Austin Huang

From: Austin Huang
To: Jarrod Blundy
Subject: Letters Project
Date: December 4, 2023

Dear Jarrod,

Thank you for reminding me (to write the letter) and for accepting me into your project! Apologies in advance though, as while I do have some interesting story to tell, my relative lack of life experience (part because of my age, and part because of my circumstances - to come later?) might make me a bit boring, so I hope you can bear with me.

Maybe I should start by describing my experience with penpaling. Back when I was a kid, I used to write emails with a Japanese webmaster of a site about rapid transit in east Asia. (My avatar should show that I’m a fervent believer in public transit! And yes, Japan is the mecca of public transit, you gotta give it that.) But that was long ago. I could still pull out some of the correspondences, but looking at it now, it’s quite immature or, as young people say, cringe.

Anyways. Back in the summer when I was staying in Shanghai (to see relatives & do chores), the difficulty to access western platforms that I usually use drives me to utter boredom… So I started browsing Zhihu (Chinese equivalent of Quora) as it is one of the very few platforms that can be accessed on browser without an account. In July, the platform announced the phase-out of anonymous answers (as in they’re anonymous to other users, not to backend) which a lot of people used to use to vent out anything (since more and more people are feeling down, for a variety of reasons, around the world). In a post asking people to say whatever they want to say anonymously before the deadline, a few offered to lend their ears (in Chinese we say “to be the tree hollow of/for someone”), so I ended up emailing two of them. I’m not good at starting conversations… so I gave them an introduction first, then essentially telling them “AMA”. With one we discussed student life, ambition and personality (that was based on her introduction, so I asked them to elaborate), and with the other we discussed careers. Although both conversations are quite interesting, they each only lasted a day (around 2 long emails on each side) before me never hearing from them again: the former appears to have closed their mailbox out of privacy concerns, and the latter was busy trying to find a new job. I hope it’s not because I wrote something out of line (even though I strive to be very careful with my words, regardless of whether it’ll be published or not)…

I heard of the Letters Project from Kev Quirk, but his schedule is quite full (after all, he’s a big fediverse influencer…) so I opted for someone with lower traffic.

Now, onto my quirks. My website should give you a good idea of who I am: a university student, in CS, and instead of working on my career like everyone else (in fact I’m writing you this letter to procrastinate on my work… though CS/data career advice is welcome), I did this one crazy (but absolutely righteous) thing that got me a Cease & Desist from Facebook (and a footnote on an EFF article), and became obsessed with alternative platforms (like ActivityPub and Matrix, but honestly, I consider my opinion on them more nuanced - maybe because I had way too much exposure with modern internet that I’ve seen it all). Recently I don’t code much though, I just don’t have any personal problems needing a technical solution.

About my social. I like to strike up conversations with people (in real life - not online, I’ve already done way too much of that, though I have successfully moved some online relationships offline), as I believe people is power (in a mutually-beneficial way, of course), and I just like to be with people. I’ve had some successes, but it’s difficult. In university, it seems that most people now hold on to their existing relationships (I’d even call it Bring-Your-Own-Friends), not to mention that I have little common in them… And sure, it’s not right to have relationships dependent on social media, but the reality is people seem to forget you if you’re not in the loop… In public transit, well, it’s certainly a challenge to strike up conversations with people on the bus (I only try to talk to people around my age)… So I’m asking you got any advice on that? I don’t want to bombard them with the technical nitty-gritty right off the bat, so what are some good conversation starters from your experience?

This letter seems to be getting weird, so maybe I’ll stop here for now. Ask me anything though (within reasonable constraints, since it’s public)!

Thank you & Best Regards,

Austin Huang
austinhuang.me

From: Jarrod Blundy
To: Austin Huang
Subject: Re: Letters Project
Date: December 7, 2023

Hey Austin,

Great to meet you! Thanks for being my pen pal for this month. And I’m sorry to start off with a disagreement, but I’ll hear none of this lack of confidence in your life story. 😝 You already got me intrigued with several of those little nuggets you left in your message, and I’m keen to explore them.

That’s so cool that you were able to connect with someone who shared your interest in public transit when you were a kid. That’s one of the most wonderful things about the web, in my opinion. Even though it can be difficult to find people around you at work, school, or where you live who are excited about the same things you are, those fans are just a few clicks away online. It’s what I like about the little social network I’ve built around myself. I can nerd out with people who are into the web as a thing itself. Not an everyday topic of conversation with my offline friends and family, I can assure you.

Have you spent a lot of time in Japan to experience its rapid transit in person? I haven’t done much worldly travel, but Japan is certainly high on my list of places I’d like to visit.

I love that phrase of “being a tree hollow” for someone. It effectively evokes an image of someone whispering their secrets into existence — perhaps to get them off their chest — but entrusting them to the tree for safekeeping. Real, and in the world, but hidden. That’s too bad about Zhihu shutting down its anonymity. In general, I prefer for things published on the web to have a byline — I think it helps to keep people honest and more civil — but I recognize that there are certainly times and places for being anonymous. Do you still browse Zhihu? How has that change affected your usage or the nature of the site from your perspective?

I wish I had computer science and data career advice to give you, but I’m just hobbling my own way through the more technical side of the web. I’ve always been interested in tech products, but only in the past couple of years taken it upon myself to learn more about how all this works and works together. Diving, even if shallowly, into the world of code has been eye-opening and exciting. But here’s one bit of advice that should work just about everywhere: In my experience, people do their best work for and with people that they like. And people like nice people. My goal every day is to be the nicest person that people get to work with that day. It has paid dividends for me and generally makes each day more enjoyable.

What’s one bit of career advice that you’ve picked up so far that you could share?

That idea of being friendly, courteous, and kind to others (sorry, that’s a bit of the Scout Law popping to the front of mind) I think also goes well with what you mentioned about finding new friends and striking up conversations. Certainly, it’s more comfortable to hang with people you already know rather than put yourself out there in talking to a stranger, but I wish more people would remember that all of their best friends were strangers at one point. My go-to conversation starters are strange and unexpected ice-breaker questions. I try to pick one that they’ll have never answered before like, “If you had to have an animal tail on your body, which kind of tail would you choose?” Or, “If you could have anything shoot out of your fingertips on command, what would you choose?” I usually find that those are off-the-cuff enough that it gets them laughing and conversation flowing. So I’ll ask you: Which animal tail would you choose to have? 😉

Oh, and you’ve got to tell me more about this cease-and-desist from Facebook! What did you do that got them so riled up, if you can say?

Looking forward to hearing back!

Take care,

Jarrod

From: Austin Huang
To: Jarrod Blundy
Subject: Re: Letters Project
Date: December 10, 2023

Dear Jarrod,

I mean, I know a lot of things (though I cannot talk about all of them on record). Recently I met up with someone whom I acquainted with by accident (there was a heated political debate on my campus, security was called, and we were watching them fight each other - verbally, of course, fortunately no physical altercations) and they (and the other person they brought for the meeting) were quite amazed that I know (and talk) a lot… Of course, opting for breadth over depth, stuff I know is quite cursory (all theory no practice…) and often not that useful (for career or friends, unless they’re also interested in those things), but I guess there is potential for me to open a consulting firm should I choose to develop my ideas a bit further. I know, a distant dream.

I’d like to lightly object the characterization of me being “a public transit enthusiast in [my] free time,” though to be clear I wasn’t offended by it, so no need to edit what you’ve already written. On top of what I’ve said above, there are many that would spend more effort chasing trains and buses and knowing intricate details about schedules, fleet, etc., and even though I’ve collected many tickets (I prefer magnetic tickets over IC cards, even though they’re not environmentally-friendly) and fantasized about planning bus routes (in a fictional city on a fictional earth-like planet drawn collaboratively; see example) before, I wouldn’t say I’m a pro at it. Though, I would also have a hard time characterizing myself… I wander a lot between things, sometimes I can get obsessed over one subject for a few days and then I move on to another. What do I like most? I still don’t know.

I think the lesson I’ve learned from using the internet from such a young age is to not try to “own” everything. Kids are obsessed with having their own something, be it a chat group or whatnot, but as I hanged out on various platforms (especially Discord), I realized that 1. I’m bad at maintaining public communities (which is fine), and 2. Because kids personalize those things, they would do anything to fight for first place, which is not that healthy. (Though I guess this can be good if people actually do have novel ideas, it motivates them to do things.) Now that I’ve moved onto Matrix, I enjoy participating in other nerds’ groups instead (and have met some of them in person!).

I’ve visited Japan thrice back when I still lived in Shanghai (it’s quite popular for people in affluent cities to visit Japan at some point - after all, it’s close. In fact, the consulate issuing the most Japanese visas is the one in Shanghai), though I haven’t really travelled ever since I moved to Canada. During one of my visits, I helped out a local old lady to recharge their IC card using gestures (I can read Japanese - natural for someone already knowing Mandarin - but not speak much). I hope that one day I have enough dough to travel. Also I find Japan a very interesting country even beyond that. For example, I think their attitude with freedom of expression, while having some negative consequences (especially in the political sphere, where Japan is quite rigid and conservative), served us with many beautiful works of art, in the forms of light novels, manga, etc. that touches on many delicate subjects (mental health in particular). (It should also be of note that those works are made mostly for domestic consumption, unlike K-Pop which focuses on export.) One day I dream someone can make a meta-manga/anime that can relate them to social phenomena…

We’re seeing a worrying trend where platforms are more and more designed, by internal (for engagement) or external (you know…) factors, to evoke anger. In China, on most platforms since 2021, the location (province; country if foreign) of your IP address is publicized along with your post, described as a measure to prevent disinformation; the result was people are increasingly being compared against regional stereotypes, fuelling harassment. So there’s that. Anyways, I only use Zhihu during my stay in Shanghai because I can’t access Western platforms as easily, I have no attachment to it to begin with. I don’t even have an account there (as KYC is the law)…

I agree with you. Regardless of whether I can succeed in my work (well I should), it’s important to make an effort to be nice, yeah.

Maybe don’t slack off. But not even I can do that consistently…

I don’t feel especially more comfortable (no less either) to hang out with existing acquaintances, in fact sometimes I worry if I’ve been asking them to be with me too frequently. Icebreaker questions is a good idea, I shall take note of that. I don’t like pets (I find it unethical in principle, though I’m not PeTA, I don’t snatch people’s pets from their front porch and engage in extreme sensationalism. Others can have pets as long as they’re not abused, just not for me. Also I lack the effort required to take care for one…), and although I know a lot of things, biology is not one of them, but if you insist, then a fox tail? Seems like it’s large and fluffy enough to function as a back pillow, though having a large tail is certainly not ideal on the move.

Facebook sending cease-and-desist is a standard measure for them (Facebook Inc. v. Power Ventures, Inc. established their ability to do so), they do that on things ranging from selling followers to stopping scientific researches, so they’re not particularly “riled up.” Anyways, I was one of the two maintainers for an (and likely the only) open source third-party client for Instagram that has quite many additional features (including the ability to download content, use 3-column layouts for feed, and evade certain analytics), and of course they don’t like that, so I got hit. Unfortunately I got very little press coverage, unlike that guy, but still, it’s a cool story to tell.

I look forward to your reply.

Thank you & Best Regards,

Austin Huang

From: Jarrod Blundy
To: Austin Huang
Subject: Re: Letters Project
Date: December 22, 2023

Hey Austin,

(My apologies for how late this reply is…almost two weeks since you wrote me! The holiday time has been super busy both personally and professionally, and now my wife and I are traveling to see family…you get the idea. But I’ll do my very best to write back again before the end of the month. 🙂)

I so admire your confidence. In face-to-face conversations, I’m usually much more of a listener than a speaker. I don’t often like to jump into conversations with my opinion, although that’s exactly what social media feeds encourage us to do. And within the right group of people or comfort zone there, I find it much easier.

I’m glad those guys didn’t end up in a fistfight. I can’t remember the last time I got into a yelling match with anyone, and I’ve certainly never thrown a punch at someone. I wonder what percentage of the world’s population has never gotten into a physical fight. I wonder if the number would surprise me, either as quite high or quite low.

I guess there is potential for me to open a consulting firm should I choose to develop my ideas a bit further.

Would that be data science consulting? What would be the dream scenario, or what kind of project would you most be interested in consulting on, if you could?

I’d like to lightly object the characterization of me being “a public transit enthusiast” […]

Sorry about the mischaracterization. I’m curious as to how you would describe it, though I know you said you’d have a hard time characterizing it. I really like the term “enthusiast” actually. There was a really good podcast that came out a few years ago by the same name, and I wish it had stuck around. I loved hearing people espouse their favorite interests, even if I don’t share the same, well, enthusiasm for the thing.

Sometimes I can get obsessed over one subject for a few days and then I move on to another.

Oh man, me too. You can see proof of it in the spurts of publish days here on my blog. A good handful of days where everything feels to flow out through my fingers, and others where I can’t find any motivation despite the massive list of ideas for blog posts that I keep on my phone.

I think the lesson I’ve learned from using the internet from such a young age is to not try to “own” everything.

Is this the sentiment that drives your tendency to publish stuff online to your Mastodon profile rather than to your personal blog? So that it’s more ephemeral? Being able to “own” my space on the web is important to me, and it’s what guides me toward cool, customizable blogs like Micro.blog or Blot.

Without any firsthand knowledge of Japan, I can still see what you mean about its strict rigidity, but I appreciate how it contrasts with the wonderfully creative works produced by the Japanese people. Are they well known for deftly addressing those sensitive subjects?

Maybe don’t slack off. But not even I can do that consistently…

Haha, you and me both, man. Unlimited motivation seems as unattainable as a perpetual motion machine. My usual pattern is bouts of intense focus and interest in a subject where I explore deep and wide, and have the focus and drive to get a lot of stuff done (writing blog posts consistently for days or weeks at a time, for example), followed by almost completely dropping out of interest. Sometimes because I’ve found a new thing to obsess over, or just because I wear myself out on a topic or activity.

Not that you need my approval, but I think it’s totally fine not to be a pet person. Everybody likes different stuff! But a fox tail is a good choice. You’re right it seems delightfully fluffy and nice to have wrapped around yourself.

Ahh, I see about the cease-and-desist. It’s too bad more big platforms don’t offer APIs for third-party clients. I understand why they don’t — better control over the total user experience, monetization, etc. — but still I mourn for all the amazing ideas that other developers would bring to the table for third-party clients. It stretches the imagination for everyone, whereas Instagram is limited by what its own in-house developers dream up and can implement. But, yeah, it is a good story to tell.

Any fun plans for celebrating the end of the year?

Take care,

Jarrod

From: Austin Huang
To: Jarrod Blundy
Subject: Re: Letters Project
Date: December 26, 2023

Dear Jarrod,

Eh, it’s fine.

I wish I could listen to others more and not be that assertive… In terms of social media, I don’t write if I have nothing constructive to add onto the conversation. (But I also avoid publicly discussing “hot topics” online, we’re in a society where current and perspective employers could spy on our social media accounts…) But yes, ultimately it takes two to tango.

Well, you know how divisive recent geopolitical developments are… Personally, I think it’s better for people to have more knowledge than do more action; when the latter lacks knowledge, it can do a lot of harm.

Data science is ultimately just a tool. I feel like although I’m not good at creating ideas, I’m good at evaluating ideas and can give a lot of feedback, so maybe software/business consulting?

No, I don’t object to “enthusiast,” just that I’m interested in quite some stuff, but not super committed in any specific one (“knows everything, jack of none”)…

I suppose I did not make myself clear. When I say “not try to ‘own’ everything” I should’ve emphasized on “everything.” For example, a lot of kids are obsessed with “clout,” like how many followers they have, how many members their Discord “servers” have, etc. So I meant in the sense that “they own (some attention of) those people and the associated recognition.” Of course, if I write something, then I rightfully own it, I don’t think there’s any argument here; but I shouldn’t write for the sake of ownership. But yes, I agree with you that owning one’s digital space is important.

Deftly… It depends, but since many are based on each author’s personal experience, it is quite realistic. Personally I like many of the coming-of-age mangas. My personal favourite is I Want to Eat Your Pancreas.

To be fair, without me experiencing the C&D I wouldn’t have arrived at Mastodon or developed my presence on Matrix. Ultimately, if the competitors are serious enough, people will move. The problem with ethical platforms right now is they focus very little on the less-fringe populations, in usability and community.

Thank you & Best Regards,

Austin Huang

From: Jarrod Blundy
To: Austin Huang
Subject: Re: Letters Project
Date: December 31, 2023

Hey Austin,

Happy New Year’s Eve!

To refrain from an online conversation if I don’t have something constructive to add — that was my method for a long time too. But that also made me feel like a lurker. So lately when I’ve enjoyed a post or conversation, instead of hitting the “like” button, I’ve been dropping in a comment expressing my enjoyment with my own words or an emoji. It’s been great! Way more conversations started, and it feels so much more human than punching a button.

I think that goes well with what you were saying about clout or ownership. Being able to discard any expectation about who or how many people follow me online (Micro.blog doesn’t show those things) has been such as gift. I can focus more on what I’m writing and who I’m conversing with. Because everything is an actual conversation there. I hope more apps will at least offer the option to hide those metrics in the future.

I feel like although I’m not good at creating ideas, I’m good at evaluating ideas and can give a lot of feedback, so maybe software/business consulting?

Oh man, I can relate to that so well. I can remix and riff, but a truly new idea hits only once in a blue moon. But editing, refining, and massaging other people’s work or ideas — that I can do without much effort at all. Consulting does seem like a viable avenue for those types of skills. Go for it!

I’m glad that you don’t object to “enthusiast”. There was a small kerfuffle about the usage of that word recently in the tech blog-o-sphere, and I honestly thought it to be a tiring thing to get mad about. If the person being labeled as an “enthusiast” doesn’t mind or feel that it’s disparaging or belittling, I don’t think other people should see it that way. It only becomes a word used to belittle others when we give it the power to do so. Not that I’m saying you took it that way, but I’ve been thinking a lot lately about words, how they’re used, and their impact.

It’s interesting how so often the challenges thrown into our paths end up becoming the things that we’re most grateful for. The C&D from Facebook/Instagram led you to a platform that’s a better fit. The same thing happened to me with Twitter. I enjoyed Twitter a lot, even though I was never much of a poster (see above). But Elon Musk’s takeover and subsequent gutting of the things I enjoyed most about it led me away from that platform and over to Micro.blog and the greater social web/Fediverse. Now I love posting there. I enjoy writing for that platform just as much as I enjoy writing for my blog. Soon enough they may become one and the same. So, in a way, I’m grateful that Musk bought and destroyed Twitter along his way to building X.

And with that, I think that brings our pen pal-ing to a close. As we close out 2023, getting to chat in depth with folks like yourself for this Letters project has been one of the things I’ve enjoyed most this year. It’s brought so much more substance to my imagination of folks that I only know online. Thank you for being part of it, for sharing yourself with me and our readers, and for helping to remind me that the internet can be just as small as it is big. Best of luck to you in 2024.

Take care,

Jarrod