AskHN Digest

1. Ask HN: How do you prevent the impact of social media on your children?

Top comment by scop

Four thoughts:

1. I've developed a analog->digital path for my kids. Before they can get a music player, they get a CD player. Before they get video games, they get board games. And then, for video games, before they get Super Mario Odyssey they get the original Super Mario Bros. Each of these "first they get" is a long period. Years long. Give them something that has limitations so they can truly explore it. Find the nooks and crannies of something. Make up their own weird little things within that limitation. And then, back to music, I want my kids to know what a musical album is, know how to savor the highs and the lows, how sometimes certain tracks mean more to you based on your mood or life-stage, then just an endless playlist of newness.

2. The gorilla in the room is that most adults can barely handle online media.

3. The other gorilla in the room is porn. Again, see #2.

4. The classic philosophers placed Prudence as the queen of virtues. What is prudence? It is essentially the ability to grasp reality. Why did they say that was most important? Because you couldn't use any of the other virtues if your didn't have a good grasp of reality (e.g. fortitude would be foolhardiness if you ran into a ill-conceived death thinking you were being brave).

You need to make sure you and your kids are able to grasp reality, not just the appearance of it.

2. Ask HN: Is maintaining a personal blog still worth it?

Top comment by simonw

The fact that so few people blog these days makes blogging even more influential than it used to be.

You can establish yourself as something of a global expert on some topic just by writing about it a few times a month over the course of a year!

Don't expect people to come to your blog. Practice https://indieweb.org/POSSE - Publish (on your) Own Site, Syndicate Elsewhere - post things on your blog and then tweet/toot/linkedin/submit-to-hacker-news/share-in-discord etc.

Also, don't worry too much about whether you get traffic at the time you write something. A lot of the reputational value comes from having written something that you can link people to in the future. "Here are my notes about that topic from last year: LINK" - that kind of thing.

There's a lot to be said for writing for its own sake, too. Just writing about a topic forces you to double-check your understanding and do a little bit more research. It's a fantastic way of learning more about the world even if nobody else ever reads it.

3. Ask HN: How can I realistically change careers?

Top comment by w10-1

The domain (digital) might be less important than the role.

As a contributor, you have to be an expert, but you're really not on the hook.

As a decider, you can be a generalist, but you're on the hook.

The traditional mid-life transition is from contributor to decider, into management or starting your own company.

In my lifetime, the value of contributors has diminished while the value of deciders has exploded, largely due to the pace of change and the leverage of capital. Contributor skills get stale fast, but deciders making the right decision at the right time is a gold mine, waiting to be tapped by capital leveraging the latest tech/policy.

Also, I think people mature more as deciders. It grows confidence and effectiveness. Contributors grow to become defensive and stuck, i.e., dependent on being specifically useful.

It's tempting to look for nearby opportunities, but it may be more transformative to ask what kind of person you want to be in 10 years (and what will the world be like). If you operate from that perspective, you're leveraging world change and relatively immune to personal difficulty. People respect that, and you can be proud of making your way instead of just fitting in.

Becoming a principal rather than an agent is something (like meditation) that applies at all fractal scales of life, so you can re-orient while in current roles.

And don't worry too much about realistic. Focus more on delivering value, and the principle of least action will arrange things for you.

4. Ask HN: Am I the only one here who can't stand HN's AI obsession?

Top comment by rednafi

There are plenty of us. Before AI, it was blockchain and web3. Before that, it was virtual reality. Before that, it was 3D printing. Before that... you get the idea. HN has always reflected the latest hype train. It's always been that way.

5. Ask HN: Has anyone tried alternative company models (like a co-op) for SaaS?

Top comment by yochaigal

I work at a worker-owned IT company that has offices in three states and has been in existence for 20 years. We do not provide any kind of SaaS service but I can assure you it is possible! My suggestion is to reach out to the Tech Worker Coop Peer Network for the USFWC:

https://www.usworker.coop/programs/peer-networks/

They will probably have ideas. Good luck!

PS an LLC is definitely a good way to go, but some states (e.g. NY, MA, CA, MN, etc) have dedicated worker coop company types you can create.

6. Ask HN: Which RSS reader do you use?

Top comment by ksec

I have been using RSS since early 2000s and currently I am settled on Feedly.

> Either the built-in web support is poor or it stops fetching the feeds or renders then poorly.

I guess I am good with Feedly, and Google Reader and everything before that, is because I dont use the RSS Reader to read the content. I am only using RSS as News Headline [1]. And then will either Command Click, Right Click Open New Tab, Simply Click on it, depending on which OS and browser I am using to open them in a new Tab inside Browser.

Which is also the reason why I could end up with hundreds of tabs open. And I read them one by one. For these type of heavy browsing usage I recommend Firefox > Chrome > Safari.

So for my usage I actually think RSS should be a function inside a browser. But I know a lot of people use RSS reader differently.

[1] Which is also how I use Twitter as well. I simply have a list of people I follow and read those list only. So for me I dont ever understand why people are so upset with the For You Tab. But I guess I am the minority and I use it differently.

7. Ask HN: Work on robotics or agents?

Top comment by snowwrestler

Pick the immediate direction that will put you in a position to work with the smartest people. That’s probably more important than picking a technology.

Your side projects with agents have impressed people in your org. Do those people impress you? My gut reaction is that if they are impressed by the side projects of a recent college grad, they may not be at the top of that field.

At an early stage of your career, the best work environment is one that makes you feel like “damn I’m really going to have to perform to keep up here.” It’s not great to be very early in your career and feel like “damn, I’m the smartest guy in this room.” It can create bad habits and a sense of entitlement.

And the tricky thing is, if you are a high performer, most situations will make you feel like the latter.

8. Ask HN: Is it a bad idea to make an email domain with an uncommon TLD?

Top comment by tacticalturtle

I regret using firstnamelastname.dev as my main personal account

It’s uncommon, and causes confusion if I have to dictate it out over the phone. You have to optimize for the non-technical people scheduling appointments that don’t realize there are options other than .com

I’ve started the process of migrating over to a .com with my middle initial added, and it’s so much easier knowing that everyone will understand the TLD. I imagine .net would be similar.

9. Ask HN: How to approach first days on a new job as a senior PM?

Top comment by aneeqdhk

- understand as much about the product as possible, primarily from a user point of view

- meet as many different verticals as possible and understand how they work

- speak with all other senior PMs and tech leads and understand their workflows

You're going to be working with multiple teams and stakeholders and it's crucial you have a mental map of how everyone's workflow is. You also will have an 'outsiders' view for the first 30-90 days as you look at the product with fresh eyes. Use this to drive insights for the product if applicable.

Lastly, don't ever stop customer meetings. It may not be on the agenda for other Senior PMs, but don't let that stop you. Customer meetings will keep your insights fresh and valid.

10. Ask HN: Seeking device to normalize audio output for consistent volume levels

Top comment by shadyfroyo

You’re looking for a compressor.

Lots of pro audio boxes out there.

A MiniDSP box where you can implement a compressor is fun, you can also tune just about everything else with it.

https://docs.minidsp.com/product-manuals/flex/dsp-reference/...