I dont think its as much a business-motivated thought, as it is an observation about there being a very distorted age spectrum associated with working in tech-related industries.
51 karma · joined April 17, 2016
Great link: Very, VERY insightful.
Firstly, how this situation shared by the OP and many others is pure insanity. That the very people who grew up with this technology during the baby years are now struggling to have a place now that it really has taken off.
Secondly, for those in their mid-30's and onward, to realize how immensely skilled they likely are at writing (if not already recognizing this fact). One of my favorite parts of staying up to date in this industry is getting to read every and any type of work/post/article from the older guys (still must admit that 37 doesn't feel old to me). Because your time was spent communicating primarily electronically, this skill has spilled over into creative writing and all other forms, which makes for incredibly well-written pieces which keep me going to this very day. So thank you for that.
Thirdly, how amazing it is that a person can now come up with an idea, build out the details and launch the website within 24 hours if truly determined. Loved the website, definitely think that as younger generations start to take advantage of the current tech and build their own on top of it, that there will be a need to differentiate between the various abilities/experience of devs.
Nice work.
EDIT: I'm not attempting to discredit the greatness that can be had... Just wanted to describe a feeling which I had while using it is all!
I have a theory about why many complain about SO (please don't comment about this line, there are obviously exceptions):
There has been a ridiculous sense of entitlement with the growth and recent appeal of tech jobs in the past 5 years.
All this crap about "trolling" getting out of hand, not enough diversity (THE FIELD WAS PRIMARILY FILLED WITH NERDS OFTEN LACKING ANY SOCIAL SKILLS, no one else wanted to look or hang out with "that guy who is good with computers") etc.
It's a field that was mainly driven out of the desire and enjoyment that would be had messing around on CPU's. Therefore most of the good ones (among the diluted masses of "experts" nowadays) spent a great deal of time on these things. I'm not surprised that somebody would get pissed off if another came around and started asking for the answers to things without any real effort or drive being shown.
SO will forever be a poor resource for the huge incoming population of coders.
An obvious concept that can so easily be forgotten at times.
> (Why make this product, with its attendant risks, and why now? “Because it’s fun,” he says with another laugh.)
Sometimes you can look at something and just KNOW that there is not a chance that pile of junk is gonna gain traction.
The one thing I wish had been made clear to me beforehand was understanding just how little the non-tech and business savy people knew about what we do. As such, despite how much of a positive impact I had, my pay was not even close to what it should have been (first-year photographers were making more than me). It was a constant battle to explain why certain time was needed to complete various tasks, as well as why I was putting in the hours I had.
When I finally managed to get out of there, feeling underappreciated, it was THEN my once boss realized how lucky he had been. Nobody would come and work for the same pay while being asked to do all that I had done.
So be careful and at the very least prepare yourself if trying to go into smaller companies and businesses.
Had me in tears. Also, I completely forgot about that show until coming across this so thanks for bring back some history!