NEW EPISODE OF MAP MEN!!!!
Added 2023-09-28 13:20:10 +0000 UTCFive! BAAAAAAAM!
Four! BAAAAAAAAAM!
Three! BWAAAAAAAM!!
Two! BDAAAAAAAM!!!
One! PCHCHCHCHWWWWWRRRRRR!!!!
New episode of Map Men is go!
Dam dappa daaaaaam.… dappa dam dam dap dappa dap dap daaaam…. (etc)
This episode is all about the Internet! Did you know that the Internet is held together by a network of undersea cables? And that there’s a lovely map of them at which to look? And did you also know that these cables can trace their origin back to 1850s? And that there is a fascinating story about them about which to learn?
So, fun fact, this episode was in fact originally two different episode ideas. After wrestling a bit with what to do, we decided to go with option 5*: Squeeze both episodes into one episode, and stitch them seamlessly together.
And you get to see this episode (or is it two episodes?) 24 hours before everyone else!
But why, you may ask, would you want to watch the episode 24 hours earlier than everybody else? What makes watching this episode on a Thursday afternoon any more thrilling an experience than watching it on a Friday afternoon? Here are three compelling reasons why you should watch the episode right this very instant.
1. As members of a small and exclusive club, you get the comments section all to yourselves! So, if you do have any questions, remarks, suggestions, or complaints, I will almost certainly be able to send a thoughtful and correctly punctuated reply.
2. 999% of the time, eagle-eyed Patreon viewers spot factual errors, editing errors, missed opportunities for gags (and suggestions for a better title/thumbnail) that can and do get corrected before the video goes fully public. So you have a chance to not only watch the video, but to change it!
3. About 12% of the time, the updated public version of the video from 24 hours in the future has had bits that we don’t love anymore removed. So there’s a good 12% chance that by viewing the video early, you actually get to see EXTRA bonus content!
Meanwhile, over on Slightly More Expensive Patreon, I’ve got an extra special treat for you. Some juicy outtakes from the previous episode - including one where I get quite badly injured. So, do look out for that. (Wish someone had said that to me.)
Once again, thank you so so so much for your continued support. Yous guys are the bests!!!
The, as they say when things like this patreon post come to an end, End.
*Option 6, by the way, was to make both episodes in portrait mode and run them together at the same time side by side. I’m disappointed we didn’t go with this. It would have been really original and completely unwatchable content.
Comments
Great video! I'll point out that cables landing in a country are regulated by that country (for example, the FCC in the USA: https://www.fcc.gov/research-reports/guides/submarine-cable-landing-licenses), so it's not a total free for all. That said, access to the cable is usually determined by contracts between members of a commercial joint venture (usually a big tech company like Google or Meta telecom partners). So access to the capacity the cable provides is still a concern. Telecom laws in the countries involved, commercial contracts, and increased use of encryption mean that snooping is hard, although government agencies have been known to tap undersea cables. (Disclaimer: I work for Google, but not the cable part.)
Nathaniel
2023-10-03 00:58:48 +0000 UTCI had to pause the video to congratulate the sound design of the parachuteless fall bit, a jarringly real sounding splat is very funny. Bravo.
Oliver
2023-09-29 09:42:37 +0000 UTC
