Hank's 2008 deal to sell EcoGeek to Scientific American, paused by the financial crisis (2008)
story · status: told 2×, last update 2024 · last event: update (2024-10-02)
In 2008, just after his first Nerdfighter gathering, Hank made a deal in New York to sell his blog EcoGeek to Scientific American for money and a job. When Lehman Brothers collapsed in September 2008, the magazine's owner paused all deals indefinitely, and Hank jokes that the deal is still on pause.
Told alongside: Hank and Maureen Johnson's unsanctioned Nerdfighter gathering at Barnes & Noble, Union Square, New York (2008)
About: New York City, Madison Avenue, EcoGeek, Scientific American, Lehman Brothers, 2007–2008 financial crisis
| date | event | what | video |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2008-08-12 | told | In New York City Hank met the editor-in-chief of Scientific American, who said he admires EcoGeek; Hank says it felt like being king of nerddom for a day. | Eight Days of Awesome 00:00:40 |
| 2024-10-02 (happened 2008) | retold | On one of the weirdest days of his life, in New York in 2008, just after his first Nerdfighter gathering and wearing a fan-made Nerdfighteria shirt under his suit, Hank made a deal to sell EcoGeek to Scientific American for money and a job. | What I learned from the weirdest day of my life 00:00:29 |
| 2024-10-02 (happened 2008-09) | update | When Lehman Brothers collapsed and the economy crashed in September 2008, Scientific American's owner paused all deals indefinitely; Hank jokes that the deal is still on pause. | What I learned from the weirdest day of my life 00:00:58 |
What is said about it
5 statements, by date (the events above are the turns of the thread; these are the details).
- 2008-08-12 · Eight Days of Awesome — Hank: The next day (6 August 2008) Hank and about 50 Nerdfighters flash-mobbed a Barnes & Noble store after a short announcement, then hung out across the street. — 00:01:09
- 2024-10-02 · What I learned from the weirdest day of my life — Hank: The same day, on crowded Madison Avenue, Hank ran into his high school ex-girlfriend from Orlando. — 00:00:58
- 2024-10-02 · What I learned from the weirdest day of my life — Hank says he and John climbed a lot on YouTube: neither reached the peak, but they got high enough for a nice view. — 00:01:27
- 2024-10-02 · What I learned from the weirdest day of my life — Hank: By 2009 Vlogbrothers was becoming Hank's full-time job, so he had no reason to mourn the lost opportunity and never thought of it as a false summit. — 00:01:27
- 2024-10-02 · What I learned from the weirdest day of my life — Hank asks what makes something look like a summit: social status, money, heroes' stories, family expectations, freedom from worry, or broader abilities and opportunities. — 00:01:27