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Hi less_penguiny - absolutely loved this article. Brilliant writing. I'm also finding myself thinking a lot about social interactions, especially the dumb non
by brianmcc 8y ago
Hi less_penguiny - absolutely loved this article.
Brilliant writing.
I'm also finding myself thinking a lot about social interactions, especially the dumb nonsense vast swathes of our populations carry out, and being currently in the middle of Desmond Morris "Human Zoo" (brilliant, slightly dated, but you'll love it if you're not familiar) your piece really struck a chord - particularly with "Bragging is personally imposing what-you-believe-to-be status-elevating thoughts on your audience". Status, tribes, dominance, all seem explain so much modern phenomena from a species which ought to know better.
In "About" you write "I was heartbroken by the tumbleweed response I got for my last writing project, so I don’t intend to spin my wheels writing in vain again."
Please don't feel discouraged I get much the same on pretty much every submission I post here, so it's not you, per se! Writing is the easy and fun part, but like a startup I suspect promotion, networking, and all that play a big part. Being an established name makes a huge difference too - it all gets much harder if you don't have a large following.
Are you on Twitter? That can be good for exposure. Happy to follow and RT!
Best of luck!
- Vinnl 8y agoI really enjoyed it as well. I'd also suggest an RSS feed; although it makes it harder to track who reads your articles, I really prefer to not sign up for email updates. Anyway, keep it up!
- less_penguiny 8y agoJust cobbled one together – LMK if it works https://www.lesspenguiny.com/feed.rss https://www.lesspenguiny.com/feed.rss
- conesus 8y agoCheck the links on the stories, it doesn’t yet work. Also, why truncate the feed?
- less_penguiny 8y agowell spotted. both should be addressed now
- Digit-Al 8y agoAnother tiny little cosmetic error. On your about page you talk about being "file" star Jeff Goldblum. Should that be "film" star?
- Vinnl 8y agoExcellent, I've subscribed! Thanks, looking forward to future articles :)
- less_penguiny 8y agoWow thanks for the praise! The positive response here has been deeply affirming — I'm sitting at my coworking space with the real-time Google Analytics tab open and a grin on my face the width of Texas. I've got a mailing list: https://www.lesspenguiny.com/email_subscribers/new https://www.lesspenguiny.com/email_subscribers/new Both Twitter and Facebook suspended my newly created accounts for this project – I think they took offense to my entering first name "Less", surname: "Penguiny" Funny aside: Facebook's tool to un-suspend my account asked me to submit a photo. I uploaded a photo of a penguin, since that's my profile photo, the only one they have of me in their system. "Sorry, your photo could not be recognized".
- brianmcc 8y agoI have now subscribed! What ideas you thinking about for your next pieces? And what are your goals if you don't mind me asking, I mean I don't see any obvious monetization stuff on your site? If you get 10m views a month does that help you avoid rejoining the rat race or are you not really thinking so far ahead yet?
- less_penguiny 8y agoI'm at a juncture – my last project wound down and I'm considering where to take my career next. Basically my main two options are: * start another technical company and go all-in * freelance half of the time, spend the other half on the LessPenguiny project. Monetization would be nice, but it isn't necessary. I'd sacrifice cash for impact in this area. As for future pieces, I've analyzing my data (about 2000 observations, already coded) and I've got a lot of material on: * why some people seem so impossibly warm * how conversations get started between strangers (not in a pick-up way, but more in a normal day-to-day way) * why some people are fascinating conversationalists * compliments — are they good or do they make people uncomfortable?
- nf05papsjfVbc 8y agoIf it in any way matters, I'd be very glad to read some insights on why some people seem so impossibly warm (assuming you don't mean "body temperature"). My fondest memories of meeting people for the first time is always meeting people who exude genuine warmth and I'd really like to be like them some day.
- forkerenok 8y agoYour assessment of the article prompted me to actually read it. Now I can't help but feel that your whole comment is one giant brag! > Hi less_penguiny - absolutely loved this article. > Brilliant writing. Bragging about your good taste. > I'm also finding myself thinking a lot about social interactions, especially the dumb nonsense vast swathes of our populations carry out, and being currently in the middle of Desmond Morris "Human Zoo" (brilliant, slightly dated, but you'll love it if you're not familiar) your piece really struck a chord - particularly with "Bragging is personally imposing what-you-believe-to-be status-elevating thoughts on your audience". Status, tribes, dominance, all seem explain so much modern phenomena from a species which ought to know better. Also a brag: "I'm so much more aware than the rest of them average people". Followed by one-upmanship brag: book recommendation. > In "About" you write "I was heartbroken by the tumbleweed response I got for my last writing project, so I don’t intend to spin my wheels writing in vain again." > Please don't feel discouraged I get much the same on pretty much every submission I post here, so it's not you, per se! Writing is the easy and fun part, but like a startup I suspect promotion, networking, and all that play a big part. Being an established name makes a huge difference too - it all gets much harder if you don't have a large following. Another "I've been here long enough" brag.
- brianmcc 8y agoHa ha it wasn't intended that way but I can't argue with you right now, I need to clean the mess one of my horses just made beside my new Porsche. Honestly, servants can't get anything right these days...