2020-10-21

  • [[Internet Incentives]]

  • Why is [[stack overflow]] so popular? Why write on the internet? Why start a company?
  • On some level, the answers to all those questions show how we have to gain by helping others. We turn helping others into [[selfishness]], in the healthy way, with mutual gain.
  • Stack overflow is the clear example. They created great [[incentives]] for random people to answer random questions for other random people - for free. Or, more accurately, for a boost in reputation on the site. Writing better answers to more questions benefits them. So who are they really writing the answers for? You? Or themselves? Does it even matter? I think it does, but more for the stack exchange sites to think about, not for the people partaking in the interaction.
  • A lot of this is rooted in my [[soft belief]] that everything everyone does is for selfish reasons, but selfish is not really the right word because it has such a negative connotation. When someone writes an answer on stack overflow, I would say it's a selfish act - it benefits them. And even if they claim they aren't doing it for boost in reputation, they will likely say they enjoyed writing the answer. Which also means they did it because they enjoyed it.. still selfish, but again, not in the negative sense. Either way, it does help others and that's ultimately a great thing. Healthy selfish should be a thing we think about. Is there a word for that?


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