I feel like there's money to be made if someone can make the exact same product, but with a covering for the toes, so they look like regular shoes and don't stand out so much.
If I find myself putting too much work into a comment I think to myself, "How many people are actually going to read this? What effect is it really going to have on anything? Do I really want to do all this work for something that will disappear into the internet ether?"
I really only leave comments if I can fire them off quickly and I'm in the right mood.
What's funny is that many online only e-books are sold for much higher prices. I'm talking about the ones with those long infomercial-style sales letters that target niche audiences and promise to solve all their problems.
$40 for a .pdf with large font and only 90 pages of content is not unusual at all. Neither is stuff in the $70 range. The high price is due to the supposed "value" of the information.
I've actually always thought those e-books were totally overpriced, but I guess a lot of people had no problem buying them.
It's weird though how the set point for price is expected to be much lower for more traditional books that have been ported over, even though in many, many cases the real life books offer tons more value than a cheaply thrown together e-guide to parrots or dating or something.
My first thought upon reading your problem was, "I have friends who are smart and fun. Why doesn't he get some of those?"
It almost sounds like you have two very black and white social circles: dry, boring 'smart' friends, and shallow, ignorant 'fun' friends. Maybe you are too picky and elitist, I can't say, but I've also hung around genuinely empty-headed party types, and it is a little soul destroying. I feel your pain.
Any way you could find something more in the middle?
I know tons of people who know how to have a good time, but also have a geeky side, if you want to call it that. They're mostly grad students in social sciences / humanities-type subjects. I almost take it for granted most of the people I meet are going to be fairly bright.
Maybe it's a personal thing, but I'm not a fan of the whole, "introverts are oppressed, extroverts are shallow and evil" line of thinking. e.g., from the article:
"This is not something I confess easily. I have long been shamed out of owning my introversion by the extroverts who dominate American culture. Extroversion has long been considered healthier than introversion, and introverts often try to push against our natural tendencies in order to fit in, to seem normal so people will stop scolding us. Extroverts are unintentional bullies, demanding that everyone join their party or be considered queer, sad or stunted."
The 'we're oppressed' thing just comes off as so bitter to me. Maybe I feel this way because I'm a lot more sociable than I used to be and have seen this issue from both sides.
I've noticed introverts who have become more outgoing and those who haven't have very different takes on the issue. Those who are still introverted tend to be a little more bitter and into the victim thing, and say introversion is a core personality trait.
Those who worked on becoming more outgoing will say their desire to socialize is more mutable than they once thought it was, and that a lot of their past so-called introversion was just shyness and not liking being around people because they weren't good at or comfortable with it. They still seek out and enjoy their alone time, but on the whole they say they're glad they got better with people.
* It's possible the ones who changed weren't hardcore or 'real' enough introverts.
* You could also start nitpicking the way I used the term, and start debating what 'introvert' really means, something most discussions on this topic devolve into before long I've found.
To echo what some people are already saying, I think it's fine if you're not totally into gadgets or don't want to get overwhelmed with pointless, distracting communication.
Just don't be self-righteous and superior about it.
Don't be like that Stuff White People Like entry: White people like not owning TVs so they can tell people they don't own TVs.
When I'm a regular working stiff, the months seem to fly by because each day is so similar to the last. They all just blend together in your memory, and you find yourself looking back and thinking, "Where did last month go?"
Humdrum days are also forgettable and you don't really think about them as you go through the motions. So at the end of the day, there isn't a lot of substance that your mind holds on to. Looking back, it's like they were over in an instant.
I remember when I was traveling, some weeks seemed to go on forever, because every day was crammed full of new, interesting experiences. But as soon as I got into a routine, time seemed to speed up again and the days started to run into each other.
I'd move on to the next free network to come along.
Companies can try and charge money, but as long as there's a line up of free sites willing to take their place, it's easier for most people to migrate to the next thing.
I'm hardly a researcher, but I've written my share of dense academic papers as a student.
I remember not trusting my own ideas if they didn't seem written in a 'smart' enough way. I almost thought if something could be written simply, it was too simple.
So I'd re-word my sentences until I came up with something appropriately jargon-filled and wordy. Then I'd feel better about it.
You have to put effort into creating good content and in promoting yourself.
Writing good posts is a no brainer, but it's easy to underestimate the importance of marketing yourself. It can take a lot more time than you'd think.
If you look at the most successful bloggers, they write stuff people want to read, but they're also good at networking and self-promotion.
If you're an incredibly good writer, than maybe all you'll need to do is post articles and let word of mouth do the rest. Otherwise, you need to put effort into getting the word out to make up for the slack.
One distinction for me between copying an online article and copying music or a game, is that with the latter, people are pirating it because they'd can't otherwise access it. They'd have to pay or inconvenience themselves somehow, so they go for the free version.
A piece of online content, assuming it's free, is something anyone can effortlessly access from anywhere.
So they may as well go to the original source, reward the author for his work, and not support someone else who's being more parasitic.
I don't have any deep or insightful comments to make on this article.
I just want to say I read it a month or so ago and was really impressed with it at the time. It's a really intelligent, well written list of reasons why relationship don't work out, and what it takes to make them succeed. It also gives some good insights into couple's counseling.
I hope it does okay on this site, and doesn't get ignored because it's not the usual fare here.
I use last.fm and while it has some cool features and I've discovered a lot of new bands, it just doesn't play very good songs on the actual radio.
I've tried making stations around all kinds of different bands, genres, or set ups, and it still seems to consistently pick mediocre tracks. My girlfriend found the same thing. I remember Pandora being a lot better in that regard.