3 ms·

I've got news for you: I am a smug elitist. I judge every person I meet and I usually find myself more interested in the things I don't like than about the thin

by unalone 18y ago

I've got news for you: I am a smug elitist. I judge every person I meet and I usually find myself more interested in the things I don't like than about the things I do like. Some people call that elitism: most people I get along with call it taste. It's something that's a necessity when you're a writer or a designer. It lets you make things that don't suck. It's not about being a fame worshipping whore (and, for the record, your using a phrase like that is exactly the sort of thing that leads to my judging you as a bit of a jackass yourself). It's about having a respect for the people in the world who have good ideas and execute them. There's only one thing I really, really respect in the world, and that's the ability to get things done. So when the guy on Delicious responded to me, my reaction wasn't "Oh man! I got Delicious'd!" It was kind of an awe that I was talking to the guy who'd created the first big social bookmarking site. I mean, this is something my classmates use. I had a class that taught use of Delicious. Meanwhile, here was the guy who made it, responding to the opinions that I'd stated. That's pretty awesome. And I don't go out and advertise it, and I don't try to get publicity out of talking to people like that. I do it because, when all is said and done, these are the people that matter to me. Some of the guys here create the online world in which I dwell. There are Facebook employees and Google employees, there are guys with ties to Vimeo and Flickr and Tumblr and Last.fm, and I'm not in awe of them, I respect them. Is that unhealthy? I don't give a shit about fame. I hate fameballers. I insult people who are well-known and well-liked if they're full of themselves. But I do the same in reverse to people I don't know. Fame isn't indicative of good or great either way, so I opt to ignore it. What I was saying, which you apparently find elitist, is that I'm much more affected when it's somebody who's done something, regardless of whether or not I've heard of them beforehand. I feel that having created something that I judge to be good entitles you to more of my time than I'd give somebody completely at random, and that means more respect. So does that make me a whore? Am I a smug elitist because I think the people here are more worth talking to than the users on Digg? (Also, just to be certain: you're the njharman of Storymash, right?)

njharman 18y ago
I worked on/for Storymash, I also put a couple of my writing exercises on there. I wouldn't consider myself "of" Storymash cause I don't own it / didn't design it / it's not my baby. Not encountered any other njharman's and it's almost always what I use for username (some employers force nharman) so if you see that it's probably me. > responding to the opinions that I'd stated. That's pretty awesome I have that feeling for anyone responding to me, I doesn't matter if they are famous(done "something"). Famous people are just people, like you and me. They aren't gods. Jeez you're more of a fame worshiper than your first post implied.[later reading made me doubt this observation] You contradict yourself: Saying you opt to ignore fame just after you say "kind of an awe that I was talking to the guy who'd created the first big social bookmarking site" Hmmmmm, writing that out I can see that you might consider creating first big social bookmarking site is having "done something" (and therefor is not contradictory) I consider "having created a social bookmarking site" as something not much though. Being the first and being the biggest is just "having been lucky" and worth little regard. Most people in the world who have good ideas and execute them aren't famous/don't get famous. I'm impressed by people who try. success is meh (cause if you haven't noticed I consider success largely attributable to luck) > Am I a smug elitist because I think the people here are more worth talking to than the users on Digg? That there is a strawman, mister. btw you should insult even unknown and unliked people who are full of themselves. And honestly you really don't see the rah, rah, rah hero/fame worship that goes on round here? Some days it's like a Apple forum just with different objects of adoration.
- unalone 18y ago
  I have that feeling for anyone responding to me, I doesn't matter if they are famous(done "something"). Famous people are just people, like you and me. They aren't gods. Jeez you're more of a fame worshiper than your first post implied.[later reading made me doubt this observation] When I was something like 13 I made a Flash video that turned into a sort of cult success. To date I've seen a few hundred reviews of the thing online, and I've had IM from a ton of people who want to talk to me about it. And the conclusion that I drew? Most people really aren't worth talking to. That's not to say they're bad people, or inferior people: it's that this world is choked with people and if you want to get something meaningful out of life you've got to figure out who's worth talking to and who isn't. I think that the people who've done the sorts of things I want to do are people who have interesting things to tell me. Hmmmmm, writing that out I can see that you might consider creating first big social bookmarking site is having "done something" (and therefor is not contradictory) I consider "having created a social bookmarking site" as something not much though. Being the first and being the biggest is just "having been lucky" and worth little regard. There's also the fact that Delicious is a very good web site. I haven't seen a social bookmarking site that's as good at figuring out its intent. I agree with you: if the site's bad then I'm less interested in the person that made it. Most people in the world who have good ideas and execute them aren't famous/don't get famous. I'm impressed by people who try. success is meh (cause if you haven't noticed I consider success largely attributable to luck) That's another good thing about HN, though: the people that haven't made cool things are very often working on it right now. That there is a strawman, mister. The point I was trying to make was that HN has a more condensed group of interesting users than Digg does. I'm sure a lot of people here use Digg, but they'd be a lot harder to find. And honestly you really don't see the rah, rah, rah hero/fame worship that goes on round here? Some days it's like a Apple forum just with different objects of adoration. Sometimes I'll join in on the rahing. (I happen to adore Steve Jobs.) Sometimes I'll be more critical of the person (say, Mike Arrington or Seth Godin) and sometimes I'll to out of my way to state my dislike of the guy (Cory Doctorow springs to mind). I guess I treat it on a case-for-case basis.

by unalone 18y ago

njharman 18y ago

I worked on/for Storymash, I also put a couple of my writing exercises on there. I wouldn't consider myself "of" Storymash cause I don't own it / didn't design it / it's not my baby. Not encountered any other njharman's and it's almost always what I use for username (some employers force nharman) so if you see that it's probably me. > responding to the opinions that I'd stated. That's pretty awesome I have that feeling for anyone responding to me, I doesn't matter if they are famous(done "something"). Famous people are just people, like you and me. They aren't gods. Jeez you're more of a fame worshiper than your first post implied.[later reading made me doubt this observation] You contradict yourself: Saying you opt to ignore fame just after you say "kind of an awe that I was talking to the guy who'd created the first big social bookmarking site" Hmmmmm, writing that out I can see that you might consider creating first big social bookmarking site is having "done something" (and therefor is not contradictory) I consider "having created a social bookmarking site" as something not much though. Being the first and being the biggest is just "having been lucky" and worth little regard. Most people in the world who have good ideas and execute them aren't famous/don't get famous. I'm impressed by people who try. success is meh (cause if you haven't noticed I consider success largely attributable to luck) > Am I a smug elitist because I think the people here are more worth talking to than the users on Digg? That there is a strawman, mister. btw you should insult even unknown and unliked people who are full of themselves. And honestly you really don't see the rah, rah, rah hero/fame worship that goes on round here? Some days it's like a Apple forum just with different objects of adoration.

unalone 18y ago
I have that feeling for anyone responding to me, I doesn't matter if they are famous(done "something"). Famous people are just people, like you and me. They aren't gods. Jeez you're more of a fame worshiper than your first post implied.[later reading made me doubt this observation] When I was something like 13 I made a Flash video that turned into a sort of cult success. To date I've seen a few hundred reviews of the thing online, and I've had IM from a ton of people who want to talk to me about it. And the conclusion that I drew? Most people really aren't worth talking to. That's not to say they're bad people, or inferior people: it's that this world is choked with people and if you want to get something meaningful out of life you've got to figure out who's worth talking to and who isn't. I think that the people who've done the sorts of things I want to do are people who have interesting things to tell me. Hmmmmm, writing that out I can see that you might consider creating first big social bookmarking site is having "done something" (and therefor is not contradictory) I consider "having created a social bookmarking site" as something not much though. Being the first and being the biggest is just "having been lucky" and worth little regard. There's also the fact that Delicious is a very good web site. I haven't seen a social bookmarking site that's as good at figuring out its intent. I agree with you: if the site's bad then I'm less interested in the person that made it. Most people in the world who have good ideas and execute them aren't famous/don't get famous. I'm impressed by people who try. success is meh (cause if you haven't noticed I consider success largely attributable to luck) That's another good thing about HN, though: the people that haven't made cool things are very often working on it right now. That there is a strawman, mister. The point I was trying to make was that HN has a more condensed group of interesting users than Digg does. I'm sure a lot of people here use Digg, but they'd be a lot harder to find. And honestly you really don't see the rah, rah, rah hero/fame worship that goes on round here? Some days it's like a Apple forum just with different objects of adoration. Sometimes I'll join in on the rahing. (I happen to adore Steve Jobs.) Sometimes I'll be more critical of the person (say, Mike Arrington or Seth Godin) and sometimes I'll to out of my way to state my dislike of the guy (Cory Doctorow springs to mind). I guess I treat it on a case-for-case basis.