Comments on: Amateurs are Honest Professionals*

By: Montoya

Montoya — Tue, 09 May 2006 21:26:56 +0000

Dave Winer made a great quote? What next? Microsoft licensing Firefox for Vista? Google using standards-compliant code? Pigs flying?

By: Robert Bruce

Robert Bruce — Tue, 09 May 2006 20:33:39 +0000

“Do you like Basketball?”

“Eh, the only thing worth watching is college hoops… the pros just don’t have the guts and the blood and the fire…”

(How many times have you overheard this conversation?)

By: Krasen T.

Krasen T. — Tue, 09 May 2006 14:40:06 +0000

Most of the “Amateurs” do their work based on love and passion for they’re doing.

And another thing I want to underline is that if you are amateur doesn’t mean that you are less educated on a subject that a professional. So, the only factor that devide amateur from pro is the money.

By: Bryan

Bryan — Tue, 09 May 2006 13:11:36 +0000

I have lived my whole life with the understand that if you get paid for what you do, it makes you a professional. Doesn’t matter if its golf, building websites, or working the poll, if you receive money for the business you are in, then you are a professional at what you do.

It doesn’t mean one who calls himself a professional is good at what he/she does, but it does put them in the category of being a professional.

By: Vince Chan

Vince Chan — Tue, 09 May 2006 04:04:23 +0000

I used to remember someone (don’t remember who) asking (something like this)

“Who would you rather learn from? The one who claims he knows all but charges you a high fee for his knowledge? or the one who claims he doesn’t know much but is willing to share whatever he knows for free?”

By: Scrivs

Scrivs — Mon, 08 May 2006 19:57:56 +0000

Damn that is interesting. Looks like I will be a professional my whole life though :-(

By: Jonathan Holst

Jonathan Holst — Mon, 08 May 2006 19:41:53 +0000

A bit of history:

Amateur origins from the old world of sports (more specifically: football/soccer).

A professional was typically a poor man, that had to make money, while amateurs were the richer ones, who could afford to play the sport, without being paid.

By: karmatosed

karmatosed — Mon, 08 May 2006 19:06:00 +0000

Great quote, don’t agree 100% with it myself but like the sentiment. I think if you are a professional doing ‘amateur’ or non paid for the love of it stuff is something you should go out of your way to do. I work on charity websites for this reason along with fact I get involved in a lot of side projects. Often through these projects I find my skills pushed more and therefore feeds into paid work and raises my bar.

For this reason I think blogging is a great tool in sense of your own unpaid blog. My own is a place where I experiment and learn as I go with stuff. This is what it should be like. Playing with new technologies then refining them to use as a professional or just to use better as an amateur – whatever side you are on of the debate.