What does it mean to be 'working on it'?

Recalling Alice E. Marwick's "Leaders and Followers", this phrase "working on it" refers to a social hierarchy found in tech culture in Silicon Valley.  I'm one of those middle class folks who are simply just working on it since I've joined a startup team at Communitech this past month.

Everyday, I'm constantly thinking about how to get our name out there, measuring strategies, looking at analytics, and finding events to attend. The first event I went to was a tech social hosted by hackernest, a non-profit movement that focuses on building local tech communities around the word.  Mind you this social was strictly for fun purposes (evident through this picture I took of the poster by the elevator), so networking and handing out business cards were looked down upon, but I got my first potential client anyway because that's just what happens when people socialize: talk about what they do.  

Follow this link to read their description of the social environment for their event.  Even though hackernest emphasized the 'chill' no-agenda setting, they still had to spend time thanking their sponsors and name dropping.  I found myself and everyone else there were "on the clock" all the time, inside and outside the office.  

Marwick's analysis was on Silicon Valley's work culture, and the social hierarchies that exist within, but I'm learning that although KW is much different in terms of scale and being risk averse, the time and social aspect is no different: there's no wasted time, there's always someone to talk to.  Social events, are networking events.  If you're not networking yourself, you're networking your company, or another company who will hopefully return the favour.  I go out there and engage with leads, but what they're really looking for, is what my boss can provide to them.  

Cited:
Marwick, Alice E. "Leaders and Followers." Status Update: Celebrity, Publicity, and Branding in the Social Media Age. N.p.: Yale UP, 2013. 73-111. Print.