

Being fun - drusenko
http://david.weebly.com/1/post/2008/05/being-fun.html

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wallflower
"there's something very weird about someone who stands around and doesn't
introduce themselves."

A master networker once explained to me that if you don't commit yourself to
meeting someone (e.g. introducing yourself with energy/smile) the other person
feels awkward because they have to invest energy in figuring out who you are.
While if you act outgoing, then the other person doesn't feel as put upon.. If
you are shy, it requires the other person to put in effort while if you act
outgoing/take initiative, the other person can relax because they can see who
you are (at least in the public realm)

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jestrohm
"How to behave as if you do not have Asperger's"

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xlnt
so do you agree asperger's is not inborn, and can be "cured" by learning
alternative modes of behavior?

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raju
Nice article. I agree with petercooper in that this works in the US, and thats
in most places. I lived in India for a while, and in the bigger cities, this
will not fly.

Someone once said that if you have don't say anything in a meeting, then you
should not have attended to begin with. I take this (or try to anyways) in
real life. Treat any interaction as a way of getting to know someone else.
Everyone is interesting, everyone has an opinion, and everybody wants to be
listened to. All you have to do is the opening act. But at the end of the day
you have to be sincere. If you are _not_ interested, don't bother. People can
smell phoniness a mile away (thats the reason why the whole networking thing
has such a bad name).

"Never Eat Alone" is a good book on this subject. I don't agree with
everything he has to say, but I agree with his core philosophy. If I know you,
and you succeed, then I succeed. And I will do everything I can to help me
succeed. (Thats my version)

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vlad
I agree with the other post here that it's important to genuinely care, so
this Startup School, I visited justin.tv and scribd; incidentally, I danced at
the hotel afterwards (coincidentally to a french song) because I was genuinely
happy just to be in the area with smart people interested in new technology.

<http://youtube.com/watch?v=OWVdoZDsjqo>

Your article is great because many young entrepreneurs aren't very social
unless one is an alumni of the same college as the other, or have experience
with the same technology. On the other hand, it is also a very efficient way
of finding people who are exactly like oneself, in the case that a startup's
business plan requires all members to look and act like clones of one another
in order for it to succeed.

~~~
nextmoveone
++

awesome dance, no homo.

~~~
ivankirigin
first time i'd seen that statement suffix on this site.

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petercooper
Good advice, but very American-centric. Being overly friendly and outgoing
does not fly with a significant percentage of Europeans, I've found, whereas
these sorts of things work great in America (probably why I'd rather live
there, but well..)

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edw519
Nice advice.

Implicit in all the Q & A, of course, is being yourself and really caring. You
don't want to ask a question because it's on your "to do list"; you ask
because you really are interested. Coming off as a phony is worse than doing
nothing at all.

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wumi
"really caring" I think applies to not just start-ups but to life in general.

so many of us ask "how are you" without "really caring" that it's startling to
find someone who "really cares" and wants a truthful response when you ask.

I'd also add "like people." If you genuinely like other people, and you like
yourself, your attitude will most likely rub people the right way.

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wumi
out of curiosity, with David being fluent in French, any reason you guys don't
have a French version of Weebly out? (Pardon if I'm mistaken on this)

