Sell yourself, sell your work

Corporate self‑promotion and career advancement

• Several commenters describe workplaces (Stripe and large tech companies) where advancement requires elaborate self‑promotion folders and “scope/impact” narratives.
• This is seen as rewarding “kingdom builders” and “professional bullshitters,” privileging extroverted marketing over actual work.
• Others argue that in big orgs higher‑level managers can’t see raw contributions, so if you don’t sell yourself, you lose out to those who do.

Intrinsic vs external value of work

• Multiple people dispute the article’s premise that work is “wasted” or not “fully” beneficial if it isn’t shared or monetized.
• Examples include private tools, hobby projects, or anonymous OSS contributions done solely for personal satisfaction or curiosity.
• Some warn against a “tyranny” of constant performance for an imagined audience and insist on the legitimacy of quiet tinkering.

What “selling” should mean

• A big subthread reframes “selling” as clear explanation, documentation, and making it easy for others to use or build on your work, not hype or deceit.
• Others note “sell yourself” has strong negative connotations (lying, ego, commodifying self) and prefer terms like “publish,” “document,” or “promote.”
• There’s debate over whether selling inherently inflates perceived value versus simply communicating facts with the user’s problems in mind.

Writing, blogging, and documentation

• Many endorse systematically writing about every project: short posts, READMEs with screenshots, project tags, or personal “notes.md” files.
• People report tangible benefits: job offers, users for side projects, improved thinking, and a durable portfolio.
• Others share frustration: they write extensively yet see little traction, or feel writing steals time from building.

Marketing, visibility, and expectations

• Comments highlight the emotional hit of shipping a product or blog post that “no one cares about,” and advise setting low expectations.
• Distinction is made between obnoxious sales (spammy vendor outreach, “brogrammer” culture) and modest sharing with peers.
• One angle flips the article’s thesis: to really benefit from others’ work, you must learn to see through marketing and find undersold gems.

Opting out, money, and power

• Some advocate financial independence so you can ignore self‑promotion politics and just do work you enjoy.
• Others link visibility to personal power and identity: if you never assert or publish, you cede influence over how your work and self are defined.