For Lemmy I just chose a larger instance and went with it. I've considered moving to one more aligned with my interests though hasn't been much reason to yet.
For Mastodon I went with Fosstodon precisely for my interests as I can better enjoy the local feed.
Being able to quickly learn new coding languages, translate what I know from one to another and get advice on code structure etc has been super helpful; meanwhile I remain the one writing the actual code
Years back when Clash of Clans was running ads using player submitted footage they used my submission for an ad (the one where several giants get taken out by spring traps)
These days we mostly shop on Instacart which has been great for walking around to check what's needed and update the cart accordingly before placing the order.
No, that's not realistic; I would probably transition to video game development if I wanted to make a career out of game design. I'm happy to keep this a hobby.
I designed a board game as a personal challenge and posted my notes online along the way. As the game got close to being finished a publisher messaged wanting to help finish and sell the game. Royalties were enough for a couple small family vacations. That experience really helped cement board gaming (and designing) as one of my core hobbies.
I pre-order some games, especially table top, through crowdfunding and do enjoy interacting with developers and their early player base during beta testing / early access especially if I'm able to contribute in some way.
For Lemmy I just chose a larger instance and went with it. I've considered moving to one more aligned with my interests though hasn't been much reason to yet.
For Mastodon I went with Fosstodon precisely for my interests as I can better enjoy the local feed.