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Comment by schnevets | Hacker News Reader

I love my backyard garden (even though my Brussels Sprout experiment this year proved to be a huge waste of time). I also love the aesthetic that cottagecore is revitalizing. I love drinking at local wineries, buying stuff at my local farmer's market, brewing beer and swapping bottles with homebrew friends, etc...

But holy shit am I repulsed by the influencer aspect that is growing with this "movement". Ways of Seeing taught that publicity (aka marketing) is tied to envy. There is such a deep schism between the Web 2.0 communities that exchange ideas on a forum and the vapid glamour shots posted on Instagram and Tik Tok. I think the takeaway is "Don't trust anyone in your hobby who is making money off their social media account."

Maybe this is why I like homebrewing: everyone is a bearded, chubby 35 year old nerd and there no way to make a 5 gallon carboy of bubbling alcoholic liquid into something "glamourous"

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| "Don't trust anyone in your hobby who is making money off their social media account."

That is a remarkably accurate, but sad observation. There’s always been folks trying to hustle in various hobbies and interest groups, but these days they seem to take up all the oxygen in a space.

The glossy image/clip video nature of things seem unavoidable and make many people with humbler aspirations more reluctant to share their works, thoughts, and perspectives if they aren’t able to be turned into the visual equivalent of a sound bite.

I feel the same way about woodwork, sure there's gimmicky creators but the reality of the hobby is nobody is getting rich or famous, selling pieces will barely cover material costs and having the fanciest gear won't necessarily give you a better finished piece.

Although epoxy river tables make me cringe everytime I see one...

> Although epoxy river tables make me cringe everytime I see one...

More-so even than walnut-stained construction-grade plywood gaming tables? ;-)

Hey, I shouldn't poke fun, you got to start somewhere.

I hope you're kidding! ... if you're buying plywood spend the extra buck or two to at least get one finished size. Furniture-grade veneered plywood really isn't that outrageously priced and for a pro-am like me, it's dimensionally stable for bigger pieces and I can cut out parts that don't fit in my thicknesser and/or finish planer.

I prefer epoxy fastened wooden boats (whether on a river or not). Amateurs out there who are following these "tutorials" beware ... you can become allergic to epoxy with repeated exposure so wear your PPE.

Van lifers feel your pain. The instagram influencer skinny young cute blonde girl with painted toenails and backdoors open to reveal the grand canyon is a far cry from the reality that's 90% pooping in a composting toilet in a walmart parking lot and spending your entire weekend trying to install a water tank to supply a shower.

I lived the van life for a bit, and did not find myself pooping more frequently than usual... Usually I went in a toilet, which are numerous almost everywhere with a road. In the few occasions one was not available, I was in the woods, and I did the classic "dig a hole and cover it after" maneuver. I must say, there was something very primal and distinct from pooping in a toilet in that, the smell was different, and I was able to gain some kind of indicators from it.

Anyway, that covers the number one question most people ask me about that, showers probably a close second. I just didn't shower as frequently, but did not mind it, since I was alone or with others who didn't mind. For showers, I went to gyms, dance studios, friends' showers, public showers, and so on.

It always seemed to me overkill to try to do all that yourself, when all you really need is a bit of personal space where you can lie down flat and sleep...

Motorcycle travel seems fortunately impervious to it. Nobody's cool in full mismatched gear on a bike that's peppered with dead insects and mud.

Except Ewan McGregor, you sexy bastard.

That, the average age of adventure motorcyclists, and the cost of this seasonal vehicle are enough to keep influencers out.

There are "hot chick" moto vloggers out there trolling for likes with enticing thumbnails.

Like this? https://thumbnailsandpolish.blogspot.com/

I just don’t understand how that affects you van life? Just.. don’t hate-browse shitty social media?

Generally affects people's expectations - even if you personally have zero interaction w/ social media, incl. no accounts. Alternatively it affects kids, which are exceptionally subjected to peer pressure.

Or maybe you're losing your edge to better-looking people with better ideas and more talent who are actually really really nice.

Wait, did you just attempt to reframe the conversation under the axiom that "instagrammable" === "better"?

HN is really bad at sarcasm...

I think we just don't appreciate it as much here. It doesn't add to the conversation other than to indicate that

1: the author disagrees (but may feel they can't do so directly), and

2: the author is clever (which of course is true of all HN users).

Does anyone want nice people? Or do they want real people?

Give me a chubby 35 year old nerd who knows tons of stuff over a nice attractive couple who take good pictures to sell advertising.

Previous comment was a quote from the song “Losing My Edge” by LCD Soundsystem. The genius of the lyrics is in sardonically complaining about the new generation but also admitting the real problem is that the singer is growing old.

I'm pretty sure you can have nice AND real people. But yes, nice people are typically a pleasure to be around.

> Maybe this is why I like homebrewing: everyone is a bearded, chubby 35 year old nerd and there no way to make a 5 gallon carboy of bubbling alcoholic liquid into something "glamourous"

Alcohol is very prominent on Instik, don't give them ideas. They might not have the brains to actually make it but they sure can buy the equipment and use water pretending it's moonshine :D

I find myself struggling with this sometimes. I know I shouldn't, but it's easier to justify time spent with some sort of idea that it will be "worth it" in some way in the future. This is mostly an issue with new interests- I'm more content with old hobbies just for fun.

Its a little too easy to mistake people "brand building" themselves for a community nowadays.

It's the same about any hobbies/communities really, it's 90% acting, some of them aren't even that deep in the hobby, they're just very deep into marketing/"influencing"

I agree 100%. We also have this local vibe where I live and it is mostly composed of 40+ people who have no idea what TikTok is. By the way...you can make the jump from Web 2 to Web 3 and skip Tik Tok altogether.

Interesting everyone in the Netherlands who has a back garden paves that shit over.

Guess what gardening takes time and effort and ain't nobody got time for that!

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