

Why do the shyness articles belong here? - syntaxfree

Because many hackers are shy? Isn't this for self-healing.reddit.com or something?
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syntaxfree
Well, yeah, an entrepreneur can't be shy. Then again, if that was the only
personality change one needs to turn from recluse self-proclaimed technical
genius to successful entrepreneur, there would be entrepreneurial
psychotherapies. But wouldn't the psychotherapists get rich themselves and not
be psychotherapists? _more nonsense rambling here_

You do need a marketing person, no matter how much of a maverick extrovert you
are. Marketing is not one of the high arts, but it isn't trivial, and
distracts you from focusing on kicking ass. Get a marketing person.

Full disclosure: I'm far from being a marketing person. I'm in a consultancy
firm working as an econometrician (that's a type of statistician common in
this field). I'm the technical guy in a franz ferdinand t-shirt and dorky
converse sneakers.

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pg
_an entrepreneur can't be shy_

He can as long as he has a cofounder who isn't.

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syntaxfree
Well, he can't be shy to find a cofounder with an extrovert personality to
begin with. He also can't be shy to bargain percentage points; it's all too
easy for some extrovert j[oc|er]k to browbeat you into submission; you need
him more than he needs you, unless you're Tarmo Uutsalu or Oleg Kiselyov or
something.

Perky social web ideas are a dime a dozen.

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yan
Being shy is a terrible trait for a founder to have because networking is
extremely important. A large amount of very technical people also end up being
shy, so in my humble opinion, it is very relevant.

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gruseom
_Because many hackers are shy?_

Since the answer is obvious and you know it, why do you ask?

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syntaxfree
Oh. Another way to attack shyness: go to nightclubs where people dance and
drink. Don't drink anything. Spend countless awkward saturday nights doing
that. It beats spending'em reading pop psychology.

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bootload
_"... Spend countless awkward saturday nights doing that. It beats spending'em
reading pop psychology. ..."_

I know the feeling.

In following the _"shyness"_ thread, I often get the same feeling I did at
school - it's playing the game, learning how to be popular which to me at the
time was a complete waste of time. I was more interested in learning or trying
to re-definine the game. The big problem with being thrust into social
situations that you find awkward is you are at a complete disadvantage. Like a
traveler in a foreign land you can simply miss the cues, the locals take for
granted. If you are not familiar with the local customs you are going to
stumble. It's almost like there needs to be some form of Hackers _"etiquette-
school"_ where you can overcome shyness and mind blindness. Where social
scenarios are created from modified Jane Austen novels to be practiced to
improve your social skills. To pass you have to recognise, decipher and act
accordingly in tricky social situations. I partially solve this problem by
taking along an _"empath"_ (a tip from StarTrek) who I can consult with. Am I
boring someone with technical stuff? Do I avoid that person because their body
language is negative? Is it okay to ask this question? But this isn't good
enough.

As a budding entrepreneur you need to master these social skills because as in
any entrepreneurial activity, you have to some extent with engage human
assets. Where I come from this is out of necessity. Like minded people clump
together and socialise simply to survive, pass information and advice. Just
like here but in the real world. There are advantages in _"keiretsu"_ like
activities.

Shyness is simply another hurdle to get over. You cannot let it get in the
way. The real problem is in the free market there are other entrepreneurs who
are not so reticent or who simply delegate this function. Viaweb hiring
Schwartz Communications is one that comes to mind.

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syntaxfree
By the way, I was shy until taking theatre classes and taking part in a real-
world (not in high school or college or anything) play.

Then again, it could be a schizoid personality disorder undoing itself; it was
about the age the frontal cortax finishes maturing -- that's why if you don't
get schizophrenic by 17-22 you probably won't. I didn't, so schizoid features
phased out.

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lakeeffect
Is this a comment or a thread?

~~~
syntaxfree
Actually, I'm whining.

