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I agree. Brad Pitt earns what he does because of the amount of money his movies bring in. If Mike Lee can bring in enough monies for his clients to recoup his

by jawn 16y ago

I agree. Brad Pitt earns what he does because of the amount of money his movies bring in. If Mike Lee can bring in enough monies for his clients to recoup his exorbitant hourly rate, more power to him. He should definitely tone down the ego and rhetoric a bit though.

lsc 16y ago
depends... If you are marketing to business people, it seems to be best to puff yourself up as much as possible. they eat that shit up, as far as I can tell. I bet his massive ego gets him some work. When marketing to technical people, the opposite seems to be the case. In my experience, it's best to say "Oh, I'm nothing" and then proceed to show or do something pretty cool. Adding in a few words like 'perhaps' or "I believe" can make your message come across much more positively when dealing with the technically focused, and can do the opposite when dealing with the business focused. (note, while "I think" or "some people believe" adds a touch of humility, "In my experience" can go either way. It can imply that you feel you have a great deal more experience in this area than the other people in the room, adding to confidence/arrogance, but it can also imply that what works for you might not work for others, making you seem less confrontational.) This is one of the things I find interesting about hacker news; it seems to be populated by people who are halfway between those two worldviews.
ahoyhere 16y ago
Why should he? Are you earning more / more successfully than him? No? Then why would you think your advice would be helpful? You shouldn't conflate "what I like" with "what works."
- jawn 16y ago
  Perhaps because the post is off putting to readers and makes the guy come across like an asshole? Do not be an asshole is one of the first lessons of social interaction. It's a shame some people confuse confidence with being an asshole. Secondly, one need not be in a better position to make value judgements. I don't necessarily need to have ever played a game of basketball to tell you that Steve Nash is a better free throw shooter than Dennis Rodman. Just like I can tell you that being an asshole may discourage potential clients (i.e. readers). If you think it's just me that feels this way, I invite you to read the rest of the comments in this thread. Furthermore, I never qualified my statements to be indicative of what I like or what would work globally. Troll better please.

by jawn 16y ago

lsc 16y ago

depends... If you are marketing to business people, it seems to be best to puff yourself up as much as possible. they eat that shit up, as far as I can tell. I bet his massive ego gets him some work. When marketing to technical people, the opposite seems to be the case. In my experience, it's best to say "Oh, I'm nothing" and then proceed to show or do something pretty cool. Adding in a few words like 'perhaps' or "I believe" can make your message come across much more positively when dealing with the technically focused, and can do the opposite when dealing with the business focused. (note, while "I think" or "some people believe" adds a touch of humility, "In my experience" can go either way. It can imply that you feel you have a great deal more experience in this area than the other people in the room, adding to confidence/arrogance, but it can also imply that what works for you might not work for others, making you seem less confrontational.) This is one of the things I find interesting about hacker news; it seems to be populated by people who are halfway between those two worldviews.

ahoyhere 16y ago

Why should he? Are you earning more / more successfully than him? No? Then why would you think your advice would be helpful? You shouldn't conflate "what I like" with "what works."

jawn 16y ago
Perhaps because the post is off putting to readers and makes the guy come across like an asshole? Do not be an asshole is one of the first lessons of social interaction. It's a shame some people confuse confidence with being an asshole. Secondly, one need not be in a better position to make value judgements. I don't necessarily need to have ever played a game of basketball to tell you that Steve Nash is a better free throw shooter than Dennis Rodman. Just like I can tell you that being an asshole may discourage potential clients (i.e. readers). If you think it's just me that feels this way, I invite you to read the rest of the comments in this thread. Furthermore, I never qualified my statements to be indicative of what I like or what would work globally. Troll better please.