#1 - March 1, 2016, 6:07 p.m.
Since the realization of the potential of GCDTV, Clutter and I have been so motivated and excited about what we could do with our channel, but it hasn't always been sunshine and rainbows. Six months ago we decided to move to Georgia to be closer to family and along the way we have made a lot of mistakes, mistakes that made things very difficult for us. After finding out that the house we just agreed to lease for a year was not eligible for the internet speeds to stream after being told while in Connecticut it was, we were devastated we were going to have to give up our dream jobs. We didn't have the means to rent an office and we even started a petition in our neighborhood to get upgraded internet. Even after that we were told we need 100 more signatures to be eligible for just a survey of the area.
We didn't know what to do, until Hannah stepped up and decided to work a part time job on top of the work she was doing for GCDTV (which was a lot more than people know) so we could work in a spare room in a neighborhood with better internet. We had to move our entire setup out and in of this room every single week for our broadcast, but i was at least an OPTION. Our prayers were answered and we could finally get back to work, or so we thought. She worked her !@# off for months so we could continue to stream and then the throttling began. We kept losing speeds and connection and kept being told to upgrade our service plan, so we did. Over and over until we had the best and most expensive plan our ISP offered. Still could not stream. Our growth did a 180 and our income plummeted while our overhead quadrupled.
There was so many times we said, "if the internet goes out again I need to find a different job" and essentially give up on GCDTV, but then we would come home and read all of the supportive messages from our friends and viewers and just find the motivation to keep trying. We finally asked our landlord if we could move out before our lease was up and he was hesitant, but he finally agreed. We found a new house with better internet instantly.
This last weekend was a breaking point for us, the internet wasn't working and all of sudden our friends without hesitation or even being asked just stepped up and carried us. On Friday Sid (Supatease) just asked me for my stream key and was ready to go, Healingstat picked up Hannah's admin duties and just went to town. The following day they did it again. Supa started having problems and instantly our friend Josh (Lore) was offering to stream as soon as the issues happened. Lore then volunteered to stream and observe the entire day 2 broadcast which is roughly 5 hours straight of work. Angie our good friend brought some awesome oddshots to twitter and tweeted an update every single match that and continued to grow our followers. This entire weekend Hannah and I just sat back in awe of the generosity and support that was just there and ready at any moments notice.
We finally have made it into a house that we can afford and has good internet!
There are so many more people behind the scenes than just Clutter and I now days, Elbareth, Toxic, Meta, Angie, Emmy, Healingstat, Olivia, Josh, and many more including probably you reading this right now, make GCDTV more than just a Twitch Channel. It's more clear to me than ever before that GCDTV has never been only about making World of Warcraft an esport, but allowing a community that has always been there really come together for the better. It sounds cliche' but that's okay because the support and love being sent our way through some very rough times will forever change my life and for that I'd like to thank each and every one of you.
Thank you,
David Dmachine Hollings
