My two cents about the BR tech sites¶

_ 14 May, 2024 _

Inspired by this post from Rodrigo Ghedin on Manual do Usuário, I’ll provide an overview of my perception of the BR tech scene. I’m not a YouTube guy, so I’ll focus on the blog aspects of each one.

First, I have to say that in my youth, when Carlos Cardoso began to establish himself as the country’s first “Problogger,” I followed various technology sites and engaged with their communities, so I can say I have a lot of expertise with the “nerd herd” in Brazil. The list below summarizes my experience with these sites from the early 2000s until 2018/19 (more or less).

• Tecnoblog: was not a welcoming environment, despite having good articles. Upon closer examination with more maturity, I realize Mobilon is a subpar editor, and Paulo Higa has always been arrogant and pretentious. There was no gratuitous violence, but these were toxic environments.
• MeioBit: always fell short, with writers like Nick Ellis and Gogoni. Over time, everyone followed Carlos Cardoso’s lead, becoming aggressive and spoiled.
• Canaltech: was never strictly a technology site, always focusing on reviews and buying recommendations. I don’t believe it lost this approach; it just became more aggressive in that regard.
• Olhar Digital is a confusing site based on clippings and comparisons. Belonging to a large publisher (Abril/UOL Tech), it remains as expected.
• Contraditorium: I’m unsure if it still exists, but it was Carlos Cardoso’s bread and butter. I admit it had interesting chronicles about people and technology. However, the aggressive persona, whether a character or not, took over the site long ago, essentially turning it into an AdSense repository.

Note: All these sites had or have their associated “nerd” podcast. For me, this goes beyond quality (they cater to an audience); it’s a matter of maturity. After 35/40 years, one expects more depth and a less frantic pace of reading and consumption. This reflects my relationship with almost all Brazilian internet places (Jovem Nerd, RapaduraCast, B9, Tecnoblog, ½ bit, etc.).

Sometimes, we get older and more demanding.