- 15 years on Reddit, there are some obscure reddits that are quite informative, but the last 5 years I saw a huge deterioration of the content, benefit: some
- 2 years on TeamBlind, good to know that layoffs are comming, otherwise no benefit
- 4chan, /diy/ made me laugh a few times, overall just waste of time
- FaceBook, never really got it, benefit: negative (annoying emails)
- HN: I would like to write something else, but the sad true is I don't see any benefit from lurking on HN for 10 years.
On the other hand time invested in reading books paid out:
- Reading investing books gave me a better financial security
- Improving my software skills by reading books about architecture etc. resulted in handsome salary increases
- Reading fitness (calisthenics) books - now I can do 10 pushups, when I started I cannot do even a single one.
- Reading in English, now my English skills are enough to get a better paying, english-only job.
Of course I also read a ton of books for pure enjoyment, that did not result in any objective gain. Of course I could watch YT to get into fitness movement, but overall there are too many distractions on YT, that make it hard to dedicate 1h of time to a single subject.
Recently I prefer to join closed, curated and non-googlable communities e.g. a slack channel/FB group for people from the same university/school or a group for people interested in investing (paid) or a club of people interested in retro computing. After seeing toxic/trolling/or just _notice me at any cost_ behaviours I no longer believe in total anonymity. Now I prefer to interact with people that I at least recognize e.g. there is a meetup and associated discord group, you can get invite only by showing up in the meeting.
- 10 years LinkedIn, some leads and interviews but no jobs
- ?? years Digg/Reddit: probably just a waste of time (just a lurker)
- Facebook, 13 years, some minor use but barely use it now. My wife uses it a lot more though with mom groups in our city which is nice
- HN: Got a job, and helped me upskill!
- Blind: exposed me to what is possible in the tech industry, 4x'ed my salary so this has certainly been the biggest benefit! Also helped understand the interview process
- Some private slacks: also helped me get in touch with a few insiders who helped me do well at some top company interviews and get offers.
I agree that smaller groups are better, it is just harder to find them!
Reddit has become a one of the more stupid places on the Internet now. I guess it's because of their drive for growth and mobile usage prompts lazy comments.
- 15 years on Reddit, there are some obscure reddits that are quite informative, but the last 5 years I saw a huge deterioration of the content, benefit: some
- 2 years on TeamBlind, good to know that layoffs are comming, otherwise no benefit
- 4chan, /diy/ made me laugh a few times, overall just waste of time
- FaceBook, never really got it, benefit: negative (annoying emails)
- HN: I would like to write something else, but the sad true is I don't see any benefit from lurking on HN for 10 years.
On the other hand time invested in reading books paid out:
- Reading investing books gave me a better financial security
- Improving my software skills by reading books about architecture etc. resulted in handsome salary increases
- Reading fitness (calisthenics) books - now I can do 10 pushups, when I started I cannot do even a single one.
- Reading in English, now my English skills are enough to get a better paying, english-only job.
Of course I also read a ton of books for pure enjoyment, that did not result in any objective gain. Of course I could watch YT to get into fitness movement, but overall there are too many distractions on YT, that make it hard to dedicate 1h of time to a single subject.
Recently I prefer to join closed, curated and non-googlable communities e.g. a slack channel/FB group for people from the same university/school or a group for people interested in investing (paid) or a club of people interested in retro computing. After seeing toxic/trolling/or just _notice me at any cost_ behaviours I no longer believe in total anonymity. Now I prefer to interact with people that I at least recognize e.g. there is a meetup and associated discord group, you can get invite only by showing up in the meeting.