[You were down in the grey, so I upvoted you, not because I necessarily agree with you but because your comment is still contributing to HN--even if it might be somewhat contrarian. :)]
While I agree that being an introvert is not a bad thing, I don't think it's unreasonable for a person to want to change some aspect of their approach to life if they see a benefit in doing so.
I would caution against taking a pure "your work will speak for you" approach. If I have the most amazing programming language/web framework/cold fusion reactor sitting in my house but I tell no one then my work is not going to speak for me. It's just going to sit there generating cheap energy.
In order for your work to speak for you someone needs to be listening.
Social skills are a force multiplier: the more your work is promoted, to the right people, the bigger impact it will have. Either you do the promotion yourself or you meet someone who will do the promotion for you...
And this comes from an Introverted New Zealander so I know of what I speak. :)
As a final example:
Do you know one of my forms of passive income? I would say, probably not.
As an introvert I'd leave it at that.
But as an introvert who has learned people have to know something exists before they can hear what it says...
You should totally listen to what The Bright Bunny has to say:
I agree, kind of - obviously you need to get the word out. This does not mean you have to be an expert in social interaction though. Case study: in 2006, I released a demo I had worked on (in isolation for 2 years!). Within the first week, 600,000 hits, just by me posting a link, no social skills needed :)
Comments
[You were down in the grey, so I upvoted you, not because I necessarily agree with you but because your comment is still contributing to HN--even if it might be somewhat contrarian. :)]
While I agree that being an introvert is not a bad thing, I don't think it's unreasonable for a person to want to change some aspect of their approach to life if they see a benefit in doing so.
I would caution against taking a pure "your work will speak for you" approach. If I have the most amazing programming language/web framework/cold fusion reactor sitting in my house but I tell no one then my work is not going to speak for me. It's just going to sit there generating cheap energy.
In order for your work to speak for you someone needs to be listening.
Social skills are a force multiplier: the more your work is promoted, to the right people, the bigger impact it will have. Either you do the promotion yourself or you meet someone who will do the promotion for you...
And this comes from an Introverted New Zealander so I know of what I speak. :)
As a final example:
Do you know one of my forms of passive income? I would say, probably not.
As an introvert I'd leave it at that.
But as an introvert who has learned people have to know something exists before they can hear what it says...
You should totally listen to what The Bright Bunny has to say:
The Bright Bunny.
A little craft. A little electronics.
A whole lot of awwwwww! <3
(http://thebrightbunny.com/)
I agree, kind of - obviously you need to get the word out. This does not mean you have to be an expert in social interaction though. Case study: in 2006, I released a demo I had worked on (in isolation for 2 years!). Within the first week, 600,000 hits, just by me posting a link, no social skills needed :)