5 ms·

I miss those times when enthusiasm used to drive the net. Seeking profit in every corner of one’s life is demoralizing to say at least.

by agigao 8y ago

michaelmrose 8y ago
Most regular people call this behavior... survival. Anything else is an extreme luxury reserved for a minuscule fraction of the human race.
- dingaling 8y ago
  That mindset is only necessary if you intend the Internet to be your sole income. I work a tiring manual job for three days to pay bills and buy nice things. The rest of the week I have some time to take photos and write other content which I share freely online. I don't expect or demand that anyone else pay for my hobbies.
- erikpukinskis 8y ago
  No, not really. And do the extent people do live that way, it’s a new phenomenon. A hundred years ago most people had vast swaths of their productive life that operated outside of the economy. Housewives cooking meals, people fixing their own cars. Dances in barns. Etc. Many “regular” people still live that way, which is where your statement is false. Over the last 100 years there has been a concerted effort by business owners to displace all of that activity and replace it with productized equivalents in the economy: You don’t cook, you buy frozen dinners. You pay to have your complicated car fixed. You don’t walk your friends dog, you get paid to do dog walking gigs. You gramma doesn’t cook you soup, you get it delivered. People don’t meet up in a barn, you go to a club and pay a cover. This is new. And I’m not even saying it’s fundamentally bad for us. But for some of us it is disorienting.
  - michaelmrose 8y ago
    Because the non discretionary parts of your life like rent/mortgage and medical is so expensive people don't have time after investing 50-60 hours to walk the friends dog. Note that someone who only works 40 hours but has to commute 1.5 hours to and from work because they can't live in the city where the jobs are and spends 2 hours taking text emails while not actually at work has committed 65.5 hours of their time. half hour getting ready for work, 1.5 hours driving there, 4 hours on lunch for an hour, 4 hours on, 1.5 hours getting home. People working multiple part time jobs are worse off. They may be "working" 60 hours and committing 80.
    - agigao 8y ago
      Guys, perhaps, we should to give such examples a context. I lived/studied in Boston, MA number of years, and I used to meet up with my childhood friend who immigrated from Georgia roughly 8 years ago at his late teen years. He graduated from a very prestigious business school, and has a decent job but after the day was over he used to do some extra stuff, like driving someone from place to place, some screw driving job (I don't exactly know). It seemed crazy to me, I asked numerous times what are you doing dude? His response was extra $ is not a bad thing. It might sound a bit bold and too generalized, no offense, I'm up for conversation - in the US people forgot what it means to rest properly. Roughly a year ago, I was visiting my good friend in Germany, who immigrated 15 years ago. He was encouraged by another friend who lived in California to move to the US. We sat down and make a list of comparisons. Just to name a few: Germany: 1. Workers Union protects employees. Pays a salary (70%+ of it) for 6 months if one looses a job. Also, a simple cold is good enough reason to take a week long leave and you're encouraged to do so. - US? no bro, you're on your own. It's a god damn pressure that makes people work unworkable hours and being in the endless state of anxiety. 2. Car insurance - he drives a new BMW and pays ~ 350 USD per year. We quoted the minimal package for insurance in MA for the same car, guess the number? 10fold: 3000 USD per year. 3. Education? - Free. US: 70$K per year. 4. Cost of food. Well, Germany is "notorious" even in EU for grocery affordability. 5. And Beer? German Hefeweizen 60 cents. Samuel Adams? no thank you. (half joking) I did eventually left the US, although data science/engineering is the dream job generate money, but quality of life is no less important than the number of 0s at the end of bank acc. balance.

I miss those times when enthusiasm used to drive the net. Seeking profit in every corner of one’s life is demoralizing to say at least.

by agigao 8y ago

I miss those times when enthusiasm used to drive the net. Seeking profit in every corner of one’s life is demoralizing to say at least.

michaelmrose 8y ago

Most regular people call this behavior... survival. Anything else is an extreme luxury reserved for a minuscule fraction of the human race.

dingaling 8y ago
That mindset is only necessary if you intend the Internet to be your sole income. I work a tiring manual job for three days to pay bills and buy nice things. The rest of the week I have some time to take photos and write other content which I share freely online. I don't expect or demand that anyone else pay for my hobbies.
erikpukinskis 8y ago
No, not really. And do the extent people do live that way, it’s a new phenomenon. A hundred years ago most people had vast swaths of their productive life that operated outside of the economy. Housewives cooking meals, people fixing their own cars. Dances in barns. Etc. Many “regular” people still live that way, which is where your statement is false. Over the last 100 years there has been a concerted effort by business owners to displace all of that activity and replace it with productized equivalents in the economy: You don’t cook, you buy frozen dinners. You pay to have your complicated car fixed. You don’t walk your friends dog, you get paid to do dog walking gigs. You gramma doesn’t cook you soup, you get it delivered. People don’t meet up in a barn, you go to a club and pay a cover. This is new. And I’m not even saying it’s fundamentally bad for us. But for some of us it is disorienting.
- michaelmrose 8y ago
  Because the non discretionary parts of your life like rent/mortgage and medical is so expensive people don't have time after investing 50-60 hours to walk the friends dog. Note that someone who only works 40 hours but has to commute 1.5 hours to and from work because they can't live in the city where the jobs are and spends 2 hours taking text emails while not actually at work has committed 65.5 hours of their time. half hour getting ready for work, 1.5 hours driving there, 4 hours on lunch for an hour, 4 hours on, 1.5 hours getting home. People working multiple part time jobs are worse off. They may be "working" 60 hours and committing 80.
  - agigao 8y ago
    Guys, perhaps, we should to give such examples a context. I lived/studied in Boston, MA number of years, and I used to meet up with my childhood friend who immigrated from Georgia roughly 8 years ago at his late teen years. He graduated from a very prestigious business school, and has a decent job but after the day was over he used to do some extra stuff, like driving someone from place to place, some screw driving job (I don't exactly know). It seemed crazy to me, I asked numerous times what are you doing dude? His response was extra $ is not a bad thing. It might sound a bit bold and too generalized, no offense, I'm up for conversation - in the US people forgot what it means to rest properly. Roughly a year ago, I was visiting my good friend in Germany, who immigrated 15 years ago. He was encouraged by another friend who lived in California to move to the US. We sat down and make a list of comparisons. Just to name a few: Germany: 1. Workers Union protects employees. Pays a salary (70%+ of it) for 6 months if one looses a job. Also, a simple cold is good enough reason to take a week long leave and you're encouraged to do so. - US? no bro, you're on your own. It's a god damn pressure that makes people work unworkable hours and being in the endless state of anxiety. 2. Car insurance - he drives a new BMW and pays ~ 350 USD per year. We quoted the minimal package for insurance in MA for the same car, guess the number? 10fold: 3000 USD per year. 3. Education? - Free. US: 70$K per year. 4. Cost of food. Well, Germany is "notorious" even in EU for grocery affordability. 5. And Beer? German Hefeweizen 60 cents. Samuel Adams? no thank you. (half joking) I did eventually left the US, although data science/engineering is the dream job generate money, but quality of life is no less important than the number of 0s at the end of bank acc. balance.