kinoko 🍓 on Nostr: so how does one network these days in tech now that birdsite has gone to shit? - i ...

so how does one network these days in tech now that birdsite has gone to shit?

- i used to get lots of good connections and interviews and more through twitter, even potential cofounders, it was extremely good for business
- people aren’t using meetup.com to advertise their meetups and networking events as much
- fedi is great but not a lot of people use it, and non-terminally online folks will miss most of the content you post
- i had some success through small official student bodies or professional discords (my latest job interview in academia (!) came from discord!), but you need to go through a lot of people to get into these secret clubs
- other secret slack groups and so on that i’ve been a part of thanks to twitter

the question remains: how does someone new to the industry build up their presence, showcasing their work etc nowadays when the birdsite algorithm punishes you and it won’t reach the right audience; when everyone’s scattered around and, frankly, is starting to use social media way less?

we are also not compartmentalized. so we can’t expect a social media purely for professional connections (e.g linkedin) to work as intended. being “real”, showing your personality, your hobbies, is all a piece of the puzzle to finding great people to work with, to build companies with. and social events like conferences aren’t enough on their own, neither are they as accessible as being visible online.

This will sound unsavory to a lot of people on fedi who think “networking” is the devil. But I’m an extrovert. Despite having to be at home most of the time due to a physical disability at the moment, despite enjoying my time alone hyperfocusing, I LOVE meeting new people, learning everything about them, vibing together, ping-ponging ideas, AND getting a good overview of what’s going on in “industry” — and I use it as an overarching term for everything I love to do that can also be exchanged for money. Work isn’t everything, sure. But I’m autistic and obsessive; my passions and hobbies ARE my work, so this is what I do and talk about all the time, those are the people I want to connect with and build things with.