Technology Connections is an American YouTube channel covering the history and mechanics of consumer electronics, home appliances, and other pieces of technology, created by Alec Watson of Chicago, Illinois. Subjects of focus include transportation,[2] HVAC, refrigeration, photography, and home audio and video, among others. The channel, which has received praise for Watson's humor and the depth and insight of his research, has amassed a large following on YouTube.[3][4]
| Technology Connections | |
|---|---|
 | |
| YouTube information | |
| Created by | Alec Watson |
| Years active | 2015–present |
| Genre | Documentary |
| Subscribers | 2.49 million[1] |
| Total views | 316 million[1] |
| Contents are in | English |
Last updated: October 2024 | |
Channel
editWatson registered the Technology Connections channel on YouTube in November 2014,[1] with his first video, exploring Alexander Graham Bell's role in the history of sound reproduction, uploaded in September 2015.[5] In the years since, Watson has released videos on Technology Connections covering other aspects of consumer audiovisual technology—home audio and video in particular—releasing a five-part documentary miniseries on the Compact Disc audio format by Sony and Philips in 2018; and the Capacitance Electronic Disc home video format by RCA between 2019 and 2020.[6] As well as these subjects, Watson has also explored the mechanics and history of various telephony products, aspects of television broadcasting, videocassette recorders, home appliances, electrical wiring, and more. Watson often interjects his explanations with humorous and satirical asides, as well as critiques of some of the technologies he discusses.[7]
In February 2020, Watson's Technology Connections channel was briefly and erroneously demonetized for supposed violations of YouTube's Partner Program policies. The monetization was restored after the demonetization caused an uproar on social media. Reclaim the Net attributed it to a fault in Google's internal artificial intelligence.[8]
In March 2024, Watson collaborated with Gavin Free of The Slow Mo Guys to film an episode of Technology Connections detailing the mechanics of Kodak and Sylvania's jointly developed Magicube, a multiple-use, disposable consumer flash bulb. Watson employed Free's Phantom high-speed camera to capture and study detailed close-ups of the Magicube igniting its explosive contents to create the flash. Because of the way the Phantom camera works, Free was forced to film several shots at an extreme aspect ratio to capture images at 200,000 frames per second.[9][10]
Recognition
editTechnology Connections has received praise from various publications for the depth and insight of Watson's research, as well as the wittiness of his scripts and breadth of his subject matter.[7][11] Mark Frauenfelder, the co-owner of Boing Boing, called Watson's channel "a fantastic resource for learning about the inner workings of everyday items ... break[ing] down complex concepts into easy-to-understand explanations, providing viewers with a greater appreciation for the technology that surrounds them".[3] Lifehacker's Michelle Ehrhardt wrote that Watson's "documentary style approach is comprehensive yet approachable, and while topics often have some bearing on what you have in your house right now, the channel has also done LGR Oddware-style breakdowns on odd trends or gadgets that aren't really around anymore".[11] Ehrhardt called Watson "a sort of guru for home appliances", "explain[ing] the history and methodology behind common devices like air conditioners, dishwashers, and power outlets in a genuinely fun way that might also teach you a few tricks and tips that will make your life better".[11] Adam Juniper, writing in Digital Camera World, called Watson and Free's video on the Magicube "a brilliant job of placing the different single-use flash technologies in context—historically and economically—showing how they work and then going above and beyond in explaining exactly how they work".[10] Watson's video on the automatic Sunbeam Radiant toaster went viral in 2019, with Sean Hollister of The Verge praising it as "[possibly] the smartest thing you watch today".[12] Hollister similarly praised Watson's video detailing the mechanics of the popcorn button present on most consumer microwaves.[13]
The channel has also received praise from academics. The media studies scholar Marek Jancovic called Watson's video on the famous ringer of the Western Electric Model 500 telephone—in which Watson deduces that modern feature films still use a sample of the ring derived from a sound effect LP record pressed off-center and severely warped—an example of what Jancovic calls media epigraphy. Jancovic wrote that Watson's findings represent "impressive deductions [w]orthy of a detective novel".[14] Dan MacIsaac, a professor of physics at SUNY Buffalo State, has praised Watson's explainers on home wiring, calling some of the concepts discussed illuminating, particularly on the details of plug design, electrical outlet orientation, North American home wiring, and the dangers of certain extension cords. MacIsaac recommended some Technology Connections videos as supplementary material for his introduction electromagnetism course.[7]
In 2023, Watson published a video on brake lights on electric cars and their various flaws, highlighting how his 2022 Hyundai Ioniq 5's brake lights failed to actuate despite decelerating quickly to a complete stop. The video went viral, amassing over two million views in a week, prompting a detailed report of these flaws in Consumer Reports, which in turn prompted a response from Hyundai Motor Group promising to address the issue.[15]
Personal life
editWatson is a resident of the Chicago metropolitan area.[7] He is an enthusiast of electric cars, a topic covered repeatedly on his channel, with his first electric vehicle being a Chevrolet Volt purchased in 2015 to commute to his first day job. In 2022, he upgraded to a Hyundai Ioniq 5.[4]
References
edit- ^ a b c Watson, Alec (n.d.). "Technology Connections – About". YouTube. Archived from the original on November 2, 2023.
- ^ Limer, Eric (May 15, 2018). "The Huge Advantages (and One Problem) of LED Traffic Lights". Popular Mechanics. Hearst Communications. Archived from the original on May 19, 2023.
- ^ a b Frauenfelder, Mark (March 24, 2023). "Watch this excellent explainer video on how vinyl records produce stereo sound". Boing Boing. Archived from the original on March 3, 2024.
- ^ a b Ringer, John; Meghna Chakrabarti (August 9, 2022). "Behind the government-backed effort to create a national EV charging network". WBUR.org. National Public Radio. Archived from the original on September 24, 2023.
- ^ Watson, Alec (September 23, 2015). "Bell & The Invention of Artificial Sound". Technology Connections. Archived from the original on July 24, 2024 – via YouTube.
- ^ Marshall, Colin (November 16, 2022). "When the World Got Introduced to the Amazing Compact Disc (CD) in 1982". Open Culture. Archived from the original on November 16, 2022.
- ^ a b c d MacIsaac, Dan (March 2024). "Technology Connections". The Physics Teacher. 62 (3). AIP Publishing: 239. doi:10.1119/10.0024989.
- ^ Rankovic, Didi (February 13, 2020). "YouTube demonetizes and then remonetizes Technology Connections without saying why". Reclaim the Net. Archived from the original on February 29, 2024.
- ^ Segarra, Lisa Marie (March 12, 2024). "Watch Old-School Single-Use Flash Bulbs Explode in Slow-Mo". PetaPixel. Archived from the original on July 17, 2024.
- ^ a b Adam, Juniper (February 25, 2024). "Did you know camera flashes used to use explosives? Not Xenon or LED. Explosives!". Digital Camera World. Future Publishing. Archived from the original on July 17, 2024.
- ^ a b c Ehrhardt, Michelle (July 12, 2024). "Eight of My Favorite Tech Influencers You Should Follow". Lifehacker. Ziff Davis. Archived from the original on August 15, 2024.
- ^ Hollister, Sean (November 25, 2021). "Why a toaster from 1949 is still smarter than any sold today". The Verge. Vox Media. Archived from the original on July 19, 2024.
- ^ Hollister, Sean (November 30, 2023). "The forbidden popcorn button". The Verge. Vox Media. Archived from the original on August 2, 2024.
- ^ Jancovic, Marek Jancovic (2023). A Media Epigraphy of Video Compression: Reading Traces of Decay. Springer International Publishing. pp. 51–52. ISBN 9783031332159 – via Google Books.
- ^ Monticello, Mike (June 9, 2023). "Brake Lights Can Fail to Provide Fair Warning on Some Electric Vehicles". Consumer Reports. Archived from the original on July 30, 2024.