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Why I left Google to join Grab

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Re: Why I left Google to join Grab

#131

Post by tracker1 »

pavel_lishin wrote: post #113
southphillyman wrote: post #101

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I made a similar argument to a friend while eating at a small street food vendor in Bangkok a couple of months ago. I was turned off by the flies and the fact I was a couple of feet from a dirty alley. My friend, who likely grew up eating in similar shops in Nigeria, pointed out I was looking at it from a very Western pov. He argued that these kind of establishments were safe to eat at because their entire livelihood…

Does the word-of-mouth reputation system still work if you're using a phone app to order food from someone who isn't necessarily local? Now, everyone's competing against everyone in a much larger geographical area. Sure, you can go by reviews, but now you've got a negative-comment war.

Look at the SJW campaigns on Yelp... it's worked a number of times, for good or bad.

Re: Why I left Google to join Grab

#132

Post by lazerpants »

mindcrime wrote: post #127

Another note to all the people screaming "muh regulationz. What about t3h food poisioningz???" Anybody... and I mean anybody can already cook for other people in their own kitchen, and serve food to others with absolutely no special legal regulation whatsoever. It's called "invite a bunch of people over for dinner". Or "take a dish to the company pot-luck". Or "take a dish to game night at the local hackerspace". Etc…

I agree with you, mostly, but the profit motive does incentivize riskier behavior here.

Example: If I am having people over for dinner and accidentally leave out shellfish for too long, I can toss the expensive ingredient and just order pizza or anything else. If I depended on that shellfish to make a living, I would almost certainly risk using it.

Re: Why I left Google to join Grab

#133

Post by lazerpants »

ian0 wrote: post #62
cocktailpeanuts wrote: post #56

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Probably downvoted because your comment is irrelevant to the point you're criticizing. "uber of southeast asia", "alipay of southeast asia", "wechat of southeast asia" all that doesn't matter in this context. They're all unoriginal. Parent was saying how OP is claiming to have left Google because they are unoriginal and frame themselves against competition. That's exactly what "X of Y" is. Doesn't matter what X, or Y…

Ok, thats kind of fair. I should have been more specific. What they are on track to becoming (the we-chat, alipay of SEA), requires a high level of innovation in itself. As We-chats rise was very different to Alipay's - Grab & co's are to the chinese companies. Its most definitely not cookie-cutter territory.

Are Alipay or Wechat even that innovative? I mean, would they exist if Chinese companies were required to play fair with American competitors?

Re: Why I left Google to join Grab

#134

Post by mindcrime »

lazerpants wrote: post #132
mindcrime wrote: post #127

Another note to all the people screaming "muh regulationz. What about t3h food poisioningz???" Anybody... and I mean anybody can already cook for other people in their own kitchen, and serve food to others with absolutely no special legal regulation whatsoever. It's called "invite a bunch of people over for dinner". Or "take a dish to the company pot-luck". Or "take a dish to game night at the local hackerspace". Etc…

I agree with you, mostly, but the profit motive does incentivize riskier behavior here. Example: If I am having people over for dinner and accidentally leave out shellfish for too long, I can toss the expensive ingredient and just order pizza or anything else. If I depended on that shellfish to make a living, I would almost certainly risk using it.

Fair enough, but there's still a limit to how far you're going to push that line, no? Because a. deep down you're a human being and you don't really want to kill anybody and b. pragmatically you know if you get a reputation for killing customers (or making them sick) your customers will go elsewhere.

Re: Why I left Google to join Grab

#135

Post by ianai »

jeffcore wrote: post #121
ianai wrote: post #84

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I wonder if there are fewer regulations on food processing? Ie maybe a restaurant producing a meal needs to be regulated. But what if someone sells chopped onions and other prep work?

In the U.S., it's extensively regulated by both Federal and State laws, though the amount of regulation varies from state to state, and even county. The regulations don't just cover how the food is processed, but also where the food is stored and the vehicles the food is transported in. Very few foods can be processed outside of a licensed cannery. Usually only items that don't require refrigeration to stay fresh, fo…

That’s probably for the better. But it’s a shame as well. Food preparation takes a lot of time and would employ many people. Then people could whip up the actual recipes at home. It seems like an avenue that could employ many people who otherwise wouldn’t be employed.

Re: Why I left Google to join Grab

#138

Post by magic_beans »

masklinn wrote: post #16
Animats wrote: post #4

The view from Shenzhen: Naomi Wu / @RealSexyCyborg / 10 Dec 2017 / Naomi Wu Retweeted Seruko If food delivery cost $0.40USD with no "tip" lots of Western countries might be at a similar place. Cheap migrant labor is the backbone of our e-commerce boom. The way they treat those boys is unforgivable. [1] The gig economy - more cost-effective than slavery. [1] https://twitter.com/realsexycyborg?lang=en

Actual permalink to the tweet: https://twitter.com/RealSexyCyborg/status/940058014886780928 The previous tweets in the thread seem more relevant here: https://twitter.com/BeijingPalmer/status/940010649010233344 > I'm generally skeptical of anyone who makes a week-long trip to China and comes back awed by 'how advanced they are in X.' In my experience Chinese academics and firms lie their ass off to visitors. https://…

Her profile pics are basically NSFW...

Re: Why I left Google to join Grab

#139

Post by magic_beans »

mantas wrote: post #60
limaoscarjuliet wrote: post #50

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"We are pledging we are in the process of thinking about moving towards streamlining possible future transition to making 10% of EGGS CAGE FREE." Ok, not a direct quote from mayo bottle but you get the gist of it. Now the funny part, my better half has a hotel and restaurant. She has trouble working with good ingredients because people demand crap ones they are used to.

> Now the funny part, my better half has a hotel and restaurant. She has trouble working with good ingredients because people demand crap ones they are used to. That was my exact experience first time I bought high quality peanut butter. The oil had separated and stayed at the top. I thought something went wrong and I was ripped off. Took me some googling to realise that's what happens if the maker don't take away na…

I always thought it was ridiculous that natural peanut butter has the disclaimer "oil will separate." I guess now I know why :)

But nothing, NOTHING comes close to freshly blended peanut butter warm from those little blending machines at natural grocery stores or Whole foods.

Re: Why I left Google to join Grab

#140

Post by magic_beans »

mda wrote: post #31
reuven wrote: post #23

Steve Yegge's writing, whether on technology or business (or both), is always delightful to read. If he can start to write more now that he's no longer at Google, then I'm happy not just for him and his new job, but also for the rest of us, who can (hopefully) hear his voice much more often.

Delightful? More like excruciatingly long and boring.

The man needs an editor. Granted, he's enthusiastic and conversational, but he writes like a person who simply transcribed a long, spoken rant.
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