When did we forget to celebrate before we connect?

Watched a launch yesterday. By morning, the founder's DMs were full of pitches from other builders. No questions about the product. Just "here's what I'm working on."

Look, networking is part of this. We all need it. But we're skipping a step.
Launch day used to mean something. Try the product. Ask real questions. Then connect.

Now we've optimized so hard for efficiency that we skip straight to pitching.
@Mastra a hit #3 yesterday despite this. But think about what that says quality products have to fight through noise just to get noticed.

Here's my take: we're not wrong to network. We're just moving too fast.

The products you're pitching to founders? They might actually use them. They might solve a real problem in your workflow. They might inspire something you build next.

But you'll never know if you don't look first.
The best networking happens when you're genuinely interested first.

What if actually trying products made you better at building your own?