Ask HN: Advice on sharing articles with programmers

[johndlafayette]

When I see posts on HN that seem related to a project I’m working on, I always try to pass it along to someone on the team. I don’t know programming languages well, so it has to be related enough to the project that I would recognize it as such, but it might not always be specifically related to the programming we’re doing. I do this because I figure that even if it’s not specifically related to what we’re working on, perhaps there’s a nugget of information there that could be applied in some way; a connection that could be made that could improve the product. I have informed everyone I’m working with that I’m currently a programming idiot and when I pass along things that aren’t useful to tell me I’m dumb and ignore them (Why would being wrong about something I don’t know a lot about bother me? Just more encouragement for me to learn). I'm hoping it's not a time suck though.

Anyways, I would like to know: would someone you’re working with doing this annoy you, or be helpful in that they might spark some new ideas?

[us]

I prefer the old adage of focus on what you're doing and ignore what others (including competitors) are doing. It takes away from your focus and spreads yourself thin. It is just as important to focus on a select few things you want to do well as it is to remove all other things that may come up. The more things you introduce may become more noise you have to deal with. In any given startup environment, there is already a LOT of stuff to do, probably more than you can keep up with much less add to that pie. That said, I'm sure your teammates keep up to date on a bunch of tech sites as well here and there.

[johndlafayette]

Thanks. I am worried about noise, and this is definitely sound advice. I know I need to maintain focus, especially over the next few weeks, so I'll definitely do what you suggest. I was conflicted because at my last internship, my ignorance in certain areas was sometimes of great benefit. By not having any built-in biases or frames of reference I could ask simple questions and come up with simple solutions that were overlooked because nobody had ever thought to ask.

Thanks again.