Nerd on the Street (sometimes abbreviated as NOTS) is a network consisting of several YouTube channels, social media accounts, and other sources of content.

History

Nerd on the Street was created in 2012 by Jacob Kauffmann. After retiring his previous website (JK The Site), he started a technology-focused YouTube channel under the name Nerd on the Street. Several months later, he created the first version of the Nerd on the Street website using Google Sites. The website featured a small number of technology-related articles, including distribution reviews, most of which were accompanied by embedded videos from the YouTube channel.

In early 2013, Jacob created the "Entertainment Channel", which would host a number of Minecraft series over the next year, including the Summer SG Challenge, RetroCraft, and Better than Vlogs.

In the spring of 2014, Displaced went into production, and Jacob created a separate gaming channel for future gaming series in order to differentiate the machinima series from other Minecraft videos. Both the creation of the gaming channel and the production of Displaced would mark the first time Jacob brought in other people to help with Nerd on the Street, including Michael and Adam, who had both been involved with Jacob's previous websites.

The creation of Displaced marked Nerd on the Street's first scripted series, and was the first entertainment-oriented content created by the network.

In fall 2014, Brett made his first video for the NOTS Gaming channel, starting a six-month period where most of the gaming content would be created by him and his friends, including Drake, Iain, and Sam.

In November 2015, Nerd on the Street participated in Extra Life by throwing a 24-hour livestream. Jacob, Adam, Brett, Drake, and Stephanie were present, as well as Kirsten behind the camera. After the stream, Stephanie started streaming games to Nerd on the Street's various livestreaming channels.
 

Focus on Linux

Nerd on the Street was originally intended to be a general-purpose technology "website with a companion YouTube channel." The first video stated the channel would cover Linux, Mac OS, Windows, iOS, and Android, among other things.

After discovering Jupiter Broadcasting and its Linux Action Show in 2014, Jacob began to make an effort to do more production entirely on Linux. Eventually (by 2016), the purpose of NOTS had evolved into specifically advocating for free, libre, and open-source software.

Logo

The logo for Nerd on the Street was designed and drawn by Jacob Kauffmann. The logo had been drafted years before NOTS existed; Jacob was initially saving it until his career was more mature and he could use it for a later, "more serious" company. However, in March 2014, the logo was applied to NOTS during a website redesign, in preparation for entering the field of creative content with Displaced and expanding the gaming channel by passing it off to other hosts.

The logo has been tweaked several times since its first use; each iteration typically made the lines thicker and the inner circle (containing colors) larger, in order to make the logo easier to see against various backgrounds. The logo was last revised in July 2017.