Hacker News new | past | comments | ask | show | jobs | submit login

I suggest a study program in social signaling, but I'll summarize the relevant part:

People of unknown status must provide a signal that their status is appropriate enough to warrant respect and attention: if you're taking your Valentine's date to a Michelin 3-star restaurant, you wear your best clothes.

People of known high status have the capability of signaling their status in a seemingly perverse way: by countersignaling. When a movie star shows up to a Michelin 3-star restaurant, he wears jeans and a faded t-shirt to show that he's high-status enough to break convention there.

tl;dr: C-level execs backed by the strongest VCs have earned the right to write informally and still be taken seriously. Most of us have not.




Join us for AI Startup School this June 16-17 in San Francisco!

Guidelines | FAQ | Lists | API | Security | Legal | Apply to YC | Contact

Search: