so i work in tech as a tech person but im unsure if im a “tech bro” or just someone who works in tech. its kinda hard to judge because i kinda dont talk to what people probably consider techbros.

anyone got any ideas on a decent description?

  • cbd [he/him]@hexbear.net
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    6 days ago

    I would say that “tech bros” are predominantly characterized by their predisposition to accepting hype over new technologies and dismissal of socio-economic consequences that may come from those technologies in favor of naïve techno-solutionism. Tech workers, if they aren’t deluding themselves into believing they’ll be the person to do it, have often been the victims of bosses’ insistence on uselessly implementing one of these technologies based on an article they read, so not every tech worker is a tech bro.

    • nothx [he/him]@hexbear.net
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      6 days ago

      I like to also acknowledge the “tech enjoyers” which are your average shmucks that work tangentially to tech (tech sales, PM for a tech company, etc…) and think their home automation is the coolest shit ever.

      That said, I’m a tech worker that enjoys some minor homelab things like my media server and self hosted Nextcloud. I spin up a Minecraft server every now and then. However I don’t care about my phone controlling my laundry machine and shit like that.

        • nothx [he/him]@hexbear.net
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          6 days ago

          Honestly never saw the draw to that activity. I’ve always kept the network as simple as I can get it. I don’t have any IOT devices, if I did there would probably be a reason to silo my network a bit more. Otherwise, I’m a huge fan of it just working, so I plug in a consumer grade wireless router, maybe a few APs, but that it for me.

          • himeneko [she/her, kit/kit's]@hexbear.netOP
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            6 days ago

            in my head it’s more about making iot from scratch… I have no clue how to hook stuff into existing things but finding cute ways to do something that I can’t do easily like measure humidity or interact with a little gizmo I made on the wall would be very fun

            • nothx [he/him]@hexbear.net
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              6 days ago

              Yeah fair enough. I’m definitely jaded and just don’t see it the way most people do. A regular old light switch has never failed me. Like I said in another comment, I’m become more of a Luddite as time passes lol.

          • someone [comrade/them, they/them]@hexbear.net
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            6 days ago

            There’s ways to do the home-automation thing in a non-techbro way. Home Assistant is an open source project that lets people control proprietary stuff without the official proprietary apps or online accounts or subscriptions or any of that crap. It’s a lot more DIY, with all the positives and negatives that come with DIY.

            • nothx [he/him]@hexbear.net
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              6 days ago

              Yeah, I know about Home Assistant and would probably start there if I gave a shit about home automation.

              Personally I just think it’s kind of stupid in most applications. The only time I’ve heard of a useful home automation was my BiL who put a smart valve on his water main because his water heater failed one time while he was out of town.

              But I’m admittedly a bit a Luddite when it comes to tech things that only solve a self made problem.

              • NewAcctWhoDis [any]@hexbear.net
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                6 days ago

                Smart light bulbs are an easy and pretty cheap way to get around inconvenient lightswitch placement, and do basic stuff like turn the lights off when you leave. Smart outlets can serve a similar function for lamps and fans.

                With that said I would never get either on wifi directly; I just zigbee devices with a single hub I need to trust.

                • nothx [he/him]@hexbear.net
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                  6 days ago

                  I understand all of this, I don’t need to be convinced of the use cases existing. I know they exist, I just don’t think they are a necessity and don’t care about them for my own situation. I just remember to turn my lights off as part of my routine… if I accidentally leave them on it’s. It the end of the world.

    • CupcakeOfSpice [she/her, fae/faer]@hexbear.net
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      6 days ago

      This fits better with the derogatory way I usually see it being used. Like, a lot of my lifestyle and personality and skills relate to technology, but I don’t jump on every new bandwagon expecting it to revolutionize tech. I’d like to fall more into the ‘hacker’ group who know intimately computer systems and how they work, but I’m still working on gaining enough knowledge.