About Us

Technology through creativity. Creativity through technology.

Film strip

Nerd on the Street is a video production company. Our mission is to inform and entertain our viewers while advocating for free & open software.

Free & Open Software

Open-source software is software that is released with publicly accessible source code. Free/libre software is software that respects the freedoms of its users. We combine and shorten these terms into the phrase "free & open."

We consider free & open software a critical requirement of creative expression. In an increasingly digital world, we believe users should have high-quality software that respects their privacy and lets them retain control over their own computers. This is why we advocate for free & open software.

Our Content

We advocate for free & open software in two ways: talking about it, and using it to make cool stuff. Some of our past productions include:

  • The NOTS Technology Channel: Our flagship project, the tech channel includes over 300 videos demonstrating, explaining, and discussing technology. With a long-time focus on Linux-related content, our tech videos aim to provide detailed, well-produced content for the free software community. Our videos have achieved over 2.2 million views on YouTube so far.
  • Extra Life: We have done four telethon-style charity gaming streams raising money for the St. Louis Children's Hospital. We did a 24-hour livestream in 2015, a 25-hour livestream in 2016, a 26-hour livestream in 2017, and a 27-hour livestream in 2018. To date, we've raised a total of $3,365, which has been donated to the hospital through the Children's Miracle Network.
  • Displaced (Seasons 1 & 2): We produced two feature-length seasons of a machinima series using Minecraft as our animation engine. The series is a fan-fiction sequel to the Stargate sci-fi franchise.
  • Rolling Release: We host a weekly podcast covering Linux and other libre/open-source news.
  • Composr Community Chats: For a time, we assisted the free & open Composr CMS project with weekly live chats for their community. In addition to participating in the chats, we provided video editing and distribution services, so the Composr developers could focus on development.

Our Business Plan

Nerd on the Street Productions, LLC is a Limited Liability Company located in the state of Missouri. Most of our operating costs are covered by our staff, but we do receive some funding from the following sources:

  • Google AdSense
  • Amazon Prime Video
  • Dailymotion

Going forward, our goal is to become completely audience-funded through our Nerd Club sponsorship program. In order to maintain our creative independence, we do specifically avoid partnerships with individual companies, although we are willing to test and review products on occasion.

The Team

    Current:

  • Jacob Kauffmann: Jacob founded Nerd on the Street in the summer of 2012. He has created every NOTS Tech video to date, and he wrote and directed both seasons of Displaced for NOTS Creative. He is currently working full-time in Information Technology.
  • Adam Herrera: Adam was the lead voice actor in both seasons of Displaced, and was also on the machinimation team for both seasons. He also co-hosted over 60 episodes of the NOTS Podcast with Jacob. He currently co-hosts the VNBC, a weekly NOTS gaming livestream. He is currently attending university for Accounting.

    • Past/inactive:

  • Richard Bimmer: Richard is the current co-host of the Rolling Release podcast. He is currently attending university for Computer Science.
  • Michael Chenot: Michael was on the machinimation team for both seasons of Displaced. He was also a stream tech for NOTS Extra Life 2016, 2017, 2018, and 2019. He is currently working full-time in Information Technology.
  • Brett Schlereth: Brett was the host of the NOTS Gaming channel from September 2014 to April 2015. He was a voice actor in both seasons of Displaced, and he has participated in all of the NOTS Extra Life streams. He is currently attending university.
  • Mark McDoodly: Mark was the original co-host of the Rolling Release podcast. He is currently attending college for Information Technology.
  • Stephanie Tsunami: Stephanie participated in the NOTS Extra Life 2015 and 2016 streams. She is currently attending university.