Initially, LinkedIn was just another site where you could find jobs. It was simple to use, simple to connect with others; it even had some friendly groups with meaningful discussions.
And then it gained monopoly as the “sole” professional network where you could actually land a job. If you are not on LinkedIn now, you are quite invisible in the job market. Recruiters are concentrated there, even if they have to pay extremely high prices for premium accounts. The site is horrible now: a social network in disguise, toxic and boring influencers, and a lot of noise and bloated interface to explore.
When Google decided to close their code.google.com, GitHub filled a void. It was a simple site powered by git (not by svn or CVS), and most of the major open-source projects migrated there. The interface was simple, and everything was perfect. And then something changed.
GitHub UI started to bloat, all kinds of “features” nobody asked for were implemented, and then the site became a SaaS. Now Microsoft hosts the bulk of open-source projects the world has to offer. GitHub has become a monopoly. If you don’t keep your code there, chances are people won’t notice your side projects. This bothers me.
Rant over. I hate internet monopolies.
there are tons of developers and technical folks that still find it fun and enjoyable to work on personal projects.
i mean, how else do you build new skills or gain familiarity without stuff you don’t use at work?
That’s called a hobby. And hobbies are great and lots of fun.
Monetizing hobbies turns them back into a job.
“programming” is so broad though. surely there’s room to have it be both work and a hobby ?
i mean, it is for me and lots of folks i know.
Yeah same as artists, would you rather commission an artist who says ‘i don’t really like art it’s just a 9-5’ or someone who say ‘art is a passion, I love creating and am part of various art communities to develop and grow my skills’
Musicians, writers, photographers, all the creative industries are full of people totally dedicated to their passion or at least deeply interested in their field - of course people are going to want to employ someone that constantly improves and evolves their knowledge and skills
Even artists don’t end up working on art every chance they get though. Most professional artists are just that. It’s the artists who haven’t made it yet that are making art in their off time
If you know an artist who works 40 hours a week at a minimum wage job and then paints for 40 hours a week in their free time then you know an artist that works 80 hours a week
Easy. Just don’t work at work and read articles on hackernews instead.
Woodshedding. I can not learn as fast if I’m weighed down by the idea that every piece of code I check-in needs to be production ready.