You Have Burning Questions - WAN Show March 28, 2025

Episode Summary

Executive Summary: The episode centered on LMG’s transparency about how it makes money, the limits of interpreting revenue data, and why the company won’t publish profitability by department. The hosts also covered AMD GPU sales momentum, Troy Hunt being phished, 23andMe’s bankruptcy and data risks, Nintendo’s new digital game lending system, YouTube notification experiments, and sponsor/news updates. A major undercurrent was how public criticism, transparency, and trust affect creators and companies.

Main Topics: LMG revenue transparency and the 'How Does LTT Make Money' follow-up (Priority: 5/5): Linus and Luke responded to community speculation about LMG’s revenue mix, emphasizing that public chart math can only estimate top-line revenue and does not capture overhead, fees, taxes, or cross-channel effects. Why LMG won’t publish profitability by segment (Priority: 5/5): They explained that allocating true costs to each department or video would require huge administrative overhead and imperfect accounting, so the company prefers only data it can trust rather than granular but misleading estimates. AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT launch performance and GPU pricing (Priority: 4/5): The hosts discussed AMD’s claim that the RX 9070 XT sold 10x its predecessor in week one, then broadened into a critique of GPU pricing, MSRP irrelevance, and the shrinking value proposition of low-end/mid-range cards. Troy Hunt/HIBP phishing incident and security lessons (Priority: 4/5): They covered how Have I Been Pwned creator Troy Hunt was phished via a fake MailChimp email, framing it as a reminder that even security experts can be caught, and that awareness matters more than shame. 23andMe bankruptcy and genetic data privacy risk (Priority: 4/5): The episode highlighted 23andMe’s Chapter 11 filing, the massive drop in valuation, and the danger that sensitive genetic data could be monetized or misused during a sale or restructuring. Platform and product updates: Nintendo, YouTube, and LTTstore (Priority: 3/5): Nintendo’s new family-sharing model for digital games was praised as consumer-friendly, YouTube’s notification test was noted as a metrics-protecting platform change, and the show ended with store promotions and Floatplane updates.

Key Arguments: LMG’s revenue can be estimated from public cues, but the estimate is inherently fuzzy because it excludes major factors like non-AdSense revenue, OG subs, and other creators on Floatplane. Publishing department-level profitability would be more misleading than useful because true costs are hard to attribute without enormous administrative logging and internal overhead. Ad in-video sponsor segments still matter because they are a low-lift, high-margin revenue stream layered on top of production costs; removing them would cut meaningful revenue. The company’s transparency has mostly created community blowback, but it has not meaningfully harmed sponsor or business relationships. AMD’s launch-week sales success does not necessarily prove long-term success; GPU category health must be judged over longer periods and at realistic prices. Security incidents like Troy Hunt’s phishing show that even very careful people can be tricked; the right reaction is to improve awareness, not mock the victim. 23andMe’s situation underscores that sensitive personal/genetic data is a liability when a consumer startup cannot sustain a profitable business model. Nintendo’s virtual game cards are a rare consumer-positive move that narrows the convenience gap between digital and physical ownership. YouTube’s notification throttling is framed as a platform optimization to preserve user engagement, but it also reduces direct creator control over audience reach.

Data Points: LMG first-year total top-line revenue: under $1 million - Linus contrasted early company revenue with current scale while explaining why costs are much larger now. Estimated LMG revenue range from public math: $32.6 million to $65.3 million - A community attempt to extrapolate revenue from Floatplane subscriber data and chart proportions. OG Floatplane subscription price: $3 - Mentioned as one reason the public revenue estimate could be off. LMG staff size: over 100 people - Used to explain why overhead and payroll are substantial. Payroll vs early-company revenue: some monthly payroll periods exceed the company’s first-year total revenue - Illustrates scale changes and current cost structure. RX 9070 XT launch-week sales: 10x predecessor - Lisa Su’s claim that the RX 9070 XT was AMD’s best first-week Radeon launch by far. 23andMe peak valuation: $6 billion (2021) - The company later collapsed in value before filing Chapter 11. 23andMe later valuation: $50 million - Shows the severity of the company’s decline. Troy Hunt incident data affected: approximately 16,000 records - MailChimp mailing list records exposed in the phishing-related export. Nintendo digital loan duration: 14 days - Borrowed virtual game cards remain usable without internet for two weeks. Canadian Tesla rebate claims: almost $20 million CAD from over 4,000 sales at one dealer in a weekend - Used to explain why Canada froze Tesla rebate payments. Tesla rebate freeze: $43 million CAD - Federal payments held while claims are investigated. YouTube notification experiment: all notifications may be disabled for some inactive users - The platform is testing automatic notification suppression for certain subscribers. 1 store API access acquired for Labs pricing: 1 retailer (at least) - Labs is building pricing and stock features with retailer API data. Precision screwdriver promo value: $20 value - A bundled deal included a $10 discount plus a free $10 end-cap set.

Pivotal Quotes: "If it was this simple to figure out the number, we probably wouldn't have included that in the video." — Elijah: Responding to speculation that listeners could precisely calculate LMG revenue from public charts. "The shutting down of the channels was never about the money." — Linus: Clarifying speculation that channel closures were driven by poor financial performance. "The hunter has become the hunted." — Linus: A joking summary of Troy Hunt being phished in a MailChimp scam.

Implications: For listeners and the industry, the episode reinforces that transparency has limits, public estimates can be misleading, and data/privacy risks are real. It also suggests digital ownership, creator monetization, and platform policies are still shifting toward convenience, control, and scrutiny.