To commemorate a half-century of episodes, we’re joined on the increasingly densely populated desert island by Sam Connelly, who hails from the 26th largest island in the world, to talk about her journey into testing and some top tips about building your personal brand, especially in the audio-visual and streaming space. 

We discuss the places to gain inspiration for our brand names, the challenges of pairing online from remote timezones, setting up your personal working environment, finding motivation during lockdowns, and recommend some ways to get up-and-running with streaming quickly and cheaply.

Looking at the person behind the brand, we also touch upon defining our personal values, discussing when it’s important to be transparent, which touches upon some of Sam’s hobbies which aren’t strictly NSFW but which might prompt awkward questions from young listeners; and Neil confesses to the time that he tried to tie his personal branding in with the Backstreet Boys.

Among Sam’s rich music choices are some Mongolian folk metal, another artist with a RuPaul connection, the first appearance of a violumpet on the podcast, and a song which features her name within the lyrics. Plus, finally, a book to help our fifty island inhabitants to survive!

This episode is sponsored by TestRail: TestRail helps you manage and track your software testing efforts. Its intuitive web-based user interface makes it easy to create test cases, manage test runs and coordinate your entire testing process. Easily track and follow the status of individual tests, milestones, and projects with dashboards and activity reports. Get real-time insights into your testing progress and boost productivity with personalized to-do lists, filters, and email notifications. Try TestRail for Free Today

Podcast Links:

Sam’s personal website (BugHunterSam.com)

Twitch: BugHunterSam

Twitch: noopkat

Twitch: NeilStudd

YouTube: Sam Connelly

YouTube: Neil Studd (Let’s Explore)

Sam’s blog: Time zone testing considerations

YouTube: Video demonstrating Sam’s range of audiovisual equipment

YouTube: Matt Parker - Why are Talk-Show Hosts So Bad at YouTube?

Calendly

Sam’s “About” page, which lists her personal values

BogLogger: Tracking Your Poo

Kirsten Schultz: Spoon Theory

Wikipedia: Confirmation bias

YouTube video for Sam’s fifth selection (featuring the violumpet!)

Postman Space Camp: Continuous Quality with Postman

Tech Team Weekly podcast

Sam on Twitter: @BugHunterSam

Regular Links:

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Testers' Island Discs reading list on Goodreads

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