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A First-timer’s Tips for Networking in Silicon Valley

4 points by ajbatac 18y ago

alaskamiller 18y ago
I'm in the same position and did the same thing he listed without overthinking it. #4 and #3 are the most important. Do for others first and be patient and it will come back multiple folds.
MHollender 18y ago
Well, I'm not in the Valley, neither intend to go there, but such articles always make me feel a bit depressed. I've read at least two dozens of this type: pretend that geeks/programmers are like normal people, let's network, communicate, make friends, go out, chat, whatever. Let's smile, be optimistic, and enjoy life. Let's make a career, be a boss. WTF? Really. C'mon. Are you talking to programmers or salespeople? I became a programmer because I don't want to talk to people. I want to sit in a dark corner, be left alone, communicate in e-mail. I want tasks coming in my inbox, files going out my outbox. I don't want to communicate, don't want to network, don't want to pretend I enjoy life, don't want to "go out", and don't want to become a boss because that would mean more communication. And basically these articles imply that I'm doing it wrong. But why? This isn't just misanthropy, it's about the intelligence difference. If I talk, I want to talk to people who are interested in, and capable of, discussing subjects like the philosophy of Hume. Because such people don't exist in the workplace, I don't want to communicate more than necessary. I cannot stand "chatting" and "socializing" and other low signal-to-noise ratio stuff. I have a brain, I want to use it. All the time. Similarly, I don't want to pretend I enjoy life, because what most superficial people mean is that they had a good meal or something, in short, something utterly insignificant. Perhaps true happiness does exist, but it's so rare that it's rather insignificant, the honest and intelligent man's approach to life is that most things are unpleasant, but we just have to do them anyway. Absolutely no point in pretending to be happy. Not being happy isn't misery, it's just the honest acceptance of the way things are. It's one of the most annoying habits in England to ask every five minutes whether you are OK. What am I supposed to answer? Neither OK, nor not OK, it's just life as usual. The problem is not with striving to be happy, but with a very superficial definition of happiness - that you are supposed to be happy if nothing bad happens. I think it's just pretending. So, at the end, I don't want to communicate. At the end of the day, I don't want to be "successful", because that's again a very superficial thing. I just want to make a living and concentrate on important things, like understanding everything. And these articles make me wonder: am I doing it wrong?

4 points by ajbatac 18y ago

I'm in the same position and did the same thing he listed without overthinking it. #4 and #3 are the most important. Do for others first and be patient and it will come back multiple folds.

MHollender 18y ago

Well, I'm not in the Valley, neither intend to go there, but such articles always make me feel a bit depressed. I've read at least two dozens of this type: pretend that geeks/programmers are like normal people, let's network, communicate, make friends, go out, chat, whatever. Let's smile, be optimistic, and enjoy life. Let's make a career, be a boss. WTF? Really. C'mon. Are you talking to programmers or salespeople? I became a programmer because I don't want to talk to people. I want to sit in a dark corner, be left alone, communicate in e-mail. I want tasks coming in my inbox, files going out my outbox. I don't want to communicate, don't want to network, don't want to pretend I enjoy life, don't want to "go out", and don't want to become a boss because that would mean more communication. And basically these articles imply that I'm doing it wrong. But why? This isn't just misanthropy, it's about the intelligence difference. If I talk, I want to talk to people who are interested in, and capable of, discussing subjects like the philosophy of Hume. Because such people don't exist in the workplace, I don't want to communicate more than necessary. I cannot stand "chatting" and "socializing" and other low signal-to-noise ratio stuff. I have a brain, I want to use it. All the time. Similarly, I don't want to pretend I enjoy life, because what most superficial people mean is that they had a good meal or something, in short, something utterly insignificant. Perhaps true happiness does exist, but it's so rare that it's rather insignificant, the honest and intelligent man's approach to life is that most things are unpleasant, but we just have to do them anyway. Absolutely no point in pretending to be happy. Not being happy isn't misery, it's just the honest acceptance of the way things are. It's one of the most annoying habits in England to ask every five minutes whether you are OK. What am I supposed to answer? Neither OK, nor not OK, it's just life as usual. The problem is not with striving to be happy, but with a very superficial definition of happiness - that you are supposed to be happy if nothing bad happens. I think it's just pretending. So, at the end, I don't want to communicate. At the end of the day, I don't want to be "successful", because that's again a very superficial thing. I just want to make a living and concentrate on important things, like understanding everything. And these articles make me wonder: am I doing it wrong?