Values are not about profits. They are about Innovation. Which fuels market share and has the intended result of increased profits.
The assumption that profits rule the world is a projection. Imo, Innovation rules the world.
We are Google employees – Google must drop Dragonfly
391–400 of 888 posts
Re: We are Google employees – Google must drop Dragonfly
#392There are not many Chinese names in the signed letter, and I can fully understand. If you are a Chinese H1B or green card holder, and you signed this letter, it is almost certain the Chinese government will contact your family in China.
Your social credit score will plummet too, probably.
Re: We are Google employees – Google must drop Dragonfly
#393I think, what these employees don't realize is: Even when a company places values over profits, it is still in an attempt to maximize profits over the long term. By placing values above profits, it increases it's goodwill with customers thus increasing it's moat and it's retention, as well as it's employee retention. This strategy made sense in the early days. Not anymore. As Google's position becomes increasingly st…
Huh, that's an excellent point. When a company is so big and entrenched it doesn't need to seem like the nice guy anymore.
Perhaps similarly to anti-monopoly laws we should also have size caps on companies.
Re: We are Google employees – Google must drop Dragonfly
#394As someone who lived most of his life in a dictatorship, I really struggle to understand the logic of these employees. I was actually surprised Google stepped out of China a couple of years ago and felt like the decision was taken by a bunch of people who don't understand what it's like to live in a non-democratic country. Do they think that everybody in China cares that their internet is censored or that they're bei…
1) International precedent: if China, why not acquiesce to more censorship in Turkey? Why not England?
2) optics of doing this after saying no to project maven for US intelligence
3) the very real risk that if google is successful it will create leverage for the Chinese government over google services. The Chinese government can say give me that gmail account of a Chinese dissident and former citizen or lose 20% of your market.
Re: We are Google employees – Google must drop Dragonfly
#395I considered working at Google last year after a recruiter reached out to me, but their decision to backtrack on their promise in China changed my mind. I do not morally condemn anyone who works at Google. I have many good friends that are both bright engineers and undeniably good people that work there. I just feel that as someone who's family is Taiwanese, I cannot in good consciousness support the company. I let t…
Yeah, I have ignored recruiters hiring for companies I have moral qualms in regards to, despite the jobs being undoubtedly quite lucrative. Haven't ever let them know about my moral aversion though.
Re: We are Google employees – Google must drop Dragonfly
#396"Many of us accepted employment at Google with the company’s values in mind, including its previous position on Chinese censorship and surveillance, and an understanding that Google was a company willing to place its values above its profits."
When has it ever put values above profits? Google is selling our data to everyone. What values?
Re: We are Google employees – Google must drop Dragonfly
#397It really pains me how Google has changed. When I was younger I always wanted to work there. Now that I've graduated college, I would probably never want to work there.
The Dragonfly issue would be a line in the sand for me, but they haven't crossed it yet. (Though even starting work on it is more than I'd expect from the old Google.)
Re: We are Google employees – Google must drop Dragonfly
#398Values are not about profits. They are about Innovation. Which fuels market share and has the intended result of increased profits. The assumption that profits rule the world is a projection. Imo, Innovation rules the world.
Was this always the case, or is this the face of 21st century?
I used to see so many Mom-And-Pop shops that are now being replaced by the bigger power seeking companies.
If this is the way we are heading, then I am kinda scared and feel like the only way for me to not be in the chopping block is to join them.
Re: We are Google employees – Google must drop Dragonfly
#399Earlier quoted context omitted.
examples please
Not OP, and not sure this is what OP's talking about, but I have examples. First, anything piracy related. Previously you could search something like "albumname zip rar torrent" and get vast lists of downloads. It's unclear whether the presence of scam links or the illegality of filesharing prompted the removal of valid results for this class of searches, but it's nonetheless true that this type of search returned us…
>search has transitioned from "show me what is on the internet, limited by the power of our algorithms" into something more like "show me what is on the internet, limited by the overton window[2] of our legal, PR, and advertiser-relations departments".
I'd say it has gone full; "Show me what your advertisers and other sources of income, would like someone like me to find on the internet."
Re: We are Google employees – Google must drop Dragonfly
#400It really pains me how Google has changed. When I was younger I always wanted to work there. Now that I've graduated college, I would probably never want to work there.
I agree. However, for every person who doesn't want to work there, five others are willing to join the company, especially those who live overseas and are willing to work for pennies.