When I made my first comment there were only two other comments in here suggesting that Networkers were all a "bunch of assholes" who aren't genuine and say things like "let's connect" when they don't mean it. Since then the conversation has become a lot more nuanced.
I don't understand who is forcing people to network against their will. Do you mean that they feel they have to in order to grow their business?
Oh sorry yeah I should have clarified. There's one global networking group who are notorious for putting members under huge pressure to deliver leads constantly. They developed a system based on traffic lights to assess your worth to the group on a monthly basis. It's horrible and their excuse is that "it works". Well... punching yourself in the face constantly will also help you handle punches but is there another choice? According to them... nope. That kind of networking is insanely toxic. How I discovered this was that I was forced by an employer once to go to this group's meetings for a year and I hated it. Thankfully, I've found that there's a ton of much nicer groups around (often started by ex-members of the super toxic one).
It's fashionable to say that networking sucks apparently. Personally, networking has made it possible for me to start a business, help it grow and turn it into a success. Networking has put food on the table, it keeps a roof over my head and it's given me a life I didn't think I had a shot at. When I hear people say it doesn't work it always makes me wonder if maybe networking isn't the problem.
There are networking rules I live by though. No high pressure, power handshake, traffic light system, dog eat dog, alpha male BS. It's about really getting to know a group of people and deciding if you like em and if you're going to help em. It's about being real, being genuinely helpful and open to suggestions. A good networking group will let you know your iceberg towing business is probably not going to work out that well. A great group will notice how quickly you were able to put together a team of tugboats, refrigerated trucks and distributors and suggest that actually you might want to start a supply chain management business instead.
But networking is so much more than just getting leads too. It's a life university course for the price of breakfast. About 30 people in the same boat as you who want your help and have lots of help and advice to give you. Starting a business is lonely and confusing. A good networking group helps a lot with that.
Step 1 - Putin doesn't like a thing.
Step 2 - Putin says that if you do the thing you'll get nuked.
Step 3 - Putin's little cyber puppets flood social media with posts "concerned" about the risks of him launching the mighty nukes. Oh noes!
Step 4 - Putin hopes you believe him.
Step 5 - Nobody believes him.
...some times passes...
aaand we're back to Step 1...
I mean, you asked me to come back to you if something happens that demonstrates "impact" and I did. If you don't care about this why don't you take the high road right now and just not reply...
Looks like something changed so let's review. The conditions were that this would have no impact on Cloudflare or Brittany. Apart from Cloudflare looking like dicks in the most public and embarrassing way imaginable, Brittany's landed a nice new job most likely thanks to all the visibility she generated. I would imagine she was offered a ton of jobs the minute she went viral and is only now officially able to announce the one she picked. Well done her. You mentioned being used to being 100% right so you must know the feeling well. I have to say, I see why you like it so much cos I'm certainly enjoying this ;)
The Homeworld 3 demo is impressive and I'm really enjoying Lightyear Frontier as well. Definitely going to buy both when they come out in March. I've been hooked on the Homeworld universe since I started playing it in the 90's (25 years ago! lol I'm old) so it's been quite a long wait but it looks like BBI have done a great job. I've loved them since Hardspace Shipbreaker so I knew this would be something special.
Yeah... seems like you didn't read the conditions of the test I proposed. See you in 3 months ;)
Have been playing and just finished Geodepths. Really nice indie dev first person mining, smelting, resource gathering on an alien planet type of game. Wish it had lasted longer to be honest.
Thanks, that was actually really interesting and I learnt stuff I didn't know beforehand. The thing is your comment seemed to trigger quite a few people (me included) because it seemed insensitive. Thankfully you later commented that "For some people (like all the ones in the article) they want it fixed. Others are perfectly happy the way they are, and both are fine and none of anyone else’s business" so you obviously get it. It's funny how easy it is for people to misunderstand each other in forums like this. This has been a learning experience for me.