Hey, howdy, hallo,

Thanks for sticking around over the last year and reading my newsletter. I’ve been busy, which is why I stepped away from making my videos (how many of you likely found me). Because you’ve stayed with me, you’re the first to know what I’ve been working on. I’m starting a podcast called “In the Shell” – stories from tech and the early days of the internet, things I find fascinating.

But that’s not what I’ve been working on for the last year, although it is the why.

🗓️ More than 1 year ago

I wanted to start a podcast to go along with my YouTube channel. I had the name and the topics, but I needed a place to host it.

So, I started searching. The more I looked, the less I liked the options out there. Don’t get me wrong, there are some phenomenal services available, but none fit what I wanted. As you know, I love Privacy, and none of the options offered that.

One day, out for drinks with friends, I shared my idea of starting a podcast and setting up a quick interface to host it my way. They said I should build it and make it something others could use. And that’s when it all began.

🥇 11 months ago

I pushed the initial version of my project on September 6, 2023. The previous few months were spent deciding on the framework, setup, and which servers to use.

🏁 11 months → today

I’ve been coding nearly every day, testing, designing, and thinking about how it would all work. From the ground up, I aimed for a privacy-friendly product that looked great and worked well. It was something I needed and wanted, making it a blast to build.

After all these months, it’s finally ready. I’m announcing Yellowball here first because I want to do a soft launch before telling the world.

After letting my family and close friends test it out, the next group I want to involve are those I know take privacy seriously (and aren’t afraid to test some software that probably has some bugs). I know many of you have no desire to start a podcast, but I would love it if you could create an account and let me know what you think. All you need to sign up is a username and a password.

Like me, I know many of you are the “go-to tech person” for your friends and family. So, if anyone asks about starting a podcast, I’d be thrilled if you could point them to Yellowball to check out in their search.

📺 What’s next?

Now that I’m ready to launch my product, I’ll be returning to making YouTube videos. Expect to see them again in the next 1–2 weeks, along with my first podcast episode (announced here first as well).

Thanks for sticking around, and I’ll talk to you soon,

-Josh