keep up the good work!
Thanks for the update guys, keep up the good work.
My membership is strictly for supporting the site, so thanks, but don’t care about the perks. HOWEVER 🙂 If I never used my annual membership store credit, will it still be valid when you switch to the new vendor?
Also, make some coffee mugs, or coffee travel mugs. I don’t need a new t-shirt.
I want to get premium, but the only way for me to pay online is with paypal. Please add that soon.
Thank you for the update. I watch everything you guys put out at this point and can’t wait for Maker Faire videos! I will say that when I paid for my premium membership I was looking forward to longer more in depth videos of what you guys already put out. The stuff that ends up on the cutting room floor at least. I’m on the fence with the plans that you have going forward. Seams more like we are “Paid Members” not so much “Premium Members.” “Premium” connotes something of exclusivity to content and now that is up for everyone.
YES! More Bricked!
As a premium subscriber who didn’t get a chance to join the QA, I just wanted to throw in my thoughts and suggestions.
I can only speak for myself, but I don’t want to see any content locked behind a paywall. I didn’t sign up for a premium membership because I wanted to keep other people from seeing content. I signed up for a premium membership, because I wanted a deeper involvement with your site.
However, unlike some, I’m not saying that I just want to give you money to support you, without getting anything at all for that money. I would like to see some small additional value for my membership, but not in the form of locking other people out of content. While I didn’t take part in it, I think things like that sword group buy were more the kind of thing I was hoping for when I signed up as a premium subscriber.
I can think of all sorts of those kinds of things that would make me feel great about my premium membership, without shutting other people out of content. For example, it would have been great, with the Zoidberg project, if your premium members could have gotten a coupon for a discount on Smooth-On products, or a special “Zoidberg Project sculpting or casting starter set” bundle of Smooth-On products available for purchase to premium members, with products picked out by the team that did Zoidberg. Even just an email shopping list with the products used and a couple tips would have been cool.
For that matter, I would have been ecstatic had there been a meetup at Wondercon, for premium members to get a chance to see the Zoidberg up close and in person. Instead, after following the Zoidberg project from the beginning, I actually saw the finished costume in some random Wondercon You-Tube video, before Tested even mentioned that it was done.
You guys cover a lot of niche stuff and odd tools. Personally, after hearing an entire video about how cool a particular thing is, for me it would be much cooler for my premium membership to make it easier to find and buy that thing, than it would be to see an exclusive behind the scenes video of you setting up the lights before the shoot. It all seems like easy stuff to negotiate when you are already talking to sponsors about projects, without actually increasing the budget.
+1
Some ideas:
You had me at Bricked!
And I should add that I am a member to support whatever content you make, free or behind the pay wall. You bring me both entertainment and information and for that I am willing to pay. Keep up the great work.
Not that I don’t love you guys, Will & Norm, but I’d like to see the Adam block head shirts available again… or I’d like to see the 8-bit shirts available in a darker color (I know, that’s exactly the OPPOSITE of what people have said, but I like dark-colored t-shirts: they make me look thinner than I am).
Also, I whole-heartedly SECOND the recommendation to bring in more gender diversity. There are many fantastic female makers out there who should be featured. Tested is a bit of a sausage-fest, unfortunately, and I DO get that male commenters on some sites can be misogynistic, but I think we can get past that.
I second the recommendation to have “sampler” videos for the non-premium members, so long as “Premium” videos don’t become longer, un-edited versions of those. If you truly have more funding for editing, use it for just that: edit TWO cuts of the videos; one well-edited video for Premium members, and one “trailer” version for soon-to-be-Premium members. Then, release a few of the most popular Premium videos to the unwashed masses to give them a full taste of what they’re missing.
I hate pay walls as much as the next person, but I believe in you guys, and feel the annual fee for Premium is worth it.
Also, I’d REALLY like to see a listing of the preferred tools (hardware, software, etc.) of each of the Tested folks. What is Adam’s favorite Box & Pan Brake? What software tools does Norm like to use for 3D modeling? What are the top ten go-to Apps on Will’s phone? What brand of razor does Jamie use to keep his head smooth? Inquiring (Premium) minds want to know…
Wait, there’s an L.A. office? Is this just for website ops, or are there other L.A.-based celebs/makers you could feature them?
Thanks for the extended membership!
.
Yes I was on an iPad. I guess this is a Google+ issue then. I saw the link… Tried it… And I was able to watch the Q&A session.
Thx for the response.
How bout a Roku channel? I’d prefer to watch premium things on my tv 🙂
(and I know I can download it, save it to a plex folder, and stream it to the tv. but that requires that I’m on my computer and that it’s on, which is a hassle sometimes)
I also think you should do ‘early release’ for premium members – let us have access a day or two (http://lwn.net does a week) earlier than the rest of the universe.
Instead of more videos, I would like to see a more direct access resource of knowledge that Jamie and Adam have to making. Maybe something along the lines of a premium access only forum where we can ask questions pertaining to our own projects or possibly premium only live QA
Its not letting me edit my comment for some reason, but I also wanted to add that with the reality that Jamie and Adam’s time is limited, but it would be nice to maybe get access to some of their peers to answer questions our questions/ give tips for our home projects.
I like the idea of opening up all content instead of having premium only content, if only so I can see the premium videos on my roku via the YouTube app 🙂
But seriously I don’t care about exclusives that regular people can’t see, I just signed up so you will continue making cool stuff, and I hope that content will help drive more traffic to the site and make things even better for everyone.
Keep up the good work!
why not make yout block build like a twitch live stream wher we can donate and give you challenges so you can make more money to the showe and we can have more fun
I know this video is a bit old but I just thought of a question, and you did ask for questions 😉 (and didn’t find a space on the forum).
I was wondering if there is (or is going to be) a feed for the premium stuff? Like a RSS-feed or some way to get notifications when a new video is posted?
Hi A couple times now over the past year you’ve said that you’d give old whisky members who still had a ton of premium time left when the sites were sold some sort of compensation in the way of a promo code for 6 months (or whatever) of premium access now that it exists on the new tested. I believe this is still the plan but I’m still waiting for details on how this will happen, any news on that yet? I’m honestly a bit hesitant to once again start paying for premium without this happening first.
The whole reason I payed for premium on whisky was so that I could support GB, Screened, and Tested all together and it’s a downer to now have to pay for GB and Tested premium separately and not even be able to go to Screened at all anymore.
black or white shirt
just the “tested” text bubble
no jamie and adam above it. nothing against them… i just think it’ll look better without it on a shirt.
You say you want to do fundraising in the style of public radio? This 1/2 hour freakonomics podcast might be worth your time: How to Raise Money Without Killing a Kitten.
Not having video for the podcast because Gina is not comfortable with it is a bit dispointing to say the least…
I really enjoy the podcast and always look forward to seeing you guys. But when there is no video, i just dont listen to it… I feel like i have less than what i should expect when there is no video…
Also, thanks for resetting the premium accounts. Because i have to admit, i was getting a bit frustrated with the quality of the video player and the content, or lack there of lately… I hope these bugs in the system get resolved and that the premium experience deserves its name in the future.
The points adressed in this statement do show that you guys listen to the subscribers and are aiming to correct these issues.
I’m looking forward to see what you have to offer in the near future.
Merci beaucoup !
A tested mug would be sick. Also I miss the food stuff like turkey fryer tests and sous vide videos.
This is just a preference regarding logo placement on t-shirts. Appearance wise, I feel that a large branding logo (any brand) on the front of a t-shirt looks more like something a elementary / high school sells with the school mascot on the front. I’ve always thought that a small chest pocket logo with a larger logo on the back makes a t-shirt look a bit more complete and thought out. Something like this.
I have no idea what Thunder Truck Co. just grabbed this image from google images as an example.
Meetups. I just moved to the area a few months ago and would love to come meet you guys and help out/take part in/check out some of this stuff!
Very much agreed, This style looks much nicer and is something I would actually wear outside the house.
After seeing the video where Will gave his critique of “Solar Freaking Roadways” (that he was much more tactful about than I could be) I was wondering if you guys could do a weekly top 5 and bottom 5 tech kickstarters that people should/shouldn’t be funding?
Also could you offer t-shirt Iron-ons for those of us 3&4x fat guys?
+1
Wouldn’t it make more sense to make this video where you discuss the potential value and exciting things that are coming available to EVERYONE??? and not just premium members?
Isnt the point to excite free memebers into wanting to purchase a yearly subscription? If the video detailing all the goodies is locked away then why would i ever subscribe?
All I ever see in the comments is people saying how the premium subscription is not really worth it, and looking through the premium tab, it seems like the last content was really posted back in april….. none of that makes me excited to sign up….
TLDR: make this video available to all so we can be teased and excited to sign up for premium.
I think you might consider changing the name from “Premium member” to “investor”. I think you should a least post non-cut version of will desk as you did with Adam in previous project or a least something I don’t think that the current format will help you get any member at all. I understand that you want to get more viewers to the site but as a paying viewers I feels that you guys don’t care about us at all, you only care about the new viewers, i’m not asking for much but some exclusive content or some signs that you know that we existe. (sorry for the bad english i’m native french speaking)
This video was posted on May 16th, and I don’t know if it’s just me, but I don’t see a single video following it here in the premium tab. It’s July guys. I came here for the premium videos. I don’t care about t-shirts, I don’t care about shop deals. Video content is what myself, and I’m sure plenty others are here for.