REDDIT: Reddit's /r/diy got me to learn a lot about electronics. The extremely detailed guides which led to something that could ACTUALLY BE USEFUL was a very

REDDIT: Reddit's /r/diy got me to learn a lot about electronics. The extremely detailed guides which led to something that could ACTUALLY BE USEFUL was a very good motivator. /r/StopDrinking was also a lot of help for me (to help a friend). I owe a lot to the community there for helping my friend take control of his life again. /r/fitness also helped me reach a healthy weight and lifestyle after I had a recent health scare. /r/randomkindness helps me feel good by doing good for others. /r/cscareerquestions helped me get a great job and taught me a lot about programming (/r/programming and language specific subs) and career. Humans of New York: This photoblog by Bradon Stanton was instrumental in helping me develop a much more open mindset about people and eventually led me to volunteer for the UNICEF after they covered a young girl directly impacted by UNICEF. The European Refuge Crisis was a similarly transforming moment for me. Toastmasters International: This is kind of like Alchoholics Anonymous for people who haven't given a public presentation before. Countless TED talks also helped shape my thinking and gave me perspective. Since a lot of the HN populace doesn't like Reddit I wanted to clear it up that the key to using it productively is to follow only subreddits that fill a niche in your life. And prefer subreddits which have more text posts than link posts. Discussion with a wide variety of people is one of reddit's key strengths. As an example, I usually discuss and read comments about foreign policies on multiple country subreddits so that I can get an idea of how it impacts other countries and what the people are concerned about in the other places.