In this episode of Modern Web, co-hosts Tracy Lee and Ben Lesh sit down live at RenderATL with Scott Tolinski, co-host of the Syntax podcast and of Level Up Tutorials, to discuss his journey as a web development tutorial creator and YouTuber. He shares his experiences of transitioning from a full-time developer to creating YouTube tutorials as a side project. Initially, Scott started his YouTube channel to fill his free time but eventually saw it gain popularity and became his full-time career in 2017. However, he faced challenges when attempting to monetize his content and struggled to convince his audience to pay for his courses after providing free content for years.

Scott also talks about the technical aspects of his work, highlighting the benefits of using Svelte, a JavaScript framework, and his preference for its close resemblance to the DOM. He also mentions the evolution of his content creation strategies, such as releasing teaser videos on YouTube to redirect viewers to his website, where the main courses were available behind a paywall.

The conversation touches on the challenges of being a YouTuber, including the unpredictability of ad revenue and the abundance of kids' content that can be both entertaining and controversial. Scott expresses his openness to his own children exploring YouTube but emphasizes the importance of allowing them to choose their own path.

Overall, the interview provides insights into Scott Tolinski's experiences as a developer, YouTuber, and co-host of the Syntax podcast, highlighting his journey from creating free tutorials to monetizing his content and the challenges he faced along the way.

GuestScott Tolinski, Co-host of Syntax.fm

HostsTracy Lee, CEO of This Dot LabsBen Lesh, RxJS Core Team Lead

This episode is sponsored by This Dot Labs.