Advice

Why We’re Bad At Networking #5: Many Personalities, One Method

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Why are we bad at Networking? This issue has been obsessing me for the last few weeks, which I hope has been as informative for you as it’s been therapeutic for me. It’s nice to organize my thoughts and get them out. As you may guess, I’m not done yet.

Now there’s a lot of effective networking advice out there. Sure it’s often basic, sure we get the same stuff thrown at us again and again, sure the tools are overwhelming. But we do get a lot of good network advice and options out there.

It’s just that in a lot of cases . . . it’s pitched at people who already network in specific ways, do specific things, and have specific personalities.

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Why We Can’t Explain Video Games To Non Gamers

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A lot of us have, are, or want to work in gaming. Which is great, even if the industry is insanely confusing (enough for me to have ranted about it for quite some time). Gaming is a legitimate form of development and dare I say it, art. Also it really helps push technology, so I’m all for it.

Except as I expand my work in the geekosphere I encounter a lot of people who just don’t “get” gaming. Oh they’re as nerdy as the rest of us, as technical (if not moreso in some cases), but they don’t see why people would blow hours doing this and what they get of it. Wondering why some people don’t “get” gaming is something I’ve been thinking of.

I’ve been thinking about it because it affects how we develop, how we market, and how we communicate. If we are missing people that may enjoy our games, that is an issue. If value is not communicated, that is an issue. If sometimes we’re wasting time on a bad project we could avoid with the feedback of a “non-gamer” that is a big issue.

So why is it some people just don’t “get” games? After some analysis, I came to a few conclusions, some of which are surprising.  Well, to me.

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Why We’re Bad At Networking #4: Narrow Focus, Narrow Interest

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So I’ve been asking – why are we so bad at networking sometime? So far I’ve covered the fact that we’re tired of hearing about it, incoherent issues on the basics, and too much confusing new stuff.

I mean let’s face it, it’s rammed down our throats, the basics are treated incoherently, and every week there’s Some New Networking Thing.

All of this crazy creates problems that are further amplified because we’re actually taught a very, very narrow view of networking.

Networking is for jobs. That’s what we hear about. That’s what we’re told. Spend all that time getting ready to network. Get that site together. Remove the embarrassing picture of you dressed as Jack Sparrow from Facebook. This is all about your job.

This kills it. This kills the fun. This kills the enthusiasm. This kills the humanity. I’ve covered this before, so let me put it succinctly.

The idea that networking should primarily be about your job is pure grade-A bulls**t.

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