Fake it till you make it: the wolves of Instagram • Hacker News Board

Re: Fake it till you make it: the wolves of Instagram

#101

Post by maerF0x0 » Thu, May 03, 2018, 6:23 PM UTC

21 wrote: post #19

eksemplar wrote: post #2

Maybe it’s time the EU took a look at advertising. I mean, we’re building things like the GDPR and a lot of legislation to protect minors from the dangers that come from social media. We see loot boxes, underage gambling, traders selling you recommendations for their own products, scammers, young people prostitute them selves to get photo shoots at exotic locations or for luxurary stuff for likes. Probably worse than…

> young people prostitute them selves to get photo shoots at exotic locations or for luxurary stuff for likes So what's the alternative, working 9-5 in retail for minimum wage and after 10 years you are still nowhere? Unless you are in a highly demanded domain like software, there are few opportunities for young people.

> Unless you are in a highly demanded domain like software, there are few opportunities for young people.

If you mean old style "Jobs", correct. If you mean opportunity to impact the world and get paid for it, nonsense.

There has never been a time that it has been so easy to 1) Reach millions/billions of people (Internet), 2) Raise money (kickstarter, VC/startup culture), 3) learn about something for free (MOOCs), 4) bring a real product to market (Amazon fulfillment) .

The only thing missing is real ideas and the work ethic to use 1-4.

Re: Fake it till you make it: the wolves of Instagram

#102

Post by iamcasen » Thu, May 03, 2018, 6:24 PM UTC

RIMR wrote: post #79

I am always amazed by how many people get into this "Beat the system and make tons of money" mindset. If there's anything that has proven itself time and time again, it's that people who seek immediate wealth, and who fantasize about their "million dollar idea", are absolutely not the kinds of people who become successful and wealthy. The people who become devoted to a field or a technology - who make the business th…

One of the most age old ways to get rich is just like you said: write a book titled "I'm really rich! I will teach you my secret!"

People eat that shit up!

Re: Fake it till you make it: the wolves of Instagram

#103

Post by sodafountan » Thu, May 03, 2018, 6:25 PM UTC

BadassFractal wrote: post #40

The guy is a small fry. If we're going to point fingers at someone, can we start all the way at the top with someone like Tai Lopez?

The difference is that Tai Lopez is just selling knowledge, no different than an audiobook or a college program. The guy in this article is actively participating in a pyramid scheme.

Re: Fake it till you make it: the wolves of Instagram

#104

Post by RIMR » Thu, May 03, 2018, 6:28 PM UTC

Bucephalus355 wrote: post #34

>”I’m never going to work for someone,” Oyefeso says in one of his videos, in a somewhat cartoonish, nasal voice, while he drives his Rolls dressed in a bathrobe.” What’s with this obsession of not working for someone else? American/British managers in particular are some of the most democratic and “least power distance” bosses out there, especially compared to other countries where there is still a very hierarchical…

That all depends on what you do.

If you have a specific skillset, and your talents and work ethic are obvious to your managers, you can end being mostly self-managed at your job.

However, if you have no skills and work a job where your raw output is all that matters, managers will breathe down your neck trying to get the most output out of you as possible.

These get-rich-quick schemes prey on those unskilled workers. They promise a world where you have no boss, only work a few hours a week, and make enough money to afford whatever you want.

It preys on people's fantasies, and their lack of understanding of how successful people get where they are.

If you want to escape your cubicle farm and get a job where you don't hate your boss, teach yourself a valuable skill and seek gainful employment using that skill.

But don't ever expect that there's some magic lifehack that let's you stop working and make enough money to afford every luxury you ever wanted. Just because there are some examples of people doing that doesn't mean anything. For every Bitcoin millionaire there are ten Bitcoin bankruptcies.

Yet all people have to do is wave around "This is the next big thing", and gullible people will swarm it in hopes of getting in on the ground floor.

There's big money in FOMO.

Re: Fake it till you make it: the wolves of Instagram

#105

Post by iamcasen » Thu, May 03, 2018, 6:30 PM UTC

Bucephalus355 wrote: post #34

>”I’m never going to work for someone,” Oyefeso says in one of his videos, in a somewhat cartoonish, nasal voice, while he drives his Rolls dressed in a bathrobe.” What’s with this obsession of not working for someone else? American/British managers in particular are some of the most democratic and “least power distance” bosses out there, especially compared to other countries where there is still a very hierarchical…

It's because people don't know themselves. They are busy emulating all the of the ideas and imagery floating all around them without ever bothering to listen to who they truly are inside.

Some people are leaders. They push up against the halls of power, and if others hold them back, they will find a way to break free. These are the people who proclaim they will never work for someone else.

Some people are care takers. Some people are healers. Some people are followers. They just want to be told what to do. There's nothing wrong with that!

Society at large is always telling everyone to be a leader, and I think that's the main issue. Few are cut out to be leaders, and it's not always all it's cracked up to be.

Re: Fake it till you make it: the wolves of Instagram

#106

Post by lkrubner » Thu, May 03, 2018, 6:32 PM UTC

smacktoward wrote: post #44

neaden wrote: post #4

One thing I've been struck by with movies and films like the Wolf of Wall Street, the film Wall Street, Fight Club, or even the Great Gatsby is how many people end up coming away with the exact opposite message of the movie. They end up idolizing the vapid, shallow lifestyle that the movie is critiquing, because even though the film is critiquing that it can't help but also make it glamorous. Michael Douglas has said…

It's because film is a visual medium, and in these movies the protagonist always looks cool . He may be doing terrible things, but he's wearing hip clothes and driving a gorgeous car while he does them. The visual language is all screaming "this guy's great!", and it ends up overwhelming the message the story is trying to tell. If you want to know what most people will think of a character in a movie, watch the movie…

I don't know if it's a matter of the protagonist looking cool. When Breaking Bad was on the air, I had a surprising number of friends who identified with Walter White. He did not look cool, he did not act cool, and the writers of the show did everything in their power to communicate "This man is a moral monster and a horror of a human being." Yet some people that I otherwise respected still identified with him. They would get angry at Skyler White for leaving her husband, as if the mother of a new baby should stay loyal to a drug dealing serial killer.

Re: Fake it till you make it: the wolves of Instagram

#107

Post by ericmcer » Thu, May 03, 2018, 6:32 PM UTC

neaden wrote: post #4

One thing I've been struck by with movies and films like the Wolf of Wall Street, the film Wall Street, Fight Club, or even the Great Gatsby is how many people end up coming away with the exact opposite message of the movie. They end up idolizing the vapid, shallow lifestyle that the movie is critiquing, because even though the film is critiquing that it can't help but also make it glamorous. Michael Douglas has said…

A big part of this to me, is the idea of yourself as an archetypal character. People are different each day, some days you are having conversations with strangers at coffee shops and patting yourself on the back for being so socially adept, other days you just don't want to talk to a soul. Some days you love your career path, other days you wish you had chosen something else. The idea of some reliability in your mood, desires and personality is attractive: "I am the computer guy, everyday, all day, 100%".

The idea of these characters who are so certain of who and what they are, and are driven by some greater purpose is very alluring, even if the personality is toxic and the purpose immoral.

Re: Fake it till you make it: the wolves of Instagram

#108

Post by icebraining » Thu, May 03, 2018, 6:33 PM UTC

justicezyx wrote: post #65

neaden wrote: post #4

One thing I've been struck by with movies and films like the Wolf of Wall Street, the film Wall Street, Fight Club, or even the Great Gatsby is how many people end up coming away with the exact opposite message of the movie. They end up idolizing the vapid, shallow lifestyle that the movie is critiquing, because even though the film is critiquing that it can't help but also make it glamorous. Michael Douglas has said…

Hollywood dont want people to be model citizen, otherwise they would want to consume recreation that has nothing to do with their business: hiking hanging out with friends families reading learning whatever that is not being mind-washing by the popular entertainment

Why is reading part of being a model citizen, but not watching movies? I'd give Paths of Glory for someone to watch over 99.9% of books out there.

Re: Fake it till you make it: the wolves of Instagram

#109

Post by espeed » Thu, May 03, 2018, 6:34 PM UTC

icebraining wrote: post #88

RIMR wrote: post #79

I am always amazed by how many people get into this "Beat the system and make tons of money" mindset. If there's anything that has proven itself time and time again, it's that people who seek immediate wealth, and who fantasize about their "million dollar idea", are absolutely not the kinds of people who become successful and wealthy. The people who become devoted to a field or a technology - who make the business th…

Carnegie and Buffett occur to me as counter-examples that you need to devote yourself to a specific field or technology.

Buffett's field of study is the finance and economic system.

It should be easy to see that one of the things that separates Warren Buffett from the rest of us is that he has a unique perspective of the financial world – he sees all of the dynamics and intricacies of the financial world in a way that few others do.

It took years for him to build the mental framework that led to his deep understanding and unique view of the world. And as a result of his devotion to this pursuit and his willingness to immerse himself in it, he developed the structural underpinning for the mental vista that yields the rare and valuable perspective that enables him to see the financial world with the clarity of a composer likely unattained by anyone in history.

This is why Goldman Sachs calls him when they need help, like they did in the financial crisis.

Re: Fake it till you make it: the wolves of Instagram

#110

Post by RIMR » Thu, May 03, 2018, 6:36 PM UTC

iamcasen wrote: post #105

Bucephalus355 wrote: post #34

>”I’m never going to work for someone,” Oyefeso says in one of his videos, in a somewhat cartoonish, nasal voice, while he drives his Rolls dressed in a bathrobe.” What’s with this obsession of not working for someone else? American/British managers in particular are some of the most democratic and “least power distance” bosses out there, especially compared to other countries where there is still a very hierarchical…

It's because people don't know themselves. They are busy emulating all the of the ideas and imagery floating all around them without ever bothering to listen to who they truly are inside. Some people are leaders. They push up against the halls of power, and if others hold them back, they will find a way to break free. These are the people who proclaim they will never work for someone else. Some people are care takers…

It's not like being a leader is a cushy job or anything.

People like to think that not having a boss = "I don't answer to anyone".

If you are a leader, you answer to the people who follow you.

Some people choose not to be leaders, not because they are bad at it, but because they don't want that kind of responsibility.