Day 82: Reddit Lessons

I launched the second edition of my newsletter today.



In a bid to reach out to more makers who could learn from the interviews, I had to get more eyeballs first. So I went into the watering holes like Indie Hackers and Reddit. Today was the first time I ever posted on Reddit. It was nerve wrecking because I didn't know how people would respond to it.



All I knew was to try my best to provide value. I don’t expect anyone to check my newsletter out. My goal is to share what I’ve learnt in the interviews I’ve conducted.



I spent a good 15 minutes to edit it and removed all affiliate links. After posting, I shared with friends and they upvoted it to show their support. However, someone “shitposted” my post.





Incredulous. I was visibly upset for around 10 minutes – yes, Dave3of5 managed to do what he sought to do, and that is to discourage value creation. I thought through the 100s of ways I could reasonably reply to refute him nicely. I couldn't do it. The best reason I could come up with to relieve my anger is this:



Dave3of5 is not a doer. He hasn't run any successful businesses. Nor does he know how to build communities. That must be why he has more comments than posts. He consumes more than what he produces. That's his problem, not mine.



I messaged successful makers like Harry and Pete, hoping to get some advice. Although Harry is a huge success on the subreddit I posted in, he said he still gets “shitposted” sometimes. He added that I shouldn't let it discourage me.



It made me think. If Harry was able to power through moments like these, so can I. I soldiered on and sought for ways to improve myself. At least, I need to improve the way I frame my posts, so people like Dave3of5 would have less reasons to find fault.



Earlier, as I composed myself and took to Twitter, I posted a tweet and was surprised by what happened next.





Posted my newsletter interview on Reddit. Spent effort to do the interviews and write key takeaways. And this is what I get 🤷‍♂️

How can we build a web of communities that makes it impossible for net-subtractive people like that to exist? 🔥

Link: https://t.co/Bv2PK6wmi1 pic.twitter.com/qPEVyajSE5
— Gabriel Chuan 🧠⚡ (@gabrielchuan) May 8, 2020
 



People were much kinder and commented with words of encouragement. It warmed my heart, really. They even shared useful tips like a post by Harry Dry:

There are always haters, don't let it affect you too much.

However, I wouldn't copy-paste content that's published elsewhere. Summarize the ideas and then link back to the expanded version.

I found this article about self-promotion on Reddit useful:https://t.co/mgIoiMeR8G
— Ramses Oudt (@rroudt) May 8, 2020
 



And another fellow Singaporean maker that I enjoy following sent me this:

Don’t be discouraged, always rmb this comment on dropbox’s hacker news post https://t.co/4UCzcMfH5g

There was a quote that puts it in a nutshell, “A statue has never been set up in honour of a critic.”
— Brian Toh 🏗️ (@briantoh) May 8, 2020
 



As to why there are nasty folks like Dave3of5 on the Internet? Arvid Kahl puts it across best in his tweet:



Reddit is surprisingly toxic to people who share their knowledge in any way that might at some point be monetized. It's an absurd thing, I have yet to understand why shitposting is accepted, but sharing content that might cause people to learn something is not.
— Arvid Kahl (@arvidkahl) May 8, 2020
 



From the bottom of my heart: Thanks Arvid, Hendrik, Brian, Ramses, Kalani, Mate, Kristiyan, Elies, ClayNichols, Matthew, Eugene, Harry, Pete, Danny and Navin Pareek! If I forgot to thank you, DM me!



Many thanks to my girlfriend as well for her support through all this.



I learnt a lot from this experience. I know now too, who are my greatest supporters. I will remember them for a long time.



Lessons

1. Don't be discouraged

2. Think of ways to improve

3. Find a community that's encouraging (it'll help you get through low moments)

4. Make the value you're contributing more explicit

5. Be more subtle with your self-promotion link

6. There's always something you can learn and improve on



I'll keep going and creating more value than before. These shitposters ain't gonna get me.



I will create so much value they will wonder why they were busy shitposting to begin with. They ought to start creating value too!