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Vanity activities

quarter--mile.com

71–76 of 76 posts

Re: Vanity activities

#71

On a related note: I've run businesses for close to 20 years, most of those spent selling to other businesses, and I still fail to understand what the entirety of LinkedIn is for and if there is any of it that wouldn't fall under the author's definition of "Vanity activities". If anyone has a clue, please enlighten me.

I use it as a write only medium. I post about what I am doing and leave. It keeps my audience and people in my industry aware of what I am working on, and that makes my work more impactful. I have met many people that way, including my current partner.

It’s part of my strategy of working in public. It’s good for business and for my morale.

Re: Vanity activities

#72
post #61

I have this debate with people about news and podcasts sometimes (news was one of the examples in TFA). People say they are doing it to remain informed, and it’s a high-value activity, but I argue it’s mostly entertainment since it rarely affects any decision-making. This is not a hardline position, but I’m surprised at how vehemently people insist that their news habit has benefits beyond entertainment. (To be clear…

News consumption impacts political decision making, like who I want to support or oppose in local, state, and national elections. That seems a pretty high impact decision we want all the members of our society to be making on a regular basis.

True, I don’t have the right to vote in the place where I live, so that definitely reduces my incentive to engage in news.

But out of friends who engage in news it’s disproportionately at the global and nation level, so I don’t think they are really optimizing for civil engagement.

Re: Vanity activities

#73
post #61

Earlier quoted context omitted.

News consumption impacts political decision making, like who I want to support or oppose in local, state, and national elections. That seems a pretty high impact decision we want all the members of our society to be making on a regular basis.

True, I don’t have the right to vote in the place where I live, so that definitely reduces my incentive to engage in news. But out of friends who engage in news it’s disproportionately at the global and nation level, so I don’t think they are really optimizing for civil engagement.

Voting is just one way people engage in the political process.

Re: Vanity activities

#74
post #41
post #39

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why not just cold-message people from a potential employer when you’re applying there? Works way better than it should, and is more targeted than talking to people 99% of who you‘ll never see again, at an event.

What is your go-to text for such a cold message? I haven't seen that work but am always interested in new techniques.

Hey XY, Sorry for the cheeky reach-out. I‘ve already applied to the XZY role and just wanted to say I‘m really interested because it seems like it could be very good fit for both sides. I see you‘ve been using [tech] a lot, which I‘m personally a fan of, because it has [upside]. Btw, are you also using [tangential other tech]?

Or alternatively, ask some questions around team structure and roadmap - good leads like it when people are interested in what is likely their field of work.

Re: Vanity activities

#75
post #70

Is ethical consumption really a vanity activity? For the most part it just means not buying things. I don’t think that a Christian would consider “not sinning” a vanity activity. It’s just how people act about behaviour they consider harmful.

[deleted]

Re: Vanity activities

#76
post #73

Earlier quoted context omitted.

True, I don’t have the right to vote in the place where I live, so that definitely reduces my incentive to engage in news. But out of friends who engage in news it’s disproportionately at the global and nation level, so I don’t think they are really optimizing for civil engagement.

Voting is just one way people engage in the political process.

I live in a country that tends to deport noncitizens who “engage in the political process”, unless it’s in support of the incumbent government.
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