Thanks for the compliment :) A long time ago I would've agreed. But now I think we live in a world where you can land a job with the right sort of Instagram po

Thanks for the compliment :) A long time ago I would've agreed. But now I think we live in a world where you can land a job with the right sort of Instagram post which goes viral. Side projects can broaden your horizons, increase your network size, put you in touch with that random CEO who wants to interview you because you used their API in your side project. I agree with you, most hirees still don't care. However the people I've enjoyed working with most in my career had fascinating quirks to them, maybe they do carpentry or maybe they're building a compiler for fun. Work can drain people, so having a bit of naive optimism that your side projects could help people/make money/land you a job/or whatever, is not a bad idea IMO. Like with anything, one should manage their own expectations though!