Two Bigs

My Problem 🤔

I consume a lot of tech content. Podcasts, live streams, newsletters, articles. And over time I’ve developed a filter I can’t turn off: within the first thirty seconds I can tell whether the person speaking feels passion for what they’re saying or is simply repeating what they’ve read.

And most of the time, it’s the latter.

I’m not talking about technical quality. There’s content that is well produced, well structured, with great titles, that bores me deeply. Because there’s no one behind it who gets excited about what they’re saying. It’s content manufactured to exist, not because someone needed to tell it.

When there’s no passion, I lose interest in less than a minute. I don’t care how relevant the topic is. If the speaker doesn’t vibrate with what they’re saying, neither do I. And it’s not a conscious decision — it’s a physical reaction. My brain disconnects and there’s no way back.

My Solution 🧩

I’m always actively searching for content within my areas of interest. Technology, development, AI, Apple, and so on. And I always give what I find a chance, because I know what it takes to create. Behind every video, every podcast, every article there are hours of work, preparation, and decisions. That deserves at least an honest try on my part.

But I don’t have all the time in the world, so I’ve naturally ended up applying three filters.

• Passion. If in the first few seconds I don’t sense that the speaker cares about what they’re saying, my attention shuts off on its own. No passion, no attention.
• Manners and respect. I want to learn from someone who argues without attacking and disagrees without belittling. Passion without respect is noise.
• Satisfaction. That when it’s over I feel I’m taking something with me. A new idea, a perspective I didn’t have before. If not, I don’t come back.

My Result 🎯

These filters have left me with a short list of favorites. And on that list are Julio César Fernández and Oliver Nabani.

When the stars align and these two come together for a live stream, something happens that doesn’t happen with anyone else. I enjoy it like a kid. I laugh out loud. I talk to the screen. I rewind to jot down on paper something they dropped in passing that I want to look into later. I’m bursting to go to the bathroom but I don’t pause the video because I don’t want to miss a single sentence.

And always, always, when it’s over I think the same thing: “they were only on for fifteen minutes, they keep making these shorter.” I check the clock. Almost three hours. I didn’t even notice time passing.

That’s passion. That’s what I’m looking for. That’s what these two transmit every time they sit in front of a camera together.

Two greats. Two passions. Two friends. And the rest of us are their guests.

Keep coding, keep running 🏃‍♂️