[tppiotrowski]

You have to be able to explain what you're working on to your partner's parents and friends. If they haven't heard about it in the newspaper or on TV they won't be impressed and might not want you to be their in-law.

Edit: interviewers are also unimpressed by personal projects they've never heard of. It's the publicity that gives you clout, not the quality of your project.

Edit 2: Just to clarify, I wholeheartedly agree with the author and also try to build according to their ethos, but I've felt the insecurity they describe at various point in my life.