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Still, it's surprising that they can't even conceive of doing anything without profit motive as an incentive. This isn't the first time I've heard of this kind

Still, it's surprising that they can't even conceive of doing anything without profit motive as an incentive. This isn't the first time I've heard of this kind of inter-generational dialogue. Perhaps Millennials and Gen-X are uniquely idealistic (or naïve) generations.

Kye 2y ago
Let's not confuse what they do for money with what they do for fun. For example: A lot of happy programmers can't conceive of doing it for fun: they log in, do a good job, log out, go tend to their sheep and work on their woodshed. You might not have the full picture of someone's life from a context-constrained conversation. There are things I'm good at that I tend to only want to do with a profit motive. I have plenty of unmonetized hobbies though.
- jollyllama 2y ago
  > A lot of happy programmers can't conceive of doing it for fun I don't think that's true. I think even people who fit that description are aware of others who find it fun. I guess what I was saying is, it doesn't even occur to them that someone would do something absent any profit motive.
JohnMakin 2y ago
The "Hawk Tuah" girl is a perfect example to me. She had a funny moment, and I think 15-20 years ago it probably would have just been a funny meme for a few years and a "oh you're that girl from the meme" at parties for her entire 20's. Like that's exactly how that would have played out. Now she quit her job, has sponsorships, got a major podcast deal - over a single viral moment. It's nutty to me, personally, but people seem to see this as perfectly normal.
- jollyllama 2y ago
  Interesting point. I'm not sure what her plan for her life was, but I could understand her making that decision if the rather explicit nature of her comments precluded it. Maybe she felt she had no choice but to own it.
- doctorwho42 2y ago
  Anything to distract from the dystopia we live in. Ironically what you describe sounds like that season 1 of black mirror episode
- Kye 2y ago
  15 years ago "Shit My Dad Says" got a TV show. People have spun momentary stardom into book deals and gigs forever. NYC, Hollywood, all the music cities past and present, and the last couple of SV booms were built on trying to generate it. "You're good at that, you should sell it" has been a constant refrain to creatives with any level of skill for decades. Some people went for it. The scale changed, and that's meaningful, but some kinds of people have always been on the lookout for a path to fortune.
- jahewson 2y ago
  That was pretty much the situation with reality TV twenty years ago. Everyone was aghast that some random person could appear on a show and instead of being cast aside for our amusement at the end, they were able to build a personal brand and get a career out of it. It’s predators all the way down.
- soulofmischief 2y ago
  I watched her podcast and some interviews, and it's clear that, while not the most educated person, she exudes charisma and has a relatable sense of humor. She seems like a natural entertainer. As for education, she's from the south and her mom is an absent drug addict so I give her a pass (I have the same background and it is extraordinarily difficult) I think she's a special case, and she'll prove that over time. I'm happy someone in her position got a chance to share her personality with the world. Wishing her the best.
  - JohnMakin 2y ago
    I’m not saying there’s anything wrong with what she did or that she does not have talent. It’s more crazy to me that this is seen as a natural progression of someone’s online career.
    - soulofmischief 2y ago
      I don't know, I feel it's hard to know what a natural progression in one's online career looks like, given the relative nascence of the medium. Film underwent similar phase transitions over time before settling on the star system, which we are now seeing begin to fail as well. It's certainly not sustainable to give a podcast to every person who says something that goes viral on TikTok, so I wonder how things will look in another 30 years.
    - DowagerDave 2y ago
      The part I don't like is an entire army of people now think doing exactly the same thing is a viable strategy to similar success. We should view this as a lottery win, not career development
jmb99 2y ago
>Still, it's surprising that they can't even conceive of doing anything without profit motive as an incentive. Realistically, what percentage of the workforce in any field would continue working if they stopped getting paid (or took a 75% pay cut)? 1%? 0.1%? The reason people work is to make money that they can spend on the things they need to live, and hopefully have some left over for the things they enjoy. I love programming, building hardware, tinkering, etc in my spare time (as one of my hobbies), and I'm employed as an embedded engineer. I like my work. If my company stopped paying me, I would be looking for a new job immediately. Does that mean I don't enjoy my work? No, I just have this job to make money so that I can afford to live and do all of the things I enjoy. I would argue that yes, people who believe people should enjoy their work without a "profit motive" are naive, or at least sufficiently wealthy to forget what it's like to rely on income from employment.

Kye 2y ago

Let's not confuse what they do for money with what they do for fun. For example: A lot of happy programmers can't conceive of doing it for fun: they log in, do a good job, log out, go tend to their sheep and work on their woodshed. You might not have the full picture of someone's life from a context-constrained conversation. There are things I'm good at that I tend to only want to do with a profit motive. I have plenty of unmonetized hobbies though.

jollyllama 2y ago
> A lot of happy programmers can't conceive of doing it for fun I don't think that's true. I think even people who fit that description are aware of others who find it fun. I guess what I was saying is, it doesn't even occur to them that someone would do something absent any profit motive.

JohnMakin 2y ago

The "Hawk Tuah" girl is a perfect example to me. She had a funny moment, and I think 15-20 years ago it probably would have just been a funny meme for a few years and a "oh you're that girl from the meme" at parties for her entire 20's. Like that's exactly how that would have played out. Now she quit her job, has sponsorships, got a major podcast deal - over a single viral moment. It's nutty to me, personally, but people seem to see this as perfectly normal.

jollyllama 2y ago
Interesting point. I'm not sure what her plan for her life was, but I could understand her making that decision if the rather explicit nature of her comments precluded it. Maybe she felt she had no choice but to own it.
doctorwho42 2y ago
Anything to distract from the dystopia we live in. Ironically what you describe sounds like that season 1 of black mirror episode
Kye 2y ago
15 years ago "Shit My Dad Says" got a TV show. People have spun momentary stardom into book deals and gigs forever. NYC, Hollywood, all the music cities past and present, and the last couple of SV booms were built on trying to generate it. "You're good at that, you should sell it" has been a constant refrain to creatives with any level of skill for decades. Some people went for it. The scale changed, and that's meaningful, but some kinds of people have always been on the lookout for a path to fortune.
jahewson 2y ago
That was pretty much the situation with reality TV twenty years ago. Everyone was aghast that some random person could appear on a show and instead of being cast aside for our amusement at the end, they were able to build a personal brand and get a career out of it. It’s predators all the way down.
soulofmischief 2y ago
I watched her podcast and some interviews, and it's clear that, while not the most educated person, she exudes charisma and has a relatable sense of humor. She seems like a natural entertainer. As for education, she's from the south and her mom is an absent drug addict so I give her a pass (I have the same background and it is extraordinarily difficult) I think she's a special case, and she'll prove that over time. I'm happy someone in her position got a chance to share her personality with the world. Wishing her the best.
- JohnMakin 2y ago
  I’m not saying there’s anything wrong with what she did or that she does not have talent. It’s more crazy to me that this is seen as a natural progression of someone’s online career.
  - soulofmischief 2y ago
    I don't know, I feel it's hard to know what a natural progression in one's online career looks like, given the relative nascence of the medium. Film underwent similar phase transitions over time before settling on the star system, which we are now seeing begin to fail as well. It's certainly not sustainable to give a podcast to every person who says something that goes viral on TikTok, so I wonder how things will look in another 30 years.
  - DowagerDave 2y ago
    The part I don't like is an entire army of people now think doing exactly the same thing is a viable strategy to similar success. We should view this as a lottery win, not career development

jmb99 2y ago

>Still, it's surprising that they can't even conceive of doing anything without profit motive as an incentive. Realistically, what percentage of the workforce in any field would continue working if they stopped getting paid (or took a 75% pay cut)? 1%? 0.1%? The reason people work is to make money that they can spend on the things they need to live, and hopefully have some left over for the things they enjoy. I love programming, building hardware, tinkering, etc in my spare time (as one of my hobbies), and I'm employed as an embedded engineer. I like my work. If my company stopped paying me, I would be looking for a new job immediately. Does that mean I don't enjoy my work? No, I just have this job to make money so that I can afford to live and do all of the things I enjoy. I would argue that yes, people who believe people should enjoy their work without a "profit motive" are naive, or at least sufficiently wealthy to forget what it's like to rely on income from employment.