Shows
The Drone NetworkBats, stars, and 10,000 trees – drones did that?A bat-inspired drone that navigates burning buildings using bathroom faucet sensors. A national conspiracy theory sparked by stars. Ten thousand trees planted in a single day in terrain no human could reach. This week on The Drone Network, Bryce Bladon explores three of the strangest and most surprising applications of drone technology happening right now — the weird, the wonderful, and everything in between.Topics covered: the PeAR bat drone developed at Worcester Polytechnic Institute and its ultrasonic navigation system; the New Jersey drone panic of late 2024 and what the joint DOD/FBI/FAA investigation actually found; and Ko...
2026-02-2310 min
The Drone Network10,000 Pilots Answer Your Top Drone QuestionsOver 10,000 LayerDrone pilots answer your most common questions about professional drone work. From equipment recommendations to future predictions, this episode compiles real-world insights from pilots actually capturing aerial data.Topics covered: recommended drone models and accessories, what makes quality missions, tips for new pilots, challenging flights, comparison of drone work opportunities, favorite flying locations, memorable "wow" moments, how to explain drone work to non-pilots, and where the industry is headed in the next five years.(00:00) - 10,000 drone pilots answer your top drone questions
(01:15) - What drones do you use?
(04:09) - Why pilots on the Spexi...
2026-02-1626 min
The Drone NetworkHow Consumer Drones Became Modern Infrastructure | Alec WilsonAlec Wilson, COO at Spexi Geospatial, encountered his first drone while flying a helicopter in Vancouver, BC. He then helped establish drone regulations before meeting the founder of Spexi, who was flying the planes Google Maps and Google Earth use to image the world. On today’s episode, Alec joins Bryce to explain how consumer drones have evolved to create an entirely new kind of infrastructure – one that outperforms helicopters, planes, and satellites at scale. (00:00) - How Consumer Drones Became Modern Infrastructure | Alec Wilson
(00:56) - How did consumer drones enable the world's first autonomous aerial data network?
(02:05) - How...
2026-02-0918 min
The Drone NetworkThe different kinds of work for drone pilots | Benji Nevatt of Bluegrass DronographyBenji Nevatt has been flying drones professionally since 2017, starting as a police department drone operator and now running Bluegrass Dronography in Western Kentucky. This episode explores the diverse work available to commercial drone pilots and how the industry has evolved over the past decade.(00:00) - The different kinds of work for drone pilots | Benji Nevatt of Bluegrass Dronography
(00:21) - Introduction to Benji of Bluegrass Dronography
(03:35) - Why Benji is interested in drone work
(05:18) - Benji's first missions on the Spexi app
(07:23) - How Spexi differs from typical drone work for clients
(08:39) - Why Spexi flies small...
2026-02-0218 min
The Drone NetworkWhat Makes a Successful Drone Pilot? | Graham AndersonWhat Makes a Successful Drone Pilot?Graham Anderson, Ops Manager at Spexi Geospatial, has overseen 8,000+ registered pilots on the world's largest standardized drone imagery network. After years of managing pilots and analyzing performance data, he's noticed something most people miss: successful pilots share an intangible similarity despite their diverse backgrounds. He goes on to share:the three backgrounds that consistently produce top-performing pilots,how the network targets the "transitory hobbyist to casual professional" sweet spot,the surprising emergence of nomadic pilots who travel the country chasing missions, andwhy patience and preparation are the two...
2026-01-2645 min
The Drone NetworkDRONE ON is now THE DRONE NETWORKThe DRONE ON podcast is now THE DRONE NETWORK. Cool!
2026-01-1901 min
The Drone NetworkLayerDrone: From Trusted Alpha to First Autonomous Aerial Data NetworkHow do you build the world's largest drone imagery network from scratch? Graham Anderson, Operations Manager at Spexi Geospatial, reveals the untold story of LayerDrone's journey from 230 test missions in a single Canadian town to covering over 200 municipalities across North America. Discover how consumer drones, blockchain incentives, and a community of pioneering pilots transformed a vision into reality—starting with test flights off a garage’s roof in Vernon, BC.How the network started with 230 missions in Cochrane, Alberta with color-coded Google MapsScaling from 4 pilots to 5,000+ across North America in 18 monthsWhy standardization was the key to rapid growth
2025-12-1531 min
The Drone NetworkHow LayerDrone Became the World's Largest Standardized Drone NetworkAlec Wilson, COO of Spexi, explains how LayerDrone became the world’s largest standardized drone imagery network, and why Spexi made the decision to spin LayerDrone out into a public-good, crypto-economic protocol. He goes on to share:his journey from helicopter pilot to building one of the most ambitious aerial data networks in the world, the regulatory evolution of drones in Canadian airspace, how LayerDrone standardizes imagery from thousands of pilots, and why spatial AI, world models, and next-gen robotics companies are hungry for ultra-high-resolution, frequently updated aerial data.DiscussedHow to go from flying helicopters to co...
2025-12-0819 min
The Drone NetworkBecoming the DePIN Drone Ambassador with MapsterBryce welcomes Mapster (Sony), LayerDrone's top community contributor and the DePIN ambassador for drones and spatial data. As someone uniquely positioned between the crypto and drone communities, Mapster shares his decade-long journey from recreational drone pilot to DePIN enthusiast, explaining how his passion for hardware engineering led him to discover the convergence of blockchain technology and physical infrastructure.Discussed:What DePIN really means for drone pilots (and why understanding DePIN isn't necessarily required to benefit from it)How Spexi is the perfect way to start flying dronesBuilding a DePIN-mobile with a Tesla, Hivemapper, DIMO, and GEODNET...
2025-12-0121 min
The Drone NetworkHow Tokens Solve the Drone Industry's Scalability ProblemGraham Anderson, Operations Manager at Spexi, explains how cryptocurrency and blockchain technology are solving the drone industry's scalability challenge. He discusses how DePINs (Decentralized Physical Infrastructure Networks) are revolutionizing drone operations, how standardized data products unlock global networks, and why tokens enable coordination at scale that traditional payment methods cannot match.Discussed:The $50B DePIN market and its path to $3.5T by 2028Why traditional drone services can't scale across geographiesWhat crypto actually does (and doesn’t do) for a drone network(00:00) - How Crypto Empowers Drone Ops with Graham from Spexi_2025-11-10 11_32_35
(00:47...
2025-11-2428 min
The Drone NetworkHow Crypto Can Enable the Future of Drone ServicesWhat if Uber paid their drivers with tokens? This episode explores how tokenization and decentralization are creating new economic models for drone-based businesses and the pilots who power them.Matt Chwierut brings over a decade of experience to break down complex concepts like tokens, token-powered networks, and how they differ from traditional platform models. He explains why LayerDrone chose to build on blockchain, what it means for drone pilots to be paid in tokens rather than cash, and how this approach creates a fundamentally different relationship between contributors and the networks they help build.From...
2025-11-1725 min
The Drone NetworkBecoming a Drone First Responder: From Hobby to Paid PilotDaniel shares his journey from building DIY drones in 2014 to becoming a professional Drone First Responder. With roughly 1,000 missions flown with Spexi for the LayerDrone network, Daniel discusses the competitive nature of drone work, the importance of staying calm under pressure, and how fly-to-earn opportunities reignited his passion for aviation.00:38 Introduction to Daniel Whitfield, Drone First Responder05:27 A DFR's Work Week09:49 Special Segment: The Bryce is WrongDiscussed:Breaking into professional drone work through SpexiLife as a Drone First Responder (DFR) supporting police and emergency servicesOptimizing flight strategies for maximum efficiency...
2025-11-1012 min
The Drone NetworkHow Does a Drone App Use Blockchain Tech?Rowan Weismiller discusses how the Spexi app uses blockchain technology, and what that means for LayerDrone, a decentralized protocol for drone imagery collection. Learn about NFT flight receipts, smart contracts, and building a pilot-owned data network that sets world-scale standards for aerial imagery.Key Topics:How Spexi integrates blockchain technology into drone imagery collectionThe transition from centralized to decentralized systems and smart contract challengesNFTs as flight receipts and mission verification toolsCreating a world-scale standard for aerial imagery collectionThe LayerDrone Foundation's approach to decentralizing the tech stackHighlights:Spexi maintains flight receipt NFTs as...
2025-11-0315 min
The Drone NetworkMapping 3.0 - Locate, Navigate, UnderstandJust as the internet evolved from Web1 to Web2 to Web3, mapping technology is experiencing its own paradigm shift. This episode explores how we've progressed from static maps to real-time navigation to contextual spatial understanding—and why this convergence of technologies represents a foundational shift that most people haven't recognized yet.Mapping 1.0 (3000 BCE - 1990s): LocateFixed coordinates, static maps, survey-basedKey milestone: GPS consumer access (1995)Mapping 2.0 (1996 - 2010s): NavigateInteractive wayfinding, real-time updates, universal smartphone accessKey examples: MapQuest (1996), Google Maps (2005), Waze (2013)Mapping 3.0 (2010s - Present): UnderstandTemporal intelligence, predictive insights, contextual interpretationMultidimensional da...
2025-10-2713 min
The Drone NetworkSpexi: Why the Uber for Drone Data is Upgrading the World MapBill Lakeland, CEO of Spexi Geospatial, explains how his company is revolutionizing spatial data collection through a decentralized drone network. From flying aerial mapping cameras in airplanes to building the world's largest standardized drone imagery network, Bill discusses why current imagery solutions are broken, how distributed drone operators can capture better data at 50x less cost than satellites, and why blockchain technology became the missing piece for global scale.Topics:How Spexi's decentralized drone network collects imagery at 3cm resolution (10x better than traditional aerial mapping, 50x cheaper than satellites)The evolution from expensive airplane-based aerial...
2025-10-2722 min
The Drone NetworkFrom WIRED's Mascot to Drones - The Story of DRONE ONHost Bryce Bladon shares his journey from co-founding CryptoKitties—the blockchain game that became WIRED's mascot and catalyzed the NFT movement—to discovering the transformative potential of drone infrastructure. Bryce explains his career in identifying emerging technologies, why the drone industry represents a fundamental infrastructure upgrade, and how a conversation about blockchain led him to join Spexi Geospatial.Topics:How CryptoKitties (2017) pioneered NFTs and became WIRED's mascotWhy the drone industry (~$90B) is worth 2x the video game industryPattern recognition: infrastructure + underestimated demand = transformative opportunityWhy blockchain makes sense for global drone networks (frictionless payments, standardization)Highlights:Te...
2025-10-2712 minThe Drone NetworkIntroducing DRONE ONIntroducing the DRONE ON podcast: mapping the tech, economics, and people building the world’s largest drone imagery network. Hosted by Bryce Bladon. Edited by AJ Fillari. Sponsored by Spexi.com and LayerDrone.org
2025-10-2101 min
The Digital Agency Growth PodcastAvoiding Projects from Hell with Bryce BladonScope creep, finger-pointing, and angry emails… these things happen when expectations are misaligned between agencies and clients. If you’ve been there more than once, you probably asked yourself, “How did this happen again?” In today’s wide-ranging interview with Bryce Bladon, we attempt to answer this question, and we meander to other topics like hiring, sales, […]
2019-06-0444 minThe Digital Agency Growth PodcastAvoiding Projects from Hell with Bryce BladonScope creep, finger-pointing, and angry emails… these things happen when expectations are misaligned between agencies and clients. If you’ve been there more than once, you probably asked yourself, “How did this happen again?” In today’s wide-ranging interview with Bryce Bladon, we attempt to answer this question, and we meander to other topics like hiring, sales, […]
2019-06-0444 min
Proof-of-PRBryce Bladon on the Impact of CryptoKittiesThis week we feature Bryce Bladon, Founding Team Member of CryptoKitties and Director of Communications at Dapper Labs. For the past decade, he has been a communications consultant specializing in finding use cases for emerging technology. Bryce tells us about the launch of CryptoKitties in 2017, explains the game and its significance. He discusses the possibility of CryptoKitties being interoperable with other blockchain-based games in the future and how CryptoKitties may improve adoption generally. He then discusses what he hopes the long-term impact of this technology will be and informs us of how to get involved with CryptoKitties.
2019-01-1025 min
TNW ConferenceBryce Bladon (CryptoKitties) on blockchain and the future of artWith blockchain, digital art can now be personalized, interactive, and extendable. It can truly be owned, digitally scarce, and even a cultural following can be defined in tractable financial terms. From creation to consumption, blockchain unlocks numerous possibilities that will redefine our relationship and understanding of art.
Full video: https://youtu.be/YfQp71Zr2fQ
All about TNW Conference: https://tnw.to/conference
2018-07-1919 min
TNW ConferenceBryce Bladon on how to solve the problems of the blockchainIn late 2017, the world’s second-largest blockchain was brought to its knees by a game featuring digital cats, underlining the obstacles blockchain needs to overcome before the technology can realize its potential. This talk explores the main technical limitations—stability, scalability, obsoletion, computational power—and the unique people-created problems that emerge when excitement and ignorance for emerging technology intersect.
Full video: https://youtu.be/U2GLtN70oYI
All about TNW Conference: https://tnw.to/conference
2018-07-1016 min
Banking on BlockchainEthereum: Canada’s UnicornCould virtual cats break the Internet? In this episode of Banking on Blockchain, we explore the world of Ethereum, a blockchain-based platform developed by two Canadians, Anthony Diiorio and Vitalik Buterin. You’ll learn about how Canadian innovators are leading the charge in developing smart contracts and digital collectibles that will change financial markets, government records, and mobile gaming. We talk with our guests about the challenges that face Ethereum with respect to governance and scalability, while hearing how our country can best cultivate more unicorns in this space.
Our guests for this episode:
Moe Adham, Co-Fou...
2018-04-2325 min
Productive Flourishing PodcastBryce Bladon: Why the Difference Between Freelancing and Entrepreneurship Matters (Episode 146)Today’s guest is Bryce Bladon, author of Hell to Pay 2: Everything a Freelancer Needs to Earn Good Money, and editor-in-chief of Clients From Hell. He joins Charlie to discuss the differences between being an entrepreneur and a freelancer. So many creative professionals get stuck and confused because they are unsure about what type of business they’re building, and why they’re choosing that kind of business.Key Takeaways:[2:02] - Bryce thinks that freelancing is going to be the way of creative professionals in the future. Based on surveys conducted by the Freela...
2017-06-1551 min
In The TrenchesITT 101 How to Manage and Monetize a Popular Blog with Bryce Bladon
Bryce Bladon is a freelancer, consultant and one of the people currently behind one of the most popular Tumblr blogs in the entire world, Clients From Hell.
In this broadcast, Bryce Bladon and I talk about:
How Bryce started managing Clients from Hell
Some examples of how Clients from Hell has grown to what it is today
The importance of cyclical content
How the Clients From Hell platform is monetized
The balance between having sponsors and maintaining brand integrity
How Bryce decides what new projects to work on
The metrics Bryce uses to analyze the performance of the w...
2017-05-0131 min
Hack The EntrepreneurHTE 341: The Reason Why I Freelance | Bryce BladonMy guest today is an editor, writer, and entrepreneur.
With 10 years experience in self-employment, my guest has published 12 books, gathered 780,000 blog followers, and 25,000 email subscribers.
He is currently the editor-in-chief and co-owner of Clients From Hell, where they help creative professional.
Now, let’s hack…
Bryce Bladon.
2017-04-2543 min
Being FreelanceFor The Hell Of It - Writer Bryce BladonBryce is the freelance writer behind the Clients From Hell blog and podcast... but how the devil did he get to where he is today? He takes us through the isolation, the daily marketing habit of reaching out and how actually - maybe getting a job with an agency might have been a good idea.
Love learning from other freelancers like this? Check out the website beingfreelance.com, subscribe to the podcast and to the newsletter.
You'll also find useful links for this episode. That's beingfreelance.com
Like VIDEO? - Check out the...
2017-03-1934 min
High-Income Business Writing Podcast#123: Bryce Bladon on How to Avoid Clients from Hell!In this week's episode we're going to talk about crappy clients — or "clients from hell," as my guest calls them. ;-) My guest is Bryce Bladon. Bryce is an award-winning writer, creative consultant and strategist, and editor-in-chief of Clients From Hell, a blog that collects anonymously contributed client horror stories from the front lines of the freelancing industry. He also hosts a podcast of the same name. Yes, we'll vent a little. But we'll also talk about how you can identify these "problem children" before they unleash hell. More specifically, how to handle these difficult situations with grace and professionalism.
2017-03-1742 min
The Copyblogger Podcast: Content Marketing, Copywriting, and Social Media MarketingThriving Freelancers and Clients from HellWhat’s a freelancer’s biggest nightmare? Clients from hell! Guest Bryce Bladon shares his experience on how to cope — and how to avoid problems from the outset. If you haven’t checked out Clients from Hell yet, you’re in for a treat. This entertaining blog pulls together anonymous stories about those clients who give us aches... Listen to episode
2017-02-2028 minThe HeyCreator ShowThriving Freelancers and Clients from HellWhat’s a freelancer’s biggest nightmare? Clients from hell! Guest Bryce Bladon shares his experience on how to cope — and how to avoid problems from the outset. If you haven’t checked out Clients from Hell yet, you’re in for a treat. This entertaining blog pulls together anonymous stories about those clients who give us aches... Listen to episode
2017-02-2028 min
The Paul Minors Podcast: Productivity, Business & Self-ImprovementTPP #42: How to write a book in 4 weeks with Bryce BladonIn this episode, I talk to Bryce Bladon from ClientsfromHell.net all about his book writing process and how he was able to write a book in just 4 weeks.
Show notes: https://paulminors.com/42
Bryce is a master freelancer and if you’re interested in learning more about how to work with and earn more from your clients, check out his book, Hell to Pay. Use the code, PRODUCTIVEPAUL to get 60% off the book (normally $38). This is the largest discount Bryce has ever offered on the book, so please consider supporting his work.
Br...
2016-07-1255 min
Double Your Freelancing PodcastEpisode 51: Bryce Bladon on Avoiding "Clients From Hell"Today I am talking with Bryce Bladon. He is the curator of “clients from hell”. Today we talk about everything from qualifying new clients to setting expectations. He runs a website whose sole purpose is to showcase crazy clients. We both feel that sometimes we can do things a bit differently to help avoid having clients from hell. So the theme of this show is to have fewer clients from hell.
Bryce has been involved with Clients from Hell, a collection of anonymously submitted tales of woe, since 2009. These tales are from designers and anyone who deals with...
2016-04-2541 min
The Freelancers' Show189 FS Clients From Hell with Bryce Bladon02:40 - Bryce Bladon Introduction Twitter BlogHell To Pay: Everything a Freelancer Needs to Know About Earning Good Money 03:07 - Clients From Hell 04:27 - Favorite Stories 08:16 - Client Patterns and Red Flags 18:50 - Qualifying Clients ExpectationsProject Communication 26:26 - Billing and Estimates Value-based PricingThe Freelancers' Show Episode #04: Fixed Bids vs Hourly Work Getting Started 55:35 - Scope 57:43 - Firing a Client From Hell Picks Being on time (Philip)Instant Pot IP-DUO60 7-in-1 Programmable Pressure Cooker (Philip)Dropshare (Philip)Mike Monteiro: Keynote from Interaction Design Association (Jonathan)27b/6 (Jonathan)Pat Flynn: How to Write a Book - The Secret...
2016-02-181h 17