If you’re seeing this interview draft, it means you’ve recently published on HackerNoon a story that the community found interesting and/or valuable. For this reason, we would like to help the community get to know you better as well as find out some writing tips from you.
While this template is automatic, our interest in the answers below is genuine and our human editors (and some cyborg wannabes) will review it before publishing.
So let’s start! Tell us a bit about yourself. For example, name, profession, and personal interests.
Greetings, wonderful humans of HackerNoon. I’m Brooks. Professionally, I’d call myself an independent writer & researcher. Personally, my life involves a lot of bouldering, cycling, hiking, yoga, traveling, and reading lots of great fiction.
Interesting! What was your latest HackerNoon Top story about?
I wrote my last piece on the parallels between Bitcoin and important technologies we’ve seen throughout history.
I made the case that all the fear, uncertainty, and doubt we’re seeing happen to Bitcoin today has all happened before with technologies that ended up becoming fixtures in our daily lives.
You name it, there was resistance to the changes it brought. Printing, airplanes, refrigerators, tractors, alternating currents, all of these inventions caused a big fuss for some time before people accepted their utilities.
It is helpful to look at how history contains countless examples of technologies that were vehemently opposed when first introduced, but won out in the long run.
I believe the same cycle is happening to Bitcoin today. This applies to other technologies too, but with Bitcoin, it’s especially potent.
Do you usually write on similar topics? If not, what do you usually write about?
One half of my career is writing copy for tech clients – more specifically, growth-stage SaaS & B2B startups. I write copy for their marketing websites, sales funnels, and overall growth programs. It’s half consulting and half writing.
The other half is publishing pieces on subjects I believe are important. These days I’ve been very focused on Bitcoin because there is a huge disconnect between what’s actually happening in the space and what’s getting published in the media.
When you look beyond the price volatility, you discover an incredibly interesting blend of game theory, psychology, sociology, economics, cryptography, and computer science going on under the hood.
Pair that with global adoption from nation-states, emerging economies, entrepreneurs, and institutions, and you’ve got a really interesting topic to write about. Being a non-programmer, I feel like I’m able to provide a unique lens to help people understand the technology more deeply.
Broadly, my writing focuses on a wide range of technological topics. There are also significant advances being made in artificial intelligence, IoT tech, and medical technology; it’s endless.
Great! What is your usual writing routine like (if you have one?)
My brain works best in the morning and has for years. Between ~8 am and ~1 pm is when I squeeze the best material out of my brain. When I’m done for the day, I usually take the afternoons to read, take meetings, do yoga, go climbing, etc.
It’s really important for me to not overwork myself. As writers, you gotta have fun too! Writing is hard mental work, but the work turns out a lot better when you’re feeling excited and inspired.
For me, that means lots of time spent outside without an internet connection, lots of travel, and lots of new experiences.
Being a writer in tech can be a challenge. It’s not often our main role, but an addition to another one. What is the biggest challenge you have when it comes to writing?
I’m one of those weird cases where writing about tech is my full-time career. The main challenge I’ve dealt with boils down to simplifying complexity. We live in a big, weird, complex world that only keeps exponentiating (is that a word?).
It’s up to technology-focused writers to translate that complicated technology into stories the broader public can appreciate and use. There are many, but I’d say that’s the main one.
What is the next thing you hope to achieve in your career?
I guess the next thing I want to do is… keep going? I prefer to do a helluva lot of what I enjoy doing, and let that guide me into whatever opportunities pop up. It’s worked pretty well so far 🤷♂️
Wow, that’s admirable. Now, something more casual: What is your guilty pleasure of choice?
I watch a lot of raunchy cartoons like South Park, Rick & Morty, and Aqua Teen Hunger Force. Cartoons > real people stuff.
Do you have a non-tech-related hobby? If yes, what is it?
Lots of things! Climbing, traveling, cycling, yoga, and I also read tons outside the tech niche. Fiction, psychology, history, sociology, comic books, you name it.
The cool thing about being a writer is that the things you do outside of your work end up helping you with your work. Spending time outside my little bubble helps keep my ideas fresh.
What can the Hacker Noon community expect to read from you next?
You can expect more on Bitcoin and the history of science and technology. Sometimes, when the present seems crazy (like it does at the time of writing this), it’s helpful to look into the past for answers.
What’s your opinion on HackerNoon as a platform for writers?
HackerNoon is dope! The publishing experience is straightforward and I love how you guys really push good distribution behind each piece. I’m having a blast publishing content on here, knowing it’ll get read by people who are actually interested in reading it. Big fan!
Thanks for taking time to join our “Meet the writer” series. It was a pleasure. Do you have any closing words?
Stay weird and stay curious!