At my previous job at a well known, established large tech company - I didn't find anyone who had heard of HN.

Not about people using HN. But even being aware the site exists.

I'm reminded of that episode of Portlandia where the mayor was obsessed with thinking the city was bigger and more important than it actually is.

I had no idea what hn was until about 2 years ago. This would be 8 years into a career in tech… there are dozens of us.