if there’s one thing ive learned from being around the tech & aerospace influencer communities it’s that u should never meet yr influencer heroes. not even the ones who seem legit awesome. the level of sociopathy & narcissism required for most to be very successful at this stuff is off the charts - ThreadSky

tracketpacer.bsky.social • 61 days ago

if there’s one thing ive learned from being around the tech & aerospace influencer communities it’s that u should never meet yr influencer heroes. not even the ones who seem legit awesome. the level of sociopathy & narcissism required for most to be very successful at this stuff is off the charts

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lilelile.bsky.social•61 days ago

Or you meet one and he’s fricking unbelievable but he is an inside hero to the actual heroes only.

tracketpacer.bsky.social•61 days ago

if u wanna lump me in with this group that’s totally fine. im barely anything influencer-wise but some days i think i can actually physically feel the sense of right & wrong leeching out of me like the stench of rotting meat or something

aurorahernandez.bsky.social•61 days ago

your visibility in the STEM space is so good and I'm grateful for it. for what its worth i think you're doing a huge public service by just existing and talking about your work.

blenster.com•61 days ago

I don' think you're in that group (yet) but I'm glad you recognize how slippery that slope can be.

tracketpacer.bsky.social•61 days ago

my least favorite thing about the last 3ish years is that i’ve had to see how awful a number of folks are like behind the scenes

blenster.com•61 days ago

Oof.

Yeah, that sucks.

riskymanag3ment.bsky.social•61 days ago

There's a certain level of narcissism that is required, but I'm dumbfounded about the transformation of folks as they become influencers. Afterwards they dial it to 11.

sporkingo.bsky.social•61 days ago

Maybe you should cut down on eating rotting meat, might help

berndtpetersen.bsky.social•61 days ago

crchad.bsky.social•61 days ago

If this is the setup to introducing your own line of scents, I’ll be very impressed.

ctb.social•61 days ago

my experience is only tech, but this 100%

thetroseshow.bsky.social•61 days ago

The fact that people who are "famous" or well noted creators are NOT the same online vs in person is sad. Why put of a front. Viewers and subscribers helped get you where you are today. When I say "you" I don't mean you personally. I think you are pretty awesome online and offline TracketPacer! 🤗

steve-adams.me•61 days ago

I discovered this by working in tech too. Prominent people—more often than not—become prominent due to operating from an extremely narcissistic playbook.

They’re mostly benign, but not always. They’re propelled there by culture as much as anything.

They’re not people you want in your life, though

cybersafetyguy.com•60 days ago

Never look behind the curtain!

eseell.bsky.social•61 days ago

A friend is a fairly successful blogger and has opined that they wish they were less scrupulous because the real money is in grifting and selling folks junk that they don't need, which isn't a thing they do.

tamslick.bsky.social•59 days ago

https://bsky.app/profile/tamslick.bsky.social/post/3lnkf227yyk2n

oclsc.bsky.social•61 days ago

Again I feel lucky. Some of my influencer (as that existed half a century ago) heroes were, not much later, colleagues. They were all basically good people, despite small amounts of nerd jerkiness. But ...

oclsc.bsky.social•61 days ago

... to be an influencer back then didn't require showing off in public as much. It sufficed to be able to write well (books, articles) and speak well (conferences). YouTube and TikTok and social media didn't exist. Not as attractive for narcissists. ...

oclsc.bsky.social•61 days ago

... and even back then there were creeps in influencer clothing, just not as many. I don't admire Feynman nearly as much as I used to. Certain heroes (though never so much to me) of the Free Software and old-guard hacking world have turned out to be truly awful.

oclsc.bsky.social•61 days ago

Maybe it's not so bad to meet your heroes if you do it with eyes open. At least you'll learn that people can be impressive and awful at the same time. At best you'll learn that they're human, even if not awful, and that's a good lesson too.

tracketpacer.bsky.social•61 days ago

i guess what sucks from my pov is that i specifically used to hold a couple of prominent women in very high regard & then heard what’s actually going on behind the scenes. there’s a reason the folks who have millions of followers have that many & from what i’ve seen it’s not by being good people

oclsc.bsky.social•61 days ago

Oh, it sucks, for sure. My sympathies.

yo-momma.bsky.social•61 days ago

So...

Wanna' hang out?

blenster.com•61 days ago

I learned that I do not have "what it takes" to go that big - and I think it's related to that "drive" that pushes people in directions I don't want to go.

I'm happy with a modicum of exposure as it enables some of the good I want to do in the world but I don't need more.

rayredacted.com•61 days ago

I have no idea if this post is about me, but regardless, I will strive to be a better person.

tracketpacer.bsky.social•61 days ago

no no no no not at all!! 🫶🏼

offlately.bsky.social•61 days ago

Same goes for anyone famous including politicians. Even politicians you’ve never heard of.

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