Exactly this. Maciej built his entire brand based off of HN. He is laughing all the way to the bank with this post.
Courage: in short supply. is not defined by ability to mouth off ideas propelled by groupthink. often is found in those who are divergents.
I believe he laughed all the way to a homeless shelter, not a bank. I'm sad because I do believe he'd have invested the money into Pinboard had he been chosen as deserved the first time around. But it was not a total loss, and can potentially bring greater benefits to a needy population given prudent resource management.
however, that is a byproduct of how my soul acts in this given situation. I have a firm foundation on who I am, which is why I am able to get attention whereas some aren't.
therefore, if Pinboard founder didn't have some solidity (this implies neither "good" nor "bad" - qualifiers that fall short of capturing non-absolutism in life) to himself, none of this would've happened. he has reaped the reward for molding himself (which takes work) in a way so that he was able to win a battle like this. that is to his credit.
Not true. He had his blog readers before YC existed. Later he also participated here, got banned for (debatably) harsh words, was asked to return, and returned without much enthusiasm, AFAICT.
Some of his "brand" (now there's a telltale word, there), perhaps. Entirely, no.