Oddball confession: one of my first life-shaping experiences on the Internet was lying on a video game forum (Darkstone, Delphine Software). Somebody joked that they got “Helm of the Arse Gods”, and I lied and said I got it too. I was like… 8. Everyone cringed and laughed at me

Something about that experience made me determined to be “good at Interneting”. I went on to participate in all sorts of forums, studying the social dynamics and conflicts. learning how points are scored. I got a deep pleasure from being a “respected user” on a bunch of communities

To me it became a game, of sorts. Every community can be “cracked”. I became a Quora Top Writer (3x, then got bored). I got a blogpost to the front page of Hacker News. I even have a couple of mod-issued Points on /r/theredpill. Became a “sociopolitical blogger” in the local news

When I say “game”, though, I don’t mean it in a dismissive way. I took it all very seriously and spent lots of time and energy on it. I was particularly determined to avoid faking or lying, so I learned how to present a genuine version of myself that’s compelling to people

I was invited to speak with PM Lee (along with other “prominent bloggers”). I’ve also openly criticised SG Govt’s policies, and even had those views published in the “Govt mouthpiece media” bc I knew how to frame it. All of this with skills I picked up to impress video game nerds

Started a t-shirt company on the side, ended up selling thousands of tees and got media attention for that. Organised an event inviting people to scream at the designated public protest park, got media attention for that

I can’t wait to see what’s next.