My hero is a man named Eli the Computer Guy

“Then why don’t you just go and marry Eli the Computer Guy?” is what my long-suffering wife says, in exasperation, when I wax lyrical for the gajillionth time about Eli the Computer Guy. To which I respond by pouting and muttering to myself that Eli would never say such a thing if I WERE married to him.

Eli the Computer Guy is a technician-guru from Baltimore, Maryland, USA. He used to own a computer repair shop, until he decided to become what is referred to as a ‘content creator’. And the content he creates comprises the greatest teaching tools since the days of Aristotle, or……one of those Greek lads, I don’t know their biographies, whichever one it was that was good at teaching. I have been a huge fun of Eli the Computer Guy’s instructional videos since I first discovered them in around 2012.

There are so many well meaning computer geniuses out there who wish to share their knowledge with the world, but for nerds like me who are fascinated by computers and technology and love working in the industry, but are not packing even half as much mental RAM as those guys (“I’m not a nerd! Nerds are smart”, as Milhouse from the Simpsons would have it), their attempts at teaching can be nothing more than an abject lesson in frustration. Many a time I have clicked on a youtube video or blog post that appears to tantalisingly offer the precise instruction I need to solve the exact geek problem I’m having, and am lulled by the siren call of reassurance that “This video is for absolute beginners – from zero to hero in 17 easy steps” and the like, only to find myself hopelessly confused at the 1 minute 20 second mark when my would-be tech mentor is telling us ingenues that “to build out this class we simply need to inculcate binary file dependencies on the blood of the first born of Steve Wozniak’s Pontiac” or some such, and I’m left staring at the screen with my lip curled like Elvis after a lobotomy.

Not so Eli (henceforth ‘ETCG’). ETCG is a tech guru who has a knowledge of computing that is as mind-bogglingly broad as it is deep, which includes, but is not limited to: hardware repair, servers, programming, hacking, digital surveillance systems, networking, web marketing…….he offers classes on all these subjects, for free, available for anyone to view on youtube. The difference between ETCG and other tech content creators I have found is two-fold: firstly, production values. Whilst Eli the Computer Guy’s videos obviously aren’t Hollywood productions, his classes are shot professionally, with lighting, inserts, and all the appropriate ‘props’. Secondly, and most importantly, ETCG has the extremely rare gift of taking quite complex and involved subjects and presenting them in an understandable and easy to follow manner. This is a common boast but a very rare accomplishment.

Take, for example, the ETCG course on PHP programming. Anyone wishing to learn php, or any kind of coding, I can’t recommend this series highly enough:

I believe that anyone could learn the basics of programming if they follow along with these lessons, and Eli doesn’t condescend, he doesn’t accelerate too fast, he doesn’t introduce a dozen concepts in passing and then expect you to remember precisely what each is and what it does 3 videos later. He gives the following analogy: writing code is not like going to the gym. At the gym, you just need to grit your teeth and push through, and you’ll feel the benefits. The problem so many new starters have with coding is not that it’s excessively difficult and they can’t understand it, it’s that when they don’t fully understand something, they just try to ‘power through’, then they get all frustrated, they throw their hands up in the air and give up. EXACTLY, is what I said aloud, to nobody, as ETCG said this. Because that is exactly how it is with learning coding. It isn’t like going to the gym, and that IS the problem with so many people when they start to learn programming (me included). Rather than forging ahead come what may (no surrender! no retreat!), if you find yourself confused it is vital to slowly and carefully re-trace your steps, and go over the bit that you didn’t understand – once, twice, three times, until you get it, and only then continue. Unlike other tech geniuses and gurus, ETCG understands such things. He isn’t trying to show off how smart HE is, he’s trying to help newbies to learn (and in doing so he is showing how smart he is, by demonstrating perception and empathy of those of us who don’t know as much as he does). And learn newbies shall, if they watch and re-watch ETCG. If you want to learn something specific or general about computers and technology, I’d recommend the ETCG youtube channel as your first port of call (or your first port forwarding, if you will).

Alongside the tech instructional videos, there are also ‘business advice’ videos which are very helpful and emboldening for the self-employed. For example, this one, entitled ‘Perfectionists are Cowards’ (a sentiment I agree with and would do well to remember):

All his videos are worth watching, although the man himself seems to have become somewhat jaded about his role as a ‘ce-web-rity’ recently. I imagine that he has grown weary and wary of being relentlessly challenged to a duel to the death by a new model army of keyboard warriors, all wishing to assert their claim to be the chosen one. It’s a shame, because so many stars are born online and make bank from singing into a hairbrush or biting their brother’s finger, but ETCG is the only online personality I have come across who I believe genuinely deserves to have made a fortune from his ‘content’ and should spend the rest of his life at the beach drinking cold beer. Well, maybe Trev the Aussie too, my VBA programming hero – but he’s an Australian, so I can only assume that he spends his entire life at the beach drinking beer anyway, including when he’s creating his youtube content. I hope I can do a blog post about him too.