Fascinating question. I think unfortunately this is the way of things, don't you? People are afraid to be vulnerable offline; they always have. The anonymity of online connection makes people's walls come down and allows them to be vulnerable without fear of judgment. I actually think that is incredibly powerful and something humans have never had access to before.
Also, professional psychiatric help (which often simply involves this active listening) is incredibly expensive. Everyone deserves access to that help.
But, YES, I think we do need to make a concerted effort to connect with family, friends, and neighbors in person. The internet can facilitate these things and facilitate connections with people we previously never had access to. Any product that facilitates human interaction offline, to me, is a gift.
Author here. I agree-- I felt weird about the picture myself and debated for a long time. I'm going to restore the original picture I had in there, as I don't want this one to distract from Glen's story.
Hey there, I'm the author. I agree with you. These terms need to be clarified. We decided to use volunteers in the intro to introduce the idea of what 7 Cups is doing. While the members do technically "volunteer" their time, you wouldn't usually use that terminology. Technically, they're just giving their time to the community.
Definitely didn't intend for it to come off that way, sorry about that. What I meant was that he doesn't seem to see how hard women have to work to be taken seriously. I've never heard a woman say working in tech is relaxed and easy.
The article was also about "Lean in culture". I'm sorry, but that's different from the book. The book has spurned something completely ridiculous. It's the reason why, when I wanted to take a break from work for a while, my colleagues said to me, "But you've got to lean in!" That's so obnoxious.
"So the only way women are going to be able to re-shape the system in a way that works better for women is to put up with the obnoxious bullshit politics for a while." - I'm sorry... WHAT?
No. That's the whole point of this article. The bullshit is bullshit. Let's cut it out.
I heard it referred to as a "debate". When I got there, people were asking me left and right about what I thought was different, so it seems like the comparison is already being made.
Ha, I thought it was kind of funny and I wrote the darn thing.
For the record, I did hear someone refer to it as "the ongoing New York/SF debate". This isn't something I just invented. I had personally never thought there was any comparison to be made until I heard that people out there make it all the time.
Hi Mike, I'm the writer. I totally agree-- one week is not enough time to make sweeping generalizations. Though I did spend a ton of time talking to everyone I met in tech about what they thought of the "scene" and our differences-- people from Stack Exchange, Skillshare, and a few other startups I admire. I just found the atmosphere so incredibly different from the get-go.
Also, yes, I was lucky to be in a great co-working space (New Work City). I'm sure they're not ALL like that. Just as in SF, there are "bright spots" and "meh spots".
Also, professional psychiatric help (which often simply involves this active listening) is incredibly expensive. Everyone deserves access to that help.
But, YES, I think we do need to make a concerted effort to connect with family, friends, and neighbors in person. The internet can facilitate these things and facilitate connections with people we previously never had access to. Any product that facilitates human interaction offline, to me, is a gift.