Coolest Things I Learned in 2019
Loved this with ONE exception:<p>> “Twitter is the most amazing networking and learning network ever built.<p>> For someone whose pursuing their dream job, or chasing a group of mentors or peers, it’s remarkable. In any given field, 50-80% of the top experts in that field are on Twitter and they’re sharing ideas, and you can connect to them or follow them in your personal feed.<p>> If you get lucky enough and say something they find interesting, they might follow you, and the reason this becomes super interesting is that unlocks direct message, and now all of a sudden you can communicate directly or electronically with that individual. Very, very powerful.<p>Man, so many things about the statement make my skin crawl.  The idea that you should be "chasing" mentors or peers.  The idea that you should be "lucky enough" to say something "they find interesting" and then "they might follow you".<p>Lucky you, you little worthless common person!<p>Talk about a subjugating attitude about the world.  Bill Gurley seems to be very excited about the idea that people are just hoping and pleading and begging for more powerful people to notice them.<p>Sorry for the negativity.  But this is just such an unproductive attitude and perhaps the cause of a lot of what makes Twitter awful.<p>EDIT:  Let me add a more positive take.  I agree with the underlying <i>sentiment</i> here -- that Twitter does provide folks with an opportunity to actually engage with people they might not have otherwise had a chance to engage with previously or in other contexts, and that is truly excellent.  I'm just reacting strongly to the way it was presented ("you should be so lucky as to be noticed by someone more powerful than you.").