There are people in our industry that I have talked to that are scared to take a stand for things they believe in: political, social, economic, etc.

I suppose I get it, but I find it more difficult to resonate with people who only stay in their lane, and only talk about their technical topic of choice. It’s much more interesting to know that someone has hobbies, or likes a certain type of music, or read the same book that I did. It makes me feel more connected to that person, even if I never shook their hand IRL.

There are a lot of downsides to being known I would imagine, but most people who criticize were never going to buy from that person anyway. Small but loyal tribes go a long way.