Matthew Lang

As David Heinemeier Hansson leaves Instagram for the second time, the question of reality on social media rears it’s head again.

That’s the stereotype, right. Instagram isn’t the place for reality. It’s for the curated highlight reel. And I thought I understood that bargain. Surely people wouldn’t take this to be the whole picture. Surely they’d understand that it’s not all race cars and champagne and glorious sunsets. Surely I would understand that. Surely?

Regret-stergram by David Heinemeier Hansson

It’s a given that most people only post the good things on social media and this is especially the case on Instagram.

My own timeline comprises of different accounts. I follow accounts for family and friends, NFL, golf, a handful of celebs, and a mixed bag of other stuff. The point of my timeline though is that it’s mostly the good stuff. It’s the good times and experiences that people are having. And I like that. It feels good to scroll through.

I know that these photos in my timeline are not a true reflection on life. Behind every great photo, whether it’s a Malibu sunset or a steaming hot cup of coffee, is a lifetime leading up to the moment in time that the photo was taken.

I know there’s more to that person posting that particular photo. I know that person has lived a life leading up to that point and that it hasn’t been plain sailing, and that makes me appreciate that picture more and more.

I know social media isn’t a view of the real world, and that makes it easy for me to hop on and thumb through my timeline and then leave it for a while.

David also mentions Facebook recent bad press and ownership of Instagram as being another reason why he wanted to leave.

It wasn’t until the latest barrage of Facebook sludge washed over me that I gave serious thought to getting off again. To make another clean cut.

Regret-stergram by David Heinemeier Hansson

I think this is a bigger concern for users of Instagram. With the original owners of Instagram having now left, there’s little to stop Facebook putting their stamp on the platform.

I’ll keep posting to Instagram in the meantime.

Bloody typical.

I just spent a couple of hours adding a new field to a Rails application, built up the logic to use the new application, did a refactoring to clean it up and now realise that I don’t need the new field. I just need a small change in the application with an already existing field.

I don’t know whether to be happy that I don’t need the new field or annoyed in that I didn’t see how I could have done this without having to add the new field.

Either way, it’s a win, right?

Jonathon Snook has been sharing a few thoughts on imposter syndrome and what he’s doing to overcome it.

It seems that every once in a while I go through this same phase of self-doubt, but it’s never been as bad as it was a couple of months ago. Giving up on freelancing and returning to a full-time job required a series of significant changes that added to this phase.

I was no longer working for myself. I would be working for an employer and therefore also working with and for other people. When you’re freelancing, there’s an element of being a lone wolf. It’s not entirely isolating, but you don’t need to worry so much about other people. You deliver what the client wants. Working for an employer is different. You have to align yourself with the companies goals and those that you are working with.

Working from home for some years means that I was fortunate enough to find my own routine that worked for me. From the comfort of my house, I could play the music I wanted, take breaks when I wanted, plan my day how I wanted. Working for an employer means being in the office at certain times, aligning your work day with others, making yourself available when others require your time.

Adding to these were some routine changes at home and facing the possibility of a frequent commute. The whole experience led me to question whether I could do the job I was applying for. Not only that, but I was examining the worth of some side-projects I was working on as well as a career change that I am considering for the future. It’s was similar to Jonathon’s stage where at the point of execution, you freeze up.

Every time I get to the point of execution on anything, I start to freeze up. I hit a wall every time I want to put myself out there.

— Uneasy by Jonathon Snook

After a few months in full-time work, however, I’m starting to find that I can do the job although given it’s a new role, there are a few weeks of finding your feet.

Not only that, but I’m also reading more, writing more, coding more outside of work. I’m doing these things as they help me build myself back up out of a period of self-doubt. I’m now at the point where I am finding myself enjoying side-projects and returning to a stage where I can see myself executing again.