If that’s your approach, it doesn’t make you look competent, compassionate, or, most importantly to you, in demand. It makes you look desperate

And as long as admins allow it, advertising your services in standalone posts or designated spaces is totally fair game.

What’s not okay is turning someone’s vent or request for advice into a sales opportunity—especially when it’s done by undermining or negging the person asking the question.

I’m proud of the path I carved this year—lots of hacking through metaphorical briar patches, but entirely worth it. More of this intentional, curiosity-driven pace for 2026. My Italian-music + pop-culture newsletter remains my pride and joy.

www.italiandiscostories.com

Observing instead of reacting brought back my sense of wonder. It also let me skip the pressure to become an on-camera personality. I want to be known for my output, and I don't want to be perceived. "Being hot on main" should not dictate whether or not I get a gig.

I immersed myself in reports and webinars—and my work became sharper, fresher, and more grounded in actual insight. The best work I did this year came from briefs built collaboratively, not pitches tossed into a void. The result: fewer ghostings and more room to learn when things go sideways.

In 2023, I investigated the evolution of Link's haircuts from a fashion and pop-culture-history perspective, with a discourse around masculinity sprinkled in :)

www.polygon.com/23779797/zel...

If you like this story, also give my other @polygon.com features a read. This past summer, I wrote a an impassioned essay on diegetic songs (songs perceived as songs in-universe) in Final Fantasy-turns out I was right on the interpretation of "No Promises to Keep"

www.polygon.com/24212297/fin...

Mine too! Back from school I had the pokemon-hamtaro-doremi stack. Alas I could not benefit from the 1.30-2 slot as my school let out at 4 :///