Techmoan
{{short description|British Internet personality}}
{{Multiple issues|
{{BLP primary sources|date=September 2024}}
{{Sources exist|date=September 2024}}
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{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2019}}
{{Infobox YouTube personality
| logo =
| logo_caption = Techmoan logo
| image =
| caption =
| birth_name = Matthew Taylor
| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1971|01|18|df=y}}
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| death_date =
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| nationality =
| occupation = YouTuber
| channel_handle = Techmoan
| years_active = 2009–present
| genre = {{Flatlist|
}}
| subscribers = 1.39 million
| views = 346.2 million
| stats_update = February 2025
| network =
| associated_acts = {{Flatlist|
- The 8-Bit Guy
- Lazy Game Reviews (LGR)
- Technology Connections
- Oddity Archive
}}
| catchphrase(s) =
| silver_button = y
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Matthew "Mat" Taylor, better known by his YouTube handle Techmoan, is a British YouTuber and blogger, specializing in consumer tech reviews and retrotech documentaries about technology of historical interest.{{Cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/user/techmoan/about|title=Techmoan/about|via=YouTube|access-date=24 July 2018}}
Apart from reviews and tests, Taylor's videos often include disassembling (and repairing when possible) products and, in the case of older technology, reporting on the product's history and reception via references in publications of the time. For audio and entertainment devices this is often Billboard magazine, which at the time covered both consumer and trade electronics devices through articles and old advertisements. Bonus outro skits often feature a trio of muppet-like puppets, parodying YouTube viewer comments.[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tMZhKYriIok Comments IRL], 13 August 2018
Taylor's videos have been referenced by sites such as The A.V. Club,{{Cite news|url=https://www.avclub.com/behold-the-tefifon-the-unholy-german-union-of-vinyl-an-1798278449|title=Behold the Tefifon, the unholy German union of vinyl and 8-track|last=Henne|first=B.G.|work=News|access-date=12 November 2018 |language=en-US}} Gizmodo,{{Cite news|url=https://gizmodo.com/theres-a-good-reason-this-weird-old-cassette-format-di-1798663868|title=There's a Good Reason This Weird, Old Cassette Format Didn't Work Out|last=Menegus|first=Bryan|work=Gizmodo|access-date=12 November 2018 |language=en-US}} Hackaday,{{Cite news|url=https://hackaday.com/2018/11/02/teardown-and-repair-of-a-police-recorder/|title=Teardown and Repair of a Police Recorder|date=2 November 2018 |work=Hackaday|access-date=12 November 2018 |language=en-US}} El Español{{Cite news|url=https://omicrono.elespanol.com/2018/09/video-en-vinilo/|title=Llega el vídeo en vinilo, la experiencia más retro posible|date=18 September 2018 |work=Omicrono|access-date=13 November 2018 |language=es-ES}} and print publications such as Popular Mechanics{{Cite news|url=https://www.popularmechanics.com/technology/gear/a19757689/richo-synchofax/|title=The Strange Machine That Played Paper Instead of Records or Tapes|date=12 April 2018 |work=Popular Mechanics|access-date=12 November 2018 |language=en-US}} and The Daily Telegraph.[https://www.telegraph.co.uk/cars/advice/why-a-dashcam-could-save-you-money-on-your-car-insurance/ Why a dashcam could save you money on your car insurance], The Daily Telegraph, 11 April 2016Bryan Menegus: [https://sploid.gizmodo.com/yup-this-vertical-record-player-is-rad-1775195165 Yup, This Vertical Record Player Is Rad] 6 May 2016Bryan Menegus: [https://gizmodo.com/theres-a-good-reason-this-weird-old-cassette-format-di-1798663868 There's a Good Reason This Weird, Old Cassette Format Didn't Work Out], 31 August 2017Rhett Jones: [https://sploid.gizmodo.com/music-designed-for-an-oscilloscope-looks-and-sounds-coo-1789345209 Music Designed for an Oscilloscope Looks and Sounds Cool as Hell], 24 November 2016 By ratings on Reddit, MarketWatch listed the YouTube channel 6th in its "binge-watching" top ten.Shawn Langlois: [http://www.marketwatch.com/story/10-youtube-channels-for-binge-watching-2017-07-19 10 YouTube channels for binge-watching], 19 July 2017
Current product reviews on miscellaneous tech items, mainly on consumer products like action and dashcams, sometimes sponsored or donated, participating in the affiliate marketing associates program of Amazon Services LLC,[https://web.archive.org/web/20170417101058/http://www.techmoan.com/about/ Archive.org capture of www.techmoan.com/about/ as of 17 April 2017] and a Patreon membership, are how the channel is funded.{{Cite web|url = https://www.youtube.com/user/Techmoan|title = Techmoan Youtube Channel|date = |accessdate = |website = YouTube|publisher = |last = |first = }}{{Cite web|url = http://www.techmoan.com|title = Techmoan Blog / Website|date = |accessdate = |website = |publisher = |last = |first = }}
History
In 2006, Taylor started a YouTube channel called "Vectrexuk", with videos of similar tech items like installing a home cinema and controlled toasters{{Citation|last=Techmoan|title=Techmoan - Not the 10th Anniversary Show|date=25 July 2017 |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I-a25On3lPU|access-date=12 November 2018}}{{Citation|title=Vectrexuk|url=https://www.youtube.com/user/Vectrexuk|website=YouTube|access-date=6 May 2019}} "just to prove a point that people will watch anything on YouTube".{{Cite web|url = http://www.techmoan.com/about/|title = About Techmoan|date = |accessdate = |website = |publisher = |last = |first = }}[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I-a25On3lPU Techmoan - Not the 10th Anniversary Show], 25 July 2017
The channel "Techmoan" started on 31 May 2009, uploading a tour of a 2009 Piaggio MP3, taken at 480p and very basic sound quality.{{Cite web|url = https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kl38HRGcxK4|title = Youtube -Techmoan's First Video|date = 31 May 2009|accessdate = |website = YouTube|publisher = |last = |first = }} For additional non-tech videos, in 2015 he started another channel, called the "Youtube Pedant".[https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC6NEXZflFAvd1b7cAIe3XOw/about About the YouTube Channel "Youtube Pedant"] In a 2016 video covering the D-VHS format, he uncovered a 1080i video of New York City filmed in 1993.{{Citation|title=Retro-Tech: When HD Movies came on VHS| date=22 April 2016 |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jiu0LPeLQPE|language=en|access-date=4 December 2019}}{{Cite web |title=Techmoan - Techmoan - Retro-tech. That time when HD came on VHS |url=http://www.techmoan.com/blog/2016/4/22/retro-tech-that-time-when-hd-came-on-vhs.html |url-status=live |access-date=4 December 2019 |website=www.techmoan.com |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230421054136/http://www.techmoan.com/blog/2016/4/22/retro-tech-that-time-when-hd-came-on-vhs.html |archive-date=21 April 2023 |language=en}} This footage was uploaded separately to his "Youtube Pedant" channel where as of September 2024, it has gained 7.3 million views as well as being shared widely on sites such as Reddit{{citation needed|date=March 2025}} and The Verge.{{Cite web|url=https://www.theverge.com/2016/4/25/11503816/new-york-city-hd-footage-manhattan|title=Holy schnikes, this HD footage from 1993 NYC looks like it was filmed today|last=Plante|first=Chris|date=25 April 2016 |website=The Verge|language=en|access-date=4 December 2019}}{{Cite web|url=https://boingboing.net/2019/08/20/new-york-city-in-1993.html|title=This footage of New York in 1993 will make you miss New York in 1993|date=20 August 2019 |website=Boing Boing|language=en-US|access-date=4 December 2019}} As of September 2024, the main channel has over 1.3 million subscribers and over 338 million views.{{Cite web |title=Techmoan - YouTube |url=https://www.youtube.com/c/Techmoan/about |access-date=2022-03-11 |website=www.youtube.com}} His videos often get millions of views, and his video on the Nixie watch has had more than 5 million views.{{Citation |title=The Nixie Watch |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u0xamRXGe1E |language=en |access-date=2022-03-11}}
Later documentary videos
Documentary videos about forgotten magnetic tape recording formats show the OMNI Entertainment System[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zyOKgLtUxto MB OMNI Entertainment System - The 1980s 8-Track games machine.], 6 August 2017 which used 8-track tape storage, the HiPac, a successor of the PlayTape and related applications of it. Other videos show some of the smallest and largest analog recording tape cartridges ever made like the Picocassette[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t5FqjQlFBDM The Picocassette – Smallest Analogue Cassette Tape ever made], 2 August 2015 for dictation machines or Cantata 700 background music system.[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1WQbJ0VFrFQ Retro Tech: This 1960s BGM Machine played the Biggest Cassettes ever made], 11 May 2016 Further videos show other former quarter-inch-tape cartridge formats like the Sabamobil[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rU-iSTj2cTY Forgotten Format: The Sabamobil], 22 June 2017 which used existing 3-inch open reels for mobile use, and the portable Sanyo Micro Pack 35,[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M-Qr0wNTFHA Forgotten Format: SANYO Micro-Pack 35 Tape Recorder], 31 August 2017 as well as the RCA tape cartridge[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Li699Qflv3g RetroTech: RCA Victor Tape Cartridge - A trailblazing failure], 22 September 2016 and the Sony Elcaset[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CkGMJBqZawA Forgotten Audio Formats: DCC & Elcaset] 6 May 2014 with another compromise of playtime and sound quality, oddities and gimmicks on Compact Cassettes as "reinventing the reel",[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=50kOJRfVCQ4 TEAC O'Casse Open Cassette - Reinventing the Reel], 16 May 2015[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RtYmaKsWwrU Audio Craft Cassette Cartridge: More music per pocket.], 12 April 2017 several ways of autoreverse,[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2CE_zmpHcWQ Auto-Reverse: The Hard Way], 26 February 2016 automatic multiple cassette players,[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MFOM3W2FBfA What a 10hr music playlist looked like in 1992], 30 December 2015[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RJo13FP4UpI Retro-Tech: The 1972 Desktop 'iPod'], 14 August 2016 endless loop cassettes,[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xU1aYAHmaJI Cassettes: Lenticular Classics & Endless Loops], 13 September 2016 and cassette mass production technology.[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jVoSQP2yUYA Cassettes - better than you don't remember], 1 February 2016[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I0beJZaOUYM Pre-recorded Cassettes' Last Stand] 24 January 2017
Documentary on formats of vinyl recording show the Tefifon[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nBNTAmLRmUg Vintage Electronics - The Tefifon], 6 April 2015[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9tTURrAWVYE Tefifon Update - more info, more music, bigger.... and smaller.] 4 May 2015 endless cartridge, or the Seeburg 1000 background music system,[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8kCHx3_vu9M RetroTech: Seeburg 1000 BMS1 Background Music System (1959-1986)], 28 February 2017[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oXSyyWLTtkc Seeburg 1000 BGM Part 2: The DIY version], 1 March 2017 vertical turntables,[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u_YAmDbEuPg Rescued 1980s Relic: The Sharp RP-114 Vertical Turntable], 9 June 2014 and other audio encodings CX and dbx for noise reduction on vinyl analog recording.[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E5XCvsNUkmI CX Discs : Better, Worse & the Same as a normal record - A Forgotten Format], 19 October 2017
Other documentaries show the mechanical Curta calculator,[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fhUfRIeRSZE 1950 Curta Calculator], 24 December 2014 devices with Nixie tube displays,[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u0xamRXGe1E The Nixie Watch], 15 March 2010 wire recording,[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=90ihiTwJPCc Retro Tech: The Wire Recorder], 3 July 2016 and the WikiReader.[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1lRI35gKSPA WikiReader: the Internet without the Internet], 3 September 2018
In popular culture
Techmoan was referenced in a Dennis & Gnasher Unleashed strip in Beano, with Dennis referring to Techmoan as "total Dad-Tube".{{Cite journal|last1=Auchterlounie|first1=Nigel|last2=Parkinson|first2=Nigel|date=19 February 2022|title=Dennis & Gnasher Unleashed|journal=Beano|issue=4123|location=Dundee|publisher=DC Thomson|page=10 (panel 6)|issn=0262-2467}}
See also
References
{{reflist}}
Further reading
- {{cite news | last=Reid | first=Scott | date=21 November 2023 | url=https://www.scotsman.com/lifestyle/tech/techmoan-the-retrotech-hit-with-13-million-fans-proves-theres-more-to-youtube-than-dancing-cats-4417778 | title=Techmoan: The retrotech hit with 1.3 million fans proves there's more to YouTube than dancing cats | work=The Scotsman | publisher=National World | page=32 | archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20231122134820/https://www.scotsman.com/lifestyle/tech/techmoan-the-retrotech-hit-with-13-million-fans-proves-theres-more-to-youtube-than-dancing-cats-4417778 | archivedate=November 22, 2023}}
- {{cite journal | last=Noe | first=Rain | date=6 November 2017 | url=https://www.core77.com/posts/70161/Learning-From-Design-Fails-A-Retro-Tech-Look-at-Bizarre-Vintage-Gadgets | title=Learning from Design Fails: A 'Retro-Tech' Look at Bizarre Vintage Gadgets | work=Core77 | archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20180816213523/https://www.core77.com/posts/70161/Learning-From-Design-Fails-A-Retro-Tech-Look-at-Bizarre-Vintage-Gadgets | archivedate=August 16, 2018}}
External links
- {{Official website| http://www.techmoan.com}}
- [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I-a25On3lPU Techmoan - Not the 10th Anniversary Show] with an about introduction
Category:YouTube channels launched in 2009