Issue 10

Today I saw someone writing that given the current layoffs and turmoil, employees are going to revolt and demand better. That these now ex-employees will create their own companies and take over their ex-employers. A lot of people seemed to agree with this in the comment section. I chuckled at how misguided these conclusions are. The tech market right now is tough. Companies are not just letting people go, they are pausing hiring all together. Investment is the same, there is less money going around. We will likely see salaries and perks go down. What companies are even capable of providing the same package as Facebook or Twitter? How exactly do employees have an upper hand in this environment? I am not sure, but again a lot of stuff is written on LinkedIn that doesn’t make much sense.

I often invite myself to socially awkward situations. These are completely innocuous in nature. For instance, someone approached me and told me they like what I write and proceeded to talk about something else in their message. In normal circumstances I would say thank you and that would engage in the follow-up. But this time around I asked: what do you like about my writing? The person ignored the question and never wrote to me again. People that want something from you engage in this game quite often. Instead of saying they are impressed with your past experience, they touch on other things you have done. Writing is one, but often the activity of a Github profile is another. I also generate these situations from a simple “How are you?”. Social norms have imprinted in our brain that we reply with “I am good, what about you?”. I still follow the convention for the most part, but on the odd day, I will truly say how I am doing and discuss many different topics. The exchange that occurs from that spark, is what allows both me and the other person to go deep. It creates space to share things that prefer to not be touched. It’s the most natural way to bond with someone.

I am now finding myself dragging my feet with Foundation. The revolving cast of characters is making me feel I shouldn’t invest too much in them - in a few chapters they are gone. I will finish it, for the sake of ticking a box, but what started as a wonderful story, it’s now coming to a grinding halt.

So what was written this week?

Logistical expectations - My frustrations with Waterstones Online. Stay way…

Managers who start the downfall - My view on why managers can be useful.

Breaking Trust - My opinion that a friend is experiencing with their team lead.

Therapy - Not sure how to categorise this one.

Making sense of Fitness data - Mostly a rant.

Fitness and Health data companies - I then took the time to put more thoughts into this topic.

Until next time.