Wow, these aren't proofread by anyone? > The team has been working around the clock to produce streamlined roadmap for Twitter, "to produce streamlined roadmap" Really?
I'm not sure what the typo is, care to explain?
Twitter announces layoffs
291–300 of 410 posts
Re: Twitter announces layoffs
#292> The world needs a strong Twitter Really? Does it? I think Twitter needs a strong Twitter, shareholders need a strong Twitter even Twitter employees need it. However the world is, at best, ambivalent about Twitter, if it disappeared tomorrow a replacement would spring up within a few weeks if the world really needed a way to shotgun their messages into the ether.
The world was arguably better when the options were IRC or Usenet.
Re: Twitter announces layoffs
#293Earlier quoted context omitted.
Team, we thought we would grow very fast and we hired accordingly. Turns out we didn't grow that fast so now we're firing accordingly. Please don't be mad at us! If things work out as we hope they will with Moments and all the rest, we may want to hire you back in the future because you folks are not so shoddy after all. Cheers
That is part of the startup world. Companies stall, and companies fail. If stability is required, it should be worked into the employee agreement. I don't know what is meant by "generous exit package", but it may be enough to tide the employees over to their next job.
So at what point does a company stop being a "startup" nowadays?
Re: Twitter announces layoffs
#294Earlier quoted context omitted.
I don't know why the parent post is being downvoted: trading using Twitter sentiment analysis is apparently a thing [1][2]. [1] http://www.deltixlab.com/research/an-automated-trading-strat... [2] http://cs229.stanford.edu/proj2011/TrusheimChakoumakosYendlu... Edit: typo
there have even been a few instances shown on HN where these algorithms picked stuff up from the internet and have run with it, i.e. placed real trades. I remember at least 2 instances of this recently, once where the story was fake and once where an earnings forecast(i think) was released on a site but they had not published the URL so the assumption was no one would see it. The bot made a significant sum on the sec…
Many stories are deliberately faked to push the sentiment bots. Its a murky world.
Re: Twitter announces layoffs
#295Earlier quoted context omitted.
A decent human being always has perfect foresight and never has to make tough decisions that impact people. If anyone is ever fired or laid off, the CEO should be immediately replaced. Or alternatively, no one should ever be fired.
I can't tell if you're being serious or facetious? If you're serious you live in a Utopian fantasy world :) If you're being facetious, well played.
Well, I can't disagree with the suggestion that if a layoff needs to happen, the CEO has failed and needs to be replaced.
Re: Twitter announces layoffs
#296TL;DR: We're making some changes to the company. We're firing the 336 of you we don't need anymore. Thanks for your work. Everything else is fluff. But I guess they have to sugar-coat it a bit with "utmost respect" and "tough decision".
But they'll honor their memory for the benefit of all Twitter users.
Whatever the hell that means...
Re: Twitter announces layoffs
#297> Emails like this are usually riddled with corporate speak so I'm going to give it to you straight. I tried rewriting his email to live up to this promise: - - - Team, We're cutting our workforce to strengthen Twitter as a company. The team has been deciding how to best streamline Twitter, Vine, and Periscope to put their focus on the projects which will have the greatest impact. Moments, which we launched last week…
Here's another attempt: http://qz.com/522824/jack-dorseys-jargon-free-firing-memo-ed...
Re: Twitter announces layoffs
#298> Emails like this are usually riddled with corporate speak so I'm going to give it to you straight. I tried rewriting his email to live up to this promise: - - - Team, We're cutting our workforce to strengthen Twitter as a company. The team has been deciding how to best streamline Twitter, Vine, and Periscope to put their focus on the projects which will have the greatest impact. Moments, which we launched last week…
Everyone should take note of this person's excellent structure: he put the decision first. If you are writing a decisive message that can greatly impact many people's lives: write the decision first. Don't "sandwich" the truth. Sandwiching only makes sense when the decision or the mistake is not of huge significance. Beating around the bush in matters of great import will always harm the sincerity of your words. Afte…
To me, this is the worst email i have ever read about layoff announcement.
It did not assure me that there will be no more cuts in the near future. It will put fear in all twitter employees and they will be looking for work elsewhere.
"and other departments will be cut in parallel" what other departments? layoff announcement should be complete. This is an incomplete email about an incomplete decision.
"336" wtf, this email should talk in percentage, like, We plan to cut up to 1.4% of our workforce.
Complete bull (IMO)
Re: Twitter announces layoffs
#299The number, 336, is roughly 10% of their employees - which is pretty much exactly the number that Jack Welch recommended turning over each year to improve the work force. I often wonder whether these "layoffs" aren't actually layoffs, but simply performance based assessments. It's not like Twitter is shutting down an entire office, or abandoning some technology, and letting everyone associated with that office/techno…
This. I never understood this mentality that all cuts are bad or evil or whatever. Funny, we never question when these companies go on a hiring spree. No one asks, "Do they need this many engineers? Will these people have jobs in two years?" Restructures happen all the time, especially at dotcoms. If you work in this industry, then you can expect some level of volatility.
It's probably because it's always the little guys who get fucked by it. The executives, who are the ones who got the company into the position where it needed to make those cuts in the first place, never feel any effect from it, when they should be feeling things the most.
Re: Twitter announces layoffs
#300Earlier quoted context omitted.
That is part of the startup world. Companies stall, and companies fail. If stability is required, it should be worked into the employee agreement. I don't know what is meant by "generous exit package", but it may be enough to tide the employees over to their next job.
So at what point does a company stop being a "startup" nowadays?
> So at what point does a company stop being a "startup" nowadays?
Wikipedia defines startup as a new business in the form of a company, a partnership or temporary organization designed to search for a repeatable and scalable business model.[1]
Not sure where an exact "point" is (if one even exists) but would seem that Twitter (a nearly ten year old company with revenues of $1.4B) no longer fits that definition.