Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Fake it till you make it: the wolves of Instagram

theguardian.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

171–180 of 267 posts

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

#171

Post by astura »

skybrian wrote: post #168
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…

Does anyone remember the "million dollar homepage" guy? There are certainly legitimate ways to make a good chunk of change using what is basically just a neat marketing idea. But, typically, they only work once, or a small number of times, and then then copycats don't attract money anymore.

Million dollar homepage is still online, surprisingly: http://www.milliondollarhomepage.com/

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

#172

Post by dyim »

moate wrote: post #130
jimmies wrote: post #122

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>I mean Scarface looks pretty terrible by the end of the movie, and people idolize him. You got the wrong idea. I don't think anyone idolizes Tony. It's a great movie and Tony is a great character and Scarface tells an interesting story, not because the protagonist made himself rich. Same as Godfather, I like it and I like them not because they are rich, but it was because they made interesting choices. Let's talk ab…

>You got the wrong idea. I don't think anyone idolizes Tony. If you'd like I can provide a short list of rap songs about selling drugs which contain lyrics positively representing scarface/Tony. People idolize him. He's a self made man who took what he wanted. He's betrayed in the end, but plenty of people look at that as the actions of outside actors and not the consequences of his behavior. I'm not going to go into…

Haha, if you'd like I can provide a short list of rappers named after Scarface/Tony

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

#173

Post by ada1981 »

__jal wrote: post #166
noir_lord wrote: post #94

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Pizzacoin - tie the unit price to a 12" stuffed crust from dominos. Minor units are "Slices". I mean dogecoin was a thing.

> stuffed crust from dominos I realize people play fast and loose with reality when it comes to *coins, but calling Dominos 'pizza' is fraud.

I went to go find you this article: How Becoming 'A Tech Company That Sells Pizza' Delivered Huge For Domino's [https://www.forbes.com/sites/aliciakelso/2018/04/30/delivery...]

But had to trip over a couple articles on rodent droppings to get there...

Supposedly they changed their recipe and now people like it? I'm vegan so I don't eat there.

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

#174

Post by jdtang13 »

gowld wrote: post #138
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…

Your comment is hosted on ycombinator.com, an enterprise founded with the specific goal: "Beat the system and make tons of money". The only distinction is the "immediate" part.

Good point. The commenter is (fairly) looking down on the specific category of get-rich-quick clowns, but there is an equally large number of "big idea" startup-bozos in the tech world. It's a similar delusion but articulated in a different way.

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

#175

Post by louthy »

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…

I think what people attach to (rightly or wrongly) is that these characters usually have wrestled themselves into a position of total control over their own lives. Most people watching the film won't have that freedom to stick it to the man, or run away from their situation and live a life that's their selfish own: there are usually financial, family, or even self-doubt constraints.

Control over your own life is something that everybody craves and it's clear that these characters have it in abundance, even if it's only for a brief period of time - i.e. to the end of the film. But up until that point, they're seen as individuals who have broken free from their respective shackles.

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

#176

Post by jdtang13 »

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 not like those viewers are stupid. People just see what they want to see. It's very hard to focus on an external stimulus in a way that really lifts you out of your own private world.

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

#178

Post by RIMR »

jdtang13 wrote: post #174
gowld wrote: post #138

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Your comment is hosted on ycombinator.com, an enterprise founded with the specific goal: "Beat the system and make tons of money". The only distinction is the "immediate" part.

Good point. The commenter is (fairly) looking down on the specific category of get-rich-quick clowns, but there is an equally large number of "big idea" startup-bozos in the tech world. It's a similar delusion but articulated in a different way.

Still, the point remains. If your primary goal isn't filling a need or making something that people want, then you're less likely to be successful.

Every entrepreneur envisions profit at the end of the process, but it cannot be the primary goal of your company. Profits come from great products and services, so make a great product or service and the profits follow.

You also have to be prepared to work 60+ hour weeks for years, only making enough to get by, and still fail and lose money in the end. A lot of these get-rich-quick schemes claim that there is no work and little risk involved.

A labor-free, low-risk, high-profit career simply doesn't exist. You can pick two of those three things, but not all three.

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

#179

Post by ada1981 »

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…

When someone is insecure, they don't see war as a warning, they see it as a place to find new weapons.

When someone is narcissistically wounded, they are going to mimic the survival strategies of other high-status narcissists.

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

#180

Post by tacon »

rdiddly wrote: post #118
icebraining wrote: post #88

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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

You know speaking of Warren Buffett, he came to mind while I was reading the article, as someone who pretty much behaves the exact opposite of this. No ostentatious display by the 3rd-richest person in the world... hmm that's interesting. You'd think it would give pause to the many suckers out there, but apparently they all still think things in the world are exactly how they look. That's why it's not fair to target…

He was slumming. No Dairy Queen available...
Post reply on HN