07 Apr 2025 #writing
“Hey, how’s your LinkedIn posting doing?” he said.
I was at a gathering with some friends and ex-coworkers. “I read your posts. I don’t like or comment on them, but I read them.”
That was surprising. I wasn’t expecting a greeting like that one. That was a small win and encouraged me to stay consistent and keep showing up.
Last year, I revived my LinkedIn account and started to use it to share my ideas and build my writing skills in public, instead of simply using it to land new jobs.
When we start writing online, we expect to have thousands of followers, tons of comments, and to become thought leaders in just a couple of days.
For some reason, we don’t expect the same when practicing a sport. But we think it’s true for social media and writing online.
The first months of writing online are lonely. Nothing happens. Nobody likes or comments on any of our posts. Post after post goes nowhere. Just cricket sounds. We’re shouting into the void.
But those first moments are the ones that make us build our persistence muscles and push us to improve our craft. “I didn’t make it today. There’s another chance tomorrow.”
Write as if nobody is reading, and keep writing because you don’t know who’s reading.
06 Apr 2025 #misc
Every beep, buzz, and notification is designed to keep us hooked.
The other day while preparing my Friday Links email, I found Seven39. A social media platform that only opens from 7:39PM to 10:39PM EST.
It made me think of what features I’d like to see on a non-addictive social media app:
#1. It only opens on a fixed schedule. Inspired by Seven39 itself. Or, instead of a fixed schedule for everyone, users set their own open hours, capped at two hours per day.
#2. It only allows you to have 150 connections, at most.
#3. After open hours, it goes into “dumb” mode or simply kicks you out, and you can’t log in again.
#4. It only allows a maximum number of interactions, such as likes, comments, or reposts, per day.
#5. Users are limited to one post per day. You’re better off thinking carefully about what you want to share. You only have one shot.
#6. It’s invitation-only.
#7. It doesn’t email you, except for authentication and security reasons. No email notifications at all. No “someone viewed your profile.”
#8. No endless feed for you to scroll. You can only interact directly with your connections.
#9. It has no notifications while you’re online. You should only receive a daily digest of your connections’ activity on your post.
#10. It has no metrics. Just likes.
A platform like this needs a name. What about these?
- BeepZero: No beeps. No notifications. Just connection.
- TinCan: Your friends, you, and a tin can phone.
- NoSocial: The nosocial media platform.
Which one is your favorite? Mine is TinCan.
Would you sign up for a platform like this? Of course, after you receive an invitation.
05 Apr 2025 #writing
From cleaning at McDonald’s to 1.7 million followers on Twitter/X.
Sheehan Quirke (@CulturalTutor) was trying to find ways to make money writing. His best plan was offering tutoring in literature, architecture, and culture. He started his Twitter/X account to drive traffic to his tutoring gig.
Plot twist? People on Twitter didn’t want his tutoring sessions, but his threads.
That’s how Sheehan started. He shared his story here:
And here are my lessons from that interview:
#1. Don’t read anything written in the last 50 years. If you read what everybody else reads, you’ll say same the same things as everybody else. And you’ll think like everybody else. Find good sources of inspiration.
#2. Focus on writing good stuff. Forget about algorithm hacks and engagement pods. Just write.
#3. Write good hooks. Our content is competing with memes and 6-pack abs. Our content will pass unnoticed unless we write opening lines that make people stop scrolling. Steal your hooks from influencers.
#4. The best way to stay consistent is to always believe you can improve. Your writing today is practice for better writing tomorrow.
#5. Find peers who encourage you. This is what James Altucher calls finding your EQUALS. People on the same journey who can challenge and encourage you.
#6. Treat writing as your full-time job. A young boy who wants to make it to the Major Leagues knows he has to train and practice every day. Writing shouldn’t be anything different.
#7. Focus on one thing. It’s easy to get distracted by too many platforms, pretending to be everywhere. Twitter/X, Medium, Substack, LinkedIn, etc. Focus on one thing in one place. When Sheehan was starting on Twitter/X, he wanted to start a newsletter. That would have distracted from what was working: Twitter threads.
#8. Find ideas on your daily conversations. And refine them by talking about them. This sounds like the 3-strike rule to write posts I found the other day.
04 Apr 2025 #coding
Guaranteed results in 10 simple steps:
#1. Ignore ideas and suggestions. If anyone comes with an idea or suggestion, ignore it. And if anyone raises a concern, say it’s fine and it used to be worse.
#2. Take credit for someone else’s idea. If anyone comes with an idea and you don’t want to ignore it, say “oh, that was what I told you we should do.”
#3. Don’t share any vision or project goals. Just keep your team closing JIRA tickets. Tickets and more tickets.
#4. When someone asks for a salary review, say “come back in a few months.” And then, tell them to come back again. And on and on.
#5. Once a task or project is finished, publicly praise someone else’s work.
#6. Give your team boring and repetitive work. The more boring and repetitive, the better. Make them dig holes. Then make them fill those holes.
#7. Make them work on projects no one will use. Did your team work on a project for six months? Archive it, deprioritize it, or make sure nobody uses it.
#8. Your team worked hard, but why share what the users think? That’s not their business, right? Don’t share any feedback. Just keep them finishing tickets. See #3.
#9. Use the word “resource” to refer to them and treat them accordingly. Your team members are machines you can replace anytime.
#10. Lay off people and tell the ones who stay “nothing is happening.” And if they ask about it, tell them they should be grateful for still having a job.
Follow these steps and you’ll have team members who will leave you at their first chance.
03 Apr 2025 #career
I’ve finally understood why it’s better to change jobs than to ask for a raise.
These days, I was reading James Altucher’s archive of posts and I found out about the Jesus’ effect. I had already heard about the Doppler effect, the Google effect, and the Butterfly effect. But, not about Jesus’ effect.
The Jesus’ effect or just being the “carpenter’s son”
According to the Gospels, Jesus was traveling and preaching all over his home country.
In our modern day, he would be on podcast tours, giving TED talks, and running masterminds. He was creating a brand and growing a following. Literally.
His movement was getting larger and larger, with followers and haters.
Until he arrived in his hometown.
He couldn’t continue doing any of his work. There, he was only the “carpenter’s son.” His hometown was the place with the most haters.
At that point, I had already heard about that piece of advice: “Don’t ask for a raise, change jobs.” I’ve made the mistake of not following it. Shame on me!
But then I made the connection between Jesus and changing jobs
Often, the best place to grow is not where you’re at now, but somewhere else where people will value you more.
Where you are now, you’re probably the database guy or the API guy or the UI guy. That’s your perceived value. You’re just the “carpenter’s son.”
That’s why most conversations about salary raises die with a “come in 3 or 6 months” or “come after your next performance review.” You’ve reached a glass ceiling in terms of growth and how management and check-signers perceive you at work.
There are no more growth opportunities. No more salary increases. Just the same old grind until you get bored or laid off.
Often, just like Jesus, we find ourselves defined by labels, the “carpenter’s son” or whatever label you have at work, and to grow, we have to move to another place. Be like Jesus and find opportunities somewhere else where you’re valued more.