In reality, I hate that I am not as ambitious as I should be. Say what you want, Zuck is really killing it and its admirable.
We're the same age, yet I let myself think feel that its someone else's job to build the "cool" stuff.
I will have this article handy and read it from time to time. Hopefully it will continue to motivate me.
Also, don't necessarily think not climbing to the top of HN means you're not successful. It can be a popularity contest (Zuck will always make it to the top), and it's also somewhat random. Often the content which makes it to the frontpage was upvoted by friends, or reposted many times, I wouldn't take it too seriously.
> Can I ask people to upvote my submission?
> No. Users should vote for a story because it's intellectually interesting, not because someone is promoting it.
> When the software detects a voting ring, it penalizes the post. Accounts that vote like this eventually get their votes ignored.
When I build side projects, I just care about learning a new language, framework, library etc...I couldn't care less if it got me upvotes on here or anywhere for that matter.
Getting thousands of people to look at and/or comment on your project is one proxy and one first step. You have to get people interested on what you are working on or else you will never make money off of them.
I'm kicking myself since this appears to be a good opportunity for some self promotion. Fuck Me.
Edit: This is making me realize that I should stop being an anonymous coward and put myself out there to try to make my projects and I known to the world. I'll make this my new year's resolution.
I also have a few different accounts, while keeping my main account more 'professional'. I do it for a few reasons: the HN hive mentality hates dissenting opinions in general (doesn't matter how well written and based on facts), everything has to be super politically correct these days and the 'cultural fit' mantra could mean I would have a disadvantage getting a job (since many employers/startups will check your comment history to decide if you're a "fit", while simultaneously posting on their blog about diversity efforts).
I'd say keep using your throwaway accounts. It's not the end of the world you didn't get to promote your side project in this thread.
Well. In the current era of NSA and surveillance, it makes sense to make a new account for every message.