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You Can Be a Great Designer and Be Completely Unknown

(www.chrbutler.com)
257 points delaugust | 3 comments | 24 Apr 25 21:24 UTC | HN request time: 0.483s | source
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rglover ◴[25 Apr 25 00:38 UTC] No.43789059[source]▶
This is the paradox of the post social media world. I see a lot of mid-tier talent—in all sorts of disciplines/industries—being elevated, while what I personally consider the "greats" get a fraction of the attention (e.g., this designer who I love and have bought stuff from but seems to be a relative unknown [1]).

The book "Do the Work" explained it well: "The amateur tweets. The pro works." People who fit into the Shell Silverstein "I'm so good I don't have to brag" bucket aren't as visible because they're working, not talking about working.

Something fairly consistent I've observed: the popular people you see tweeting and on every podcast are likely not very good at what they're popular for.

Sometimes there's overlap, but it's the exception, not the rule.

[1] https://xtian.design/

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1. spondylosaurus ◴[25 Apr 25 03:51 UTC] No.43789960[source]▶
There's the old paradox about self-help gurus and how they're rarely successful because they take their own advice, but because they get paid to share their advice... I feel like the "mid-tier creative who's famous on socials" phenomenon is similar, although I couldn't exactly say how.
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2. motorest ◴[25 Apr 25 06:09 UTC] No.43790620[source]▶
> There's the old paradox about self-help gurus and how they're rarely successful because they take their own advice, but because they get paid to share their advice...

That's not a paradox. It's plain old fraud, or to put it mildly it's marketing and self-promoting. The self-help gurus that get paid are those who convinced people who see help to pay them instead of the next guy. What gets the foot in the door is not substance, but the illusion and promise of substance.

3. dustincoates ◴[25 Apr 25 07:35 UTC] No.43791172[source]▶
I learned recently that Tony Robbins set out to be a motivational speaker in his teens. I was connected to someone on LinkedIn who listed himself as a "thought leader" one year into his career!

How can you be either of those without any experience under your belt?

But, of course, at least for the motivational speaker, a back of experience doesn't matter, because that's not what people are paying for. They're paying for a few hours where they can get pumped up, and give them an energy which will carry them until the next session, not requiring them to actually do any of the hard work to change their lives.