Actually in many cases it is for social KPI storytelling. I know some wealthy people and at gatherings they love to tell 5-10min long stories of exclusive processes that they followed to gain something exclusive while dropping names and numbers. The processes are easy to understand for the entire social circle (i.e. not technical or business achievements which they can't easily disclose).

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sdwr an hour ago | parent | next [-]

It's a formalized, sanitized simulacrum of striving! Like sports is for competition

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rfw300 an hour ago | parent | prev | next [-]

Being wealthy solves virtually all problems of consumption, so the invisible hand provides new problems to serve the market need. Beautiful, really.

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jvanderbot 2 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

So, hobbies. You're talking about hobbies.

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coldtea an hour ago | parent | next [-]

No, he talks about status signalling.

They might pass the time doing those things, but not as a mere passtime or hobby, like if they were sewing or playing CoD. Unlike those, doing them and telling about doing them serves a specific social purpose.

	▲	jvanderbot an hour ago \| parent [-]
		I'm not arguing with you - you have a valid point. But I don't view hobbies as that separate from status signals within the hobbying group. Oh you play games? What games? Did you beat it? etc etc. Esoteric knowledge/practices here are status signls (Oh you reached shattered planet without xyz??). That starts to sound a lot like "Oh you aquired a lambo XYZ without usual steps abc" and that's a really fun convo in the in-group, and a total miss with the out-group.

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scubbo an hour ago | parent | prev [-]

I have several hobbies, and none of them revolve around artifical scarcity or gatekeeping.

(Well, the way that _some_ people play Magic: The Gathering does - but I wouldn't want to play with anyone who raised a stink about proxies)

	▲	jvanderbot 29 minutes ago \| parent [-]
		Look, I dont want to be argumentative, but my (perhaps cynical) view on people who say they don't do status signaling when they "avoid status signaling" is it's just like the fish who goes "what's water"? It's worth thinking about whether you're doing it by accident.

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georgemcbay 2 hours ago | parent | prev [-]

"Let's see Paul Allen's card"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KlYH-hmxOqc

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Terr_ an hour ago | parent [-]

I wonder if it's intentional that they all say "Aquisitions", with no "c".

As for fonts etc: https://hobancards.com/blogs/thoughts-and-curiosities/americ...

	▲	georgemcbay 21 minutes ago \| parent [-]
		They all have the same phone number too. This could be explained away by them working for the same place and assuming to contact them you call the same switchboard and ask for the person, but even back in the 90s it would have been strange for wall street "Vice Presidents" (even if it was somewhat of a ceremonial title) to not have their own unique business number. Also, Paul Allen giving his card to someone else with the same contact number for the purposes of being in touch to plan to play squash doesn't make much sense unless you get meta and assume Paul Allen was aware this had no practical value and just wanted to ego-drop the card.