I don't see how it would be - most of what's written is never read.
>most of what's written is never read
Most of what is spoken isn't really listened to, either.
Writing is networking for introverts
31–40 of 91 posts
Re: Writing is networking for introverts
#32komi can't communicate is a good demonstration in anime
Re: Writing is networking for introverts
#33The biggest challenge is getting people to read what you wrote, and care enough to respond. I started a blog recently where I want to write notes for my writing practice and explore different subjects I'm interested in. Of course it'd be nice if someone had actually read it, for my personal vanity, and all those conversations and opportunities people claim blogging leads to. But it's not the kind of project it would…
Maybe someone somewhere will come up with a NLP based solution which will cluster people with similar ideas (by means of their blogs) so that you may find people who share your interests within the cluster or explore other idea clusters. Would be a great way of making friends if nothing else.
I think that subreddits work extremely well for finding people with similar interests, they're basically the perfect tool for that. Discord servers too. If anything, the issue is that they're too good, so I get addicted, and have to force myself to stop.
There could be some kind of solution, based on NLP, or maybe even just finding patterns and clusters in links. But it'd suffer from the same problem subreddits and google do - instantly getting hijacked by the spammers and SEO people trying to promote their stuff.
To the degree that having a popular blog is valuable, people will be motivated to find ways to promote it. And when people want to promote stuff, they'll try game whatever system is available. And so the system will have to implement the anti-spam measures, leading to moderation and probably banning most of the blogs.
Hmm... Maybe that's why we ended up with HN comments and subreddit text-posts working so well. Yes, you can't get the "networking" value out of them (because nobody cares about your username, and there's no such thing as subscribers), but it's not a bug, but a feature - without the personal value there's no incentive to game the system, so you just have people posting for the sake of the conversation.
But that would also mean that becoming even a "micro" celebrity will always be at least somewhat difficult - to the extent that it's valuable, there will be people trying to game the system, and measures trying to stop that, and competition.
Re: Writing is networking for introverts
#34Earlier quoted context omitted.
I learn by writing about things in detail because it causes me to think through them. So, I’m the opposite, sometimes, where I write about things I’m not an expert in. I also publish a blog, so I do it in public fairly frequently.
Right, and in such a context you know what you don't know, so you're not asserting facts (equivalently expressing opinions) that will change in the short or medium term because those things which are in flux can easily be pointed to as such. This is really my point - "opinions changing" = initial conclusions were drawn with inappropriate extrapolation. Why would you write about things you hastily extrapolated and nev…
Responding to two of your comments.
> I personally imagine for reading one's own writing, just like listening to my own singing, the exact "pain points" you feel would also be felt by any audience and therefore are the most valuable feedback you could possibly receive...
Curious if you've actually received the exact same feedback from someone else listening to you sing vs your own thinking? Realize that might just be a stylized example. But I'm a drummer, and over many years of playing in front of people I've observed that they didn't notice the "paint points" I noticed. Lots of these things are relative right?
> I view it as inappropriate to put pen to paper to publish about something I've only put passing thought and research into, so this point is a bit facile.
Do you draft while you think and research? What's your process?
Re: Writing is networking for introverts
#35The biggest challenge is getting people to read what you wrote, and care enough to respond. I started a blog recently where I want to write notes for my writing practice and explore different subjects I'm interested in. Of course it'd be nice if someone had actually read it, for my personal vanity, and all those conversations and opportunities people claim blogging leads to. But it's not the kind of project it would…
I took my love of gaming and parlayed it into a YouTube channel. It’s been a fantastic experience.
Making videos is hard work and the learning curve is steep if you don’t have a background in video and (more importantly) audio. But to your point about an audience: on YT, if you build it, they will come. Most interactions in the comments have been pleasant and interesting.
If you’re at all that way inclined, I recommend you consider it or - even better - try it.
EDIT: Forgot to add, although it might have been clear from the context - I’m heavily introverted.
Re: Writing is networking for introverts
#36The biggest challenge is getting people to read what you wrote, and care enough to respond. I started a blog recently where I want to write notes for my writing practice and explore different subjects I'm interested in. Of course it'd be nice if someone had actually read it, for my personal vanity, and all those conversations and opportunities people claim blogging leads to. But it's not the kind of project it would…
I feel very similarly. I like longform essays -- reading them, and writing them -- as well as SSC-like blog posts. Most of that is too long for the typical internet user. Also, I too hate the feeling of my writing contributing to my internet addiction by causing me to be hyper-attuned to online performance indicators.
I don't have an internet-based solution for you, short of trying to get your stuff published in publications. They say that building an online audience is hard, and the best time to start was five years ago.
This being said, my favorite solution and suggestion is to join a local writer's workshop if you haven't already. Many workshops concentrate on fiction, but there is a growing interest in "creative non-fiction" as well. That's where I've found a decent level of discussion about both the content and form of my writing. A second suggestion would be to take a non-fiction writing class through a local university extension. I've gotten a ton out of doing that; there are few things like a small community of supportive writers and readers.
Re: Writing is networking for introverts
#37As an introvert, I think introversion is a legitimate disorder.
Anyway, so where besides medium and f*cebook are good places to write?
Re: Writing is networking for introverts
#38This sounds more like "socially awkward but want to talk to lots of people" than strictly introverted (which itself generally gets used to mean many things). I have some "introvert" traits: talking to people tires me out, I have no interest in low quality conversations - I dont like chit-chatting with strangers. If this is what's going to happen at an event I'd rather avoid it altogether than have a pretext for peopl…
> I have no interest in low quality conversations
These are typically a gateway/warm-up to high quality conversations.
Re: Writing is networking for introverts
#39This sounds more like "socially awkward but want to talk to lots of people" than strictly introverted (which itself generally gets used to mean many things). I have some "introvert" traits: talking to people tires me out, I have no interest in low quality conversations - I dont like chit-chatting with strangers. If this is what's going to happen at an event I'd rather avoid it altogether than have a pretext for peopl…
> I have no interest in low quality conversations These are typically a gateway/warm-up to high quality conversations.
"Typically" is a bit overly optimistic IMO. "Possibly" seems more accurate - low quality conversations (e.g. the weather, sports, etc.) are typically just psychological glue so folks don't feel awkward during silence.
And I think it's fair to say that extroverts value that glue more than introverts, generally speaking. For an introvert, the value of the glue may even be exceeded by the cost of discussing some random nonsense they don't really care about.
Re: Writing is networking for introverts
#40I change my opinions way too frequently for it. Reading stuff that I wrote as recently as a year ago is mildly painful and annoying.
> I change my opinions way too frequently for it. Reading stuff that I wrote as recently as a year ago is mildly painful and annoying.
This is why I treat most of my non-commissioned writing as living documents, especially in the software space as things change all of the time.