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WeWork Gets a Visit from Financial Reality

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Re: WeWork Gets a Visit from Financial Reality

#241

Post by sudosteph »

dpau wrote: post #205
sixstringtheory wrote: post #194

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I’ll agree it can get boring at times, but it was incredibly creative and a lot of the descriptions of the world in the book are unlike any other I’ve read about and were quite poetic, while at the same time mathematic and scientific. Still, it’s a pretty short read and should be of much interest to those into scifi and dystopias.

I agree, incredibly creative. Definitely worth the read for anyone who enjoyed 1984, Brave New World, etc. I don’t recall it being boring in the least, perhaps the translation is partly to blame.

It wasn't the translation, I just hated all of the characters - especially the protaganist and his faux-philosophical rants about his hatred the square root of negative one. The world that that the author built was actually interesting, and if that's the only thing a reader cares about, then I can see the appeal. But the storytelling as a whole just sank the whole thing for me.

And this coming is from someone who loved 1984 and Brave New World and was eagerly looking forward to reading "We" at one point.

Re: WeWork Gets a Visit from Financial Reality

#242

Post by linkmotif »

ghaff wrote: post #215
linkmotif wrote: post #209

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Aren't "co-working" and "nice, quiet place to work" sort of mutually exclusive? I don't think this has to be true. Why can't people co-work together, quietly? This used to be the case in libraries, before libraries became places where governments administer social services. It's nice to work around other people, just as long as they are not on phone calls or taking meetings. These people belong in call centers or m…

In my experience, most of the spaces in libraries where I work are still pretty quiet. But there's a pretty strong cultural expectation that you don't talk on the phone or have more than short low volume exchanges with others--even aside from any specific rules. I agree music seems more than a bit much but a workplace is somewhere many people have conversations and have to make and take calls. I don't think I'd be ve…

> I don't think I'd be very inclined to spend money on a space where I had to try to find a room every time I was on a phone call or wanted to talk with someone.

But what makes more sense: you stepping out or getting a private office, or making the open office non-viable for everyone else who has to focus? What a conceit that everyone else should adapt to you when you could simply adapt to everyone else.

Re: WeWork Gets a Visit from Financial Reality

#243

Post by maxxxxx »

bartread wrote: post #206
kgwgk wrote: post #93

https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2019-01-08/wework... "In addition to the corporate finance weirdness: “Going forward, the company will no longer be called WeWork but rather The We Company.” (“The switch is not a legal name change,” okay.) And: “Rather than just renting desks, the company aims to encompass all aspects of people’s lives, in both physical and digital worlds,” which is—and I have spent years w…

"The We Company": somebody didn't check what that sounds like when spoken in British English. Wait, what? A company that manufactures and or sells wee?!?? (Pee, to our American friends.) It's not as extreme as powergenitalia or expertsexchange but still something of a facepalm.

I have looked at "expertsexchange" for years and never saw the humor there. Thanks for pointing out!

Re: WeWork Gets a Visit from Financial Reality

#244

Post by tragic »

simias wrote: post #116
Traster wrote: post #4

>The Gulf investors backing the Vision Fund seem to have decided that WeWork is not a tech bet but simply an aggressive punt on real estate. This is the bogey man of a huge number of current 'tech startups' - What if it turns out Tesla really are a car company! Or if We Work are actually an office rental company! OR gasp Uber is a cab company! (1) We now have a glut of companies operating in traditional markets that…

>Not only this, but WeWork are going to learn about the cyclical nature of office rental revenue. I don't know anything about office rental so I'm curious, what makes it cyclical? You also seem to imply that we're high on the cycle (otherwise it wouldn't be a problem for WeWork in the future), why do you think that?

In brief: if the economy is booming, loads of companies want office space. If the economy tanks, loads of companies need to cancel their leases.

WeWork's lifetime has been on the upward slope out of the 2008 crisis. There is a question as to whether they can survive a downturn that at all hits them where it hurts.

Re: WeWork Gets a Visit from Financial Reality

#245

Post by barbecue_sauce »

JohnFen wrote: post #219
bartread wrote: post #206

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"The We Company": somebody didn't check what that sounds like when spoken in British English. Wait, what? A company that manufactures and or sells wee?!?? (Pee, to our American friends.) It's not as extreme as powergenitalia or expertsexchange but still something of a facepalm.

> Pee, to our American friends "Wee" also means "pee" in the US, as well as meaning "small".

Only in the context of being a Britishism that Americans occasionally use.

Re: WeWork Gets a Visit from Financial Reality

#246

Post by mmmmmmmmm »

gojomo wrote: post #176
kgwgk wrote: post #93

https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2019-01-08/wework... "In addition to the corporate finance weirdness: “Going forward, the company will no longer be called WeWork but rather The We Company.” (“The switch is not a legal name change,” okay.) And: “Rather than just renting desks, the company aims to encompass all aspects of people’s lives, in both physical and digital worlds,” which is—and I have spent years w…

We: Also, We won't let We eat meat. ( https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-07-13/wework-te... ) Me: But I like meat! We: Not if you want to be We, you don't. Are you sure you're We material?

Banning meat is highly offensive to the vast majority of Americans. These people just don't have good business sense; I'm surprised they're getting any investment at all.

Re: WeWork Gets a Visit from Financial Reality

#247

Post by ghaff »

linkmotif wrote: post #242
ghaff wrote: post #215

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In my experience, most of the spaces in libraries where I work are still pretty quiet. But there's a pretty strong cultural expectation that you don't talk on the phone or have more than short low volume exchanges with others--even aside from any specific rules. I agree music seems more than a bit much but a workplace is somewhere many people have conversations and have to make and take calls. I don't think I'd be ve…

> I don't think I'd be very inclined to spend money on a space where I had to try to find a room every time I was on a phone call or wanted to talk with someone. But what makes more sense: you stepping out or getting a private office, or making the open office non-viable for everyone else who has to focus? What a conceit that everyone else should adapt to you when you could simply adapt to everyone else.

It's a matter of expectations. For most people, an office isn't a library reading room. It's a place they work which often means talking. Someone's welcome to do a silent co-working space startup but I don't think they'll have much success.

Re: WeWork Gets a Visit from Financial Reality

#248

Post by 0db532a0 »

komali2 wrote: post #231
sriram_sun wrote: post #151

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Do not forget your local community college and city libraries!

Libraries are amazing and I'll sing their praises all day, but I have two complaints and they both revolve around pooping, which genuinely distresses me when considering where to work for the day. 1. At a library, when it's poop time, you gotta bag everything and bring it with you. Mildly annoying if you're using a mouse and notebooks etc. 2. If you're in a major metro library, no matter how hard they try to keep it…

Just put the poop in the bag. For your health!

Re: WeWork Gets a Visit from Financial Reality

#249

Post by chiefalchemist »

kgwgk wrote: post #93

https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2019-01-08/wework... "In addition to the corporate finance weirdness: “Going forward, the company will no longer be called WeWork but rather The We Company.” (“The switch is not a legal name change,” okay.) And: “Rather than just renting desks, the company aims to encompass all aspects of people’s lives, in both physical and digital worlds,” which is—and I have spent years w…

Makes me want to say:

"We have met the enemy and he is We."

Re: WeWork Gets a Visit from Financial Reality

#250

Post by Nasrudith »

komali2 wrote: post #221
bobthepanda wrote: post #179

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Ah, the Nintendo strategy. Why anyone at Nintendo thought that the Wii U was a good name for a completely new console is beyond me.

There's some systematic issue with naming that has existed at Nintendo since the 90s. Thinking: Nintendo entertainment system and super Nintendo entertainment system. Not necessarily bad, but also kinda "meh." Probably the best 90s explanation for what a "console" is, before everyone already knows what a console is. I bring it up because here begins Nintendo's critical error: failing to understand the customer in Ame…

Nintendo admits DS meant Developers System. If not for that it would sound like a stupid corporate incompetence rumor of "Whoops accidentally gave the placeholder brand recognition!". DS as Dual Screens made a good fit for laymen and does describe it well though.

The Switch in English also manages some naughty dual meanings while also being totally innocuous.

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