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Facebook Loses Top Executives, Including Chris Cox

nytimes.com

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Re: Facebook Loses Top Executives, Including Chris Cox

#81

Post by Toine »

stickfigure wrote: post #55
Toine wrote: post #22

> But after 2016, we both realized we had too much important work to do to improve our products for society "Primum non nocere." I cannot help but laugh at this statement. I think Facebook has done, and is still doing, way more harm than good for society. Like many other addiction-based services, it generated massive revenues for very few people, at the expense of society.

My friends and I derive significant value from keeping in touch via Facebook. I find your attitude condescending and insulting.

You just proved my point.

Re: Facebook Loses Top Executives, Including Chris Cox

#82

Post by refurb »

debt wrote: post #74
mindgam3 wrote: post #61

I've known Chris Cox since freshman year of college and he was an informal advisor to my first startup. The NYT article referenced in hashberry's earlier comment includes a key quote: “For over a decade, I’ve been sharing the same message that Mark and I have always believed: Social media’s history is not yet written, and its effects are not neutral,” Mr. Cox said in a note to employees on Thursday. “As its builders…

"hemorrhaging its best people" I don't consider people that oversaw one of the biggest cases of user data misuse in history which, by the way, could've been easily prevented, as the "best people". Sounds like Facebook is making the changes necessary to rectify the mess they oversaw.

I read "best" as "most talented", not "most moral".

Re: Facebook Loses Top Executives, Including Chris Cox

#84

Post by ilovecaching »

mindgam3 wrote: post #61

I've known Chris Cox since freshman year of college and he was an informal advisor to my first startup. The NYT article referenced in hashberry's earlier comment includes a key quote: “For over a decade, I’ve been sharing the same message that Mark and I have always believed: Social media’s history is not yet written, and its effects are not neutral,” Mr. Cox said in a note to employees on Thursday. “As its builders…

Maybe you are reading between the lines too much. Maybe he really just wants to do something else or spend more time with his family, and if he felt like Facebook was bending things the wrong way he'd say so. His point is more that progress in the right direction requires effort, and that instead of complaining we should take up our banner and work to make the future what we want it to be.

Re: Facebook Loses Top Executives, Including Chris Cox

#85

Post by james_s_tayler »

throwaway23445 wrote: post #19

Chris was one of the rare people who understood both the technical side and business side of a product/business. There were so many times where an engineer would start blabbling big terms to avoid doing something or an PM spouts MBA Bullshit and Chris just shuts it down. What outsiders who focused on the PR never knew is that there was a balance of power in FB that kept things going forward. Now, with these changes a…

Sheryl-driven development?

Re: Facebook Loses Top Executives, Including Chris Cox

#86

Post by debt »

refurb wrote: post #82
debt wrote: post #74

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"hemorrhaging its best people" I don't consider people that oversaw one of the biggest cases of user data misuse in history which, by the way, could've been easily prevented, as the "best people". Sounds like Facebook is making the changes necessary to rectify the mess they oversaw.

I read "best" as "most talented", not "most moral".

Huh? I don't know what that means. Talented in fucking up the public perception of Facebook? Yeah they were good at that for sure.

Re: Facebook Loses Top Executives, Including Chris Cox

#87

Post by untog »

o10449366 wrote: post #78
hashberry wrote: post #16

Interesting spin from the NYTimes ("Facebook Loses Top Executives, Including Chris Cox"[0]): "The departures follow two years of scandals for Facebook around data privacy and disinformation. The issues have buffeted the Silicon Valley company, causing internal turmoil and a redirection in strategy." [0] https://www.nytimes.com/2019/03/14/technology/facebook-chris...

Both WAPO and NYT have a clear editorial and political agenda against Facebook. To add two datapoints to your observation above: "Facebook’s top executive in charge of all products, Chris Cox, the longtime confidant of chief executive Mark Zuckerberg, is leaving the company, the highest-level departure at the social media giant amid nearly two years of sustained crises." (WAPO) [1] "Two Facebook Inc. senior executive…

> Over the past two years they've published ~14,000 articles each on FB

That would mean publishing around 19 articles a day. So, uh, [citation needed].

I'd say that both WaPo and NYT have a clear editorial and political agenda of questioning those with/in power. Silicon Valley companies like Facebook and Google (who have had their own fair share of bad coverage) are enormously powerful, rich companies that own a huge amount of data about all of us. It's only right that they are held to account when they do things with that data that users don't want. It's something Wall Street banks and oil companies have had to bear for a long time.

Re: Facebook Loses Top Executives, Including Chris Cox

#88

Post by malvosenior »

arunv wrote: post #69
tyre wrote: post #53

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Facebook has the strongest culture in the valley For a company so regularly beset by scandal, this feels like a bold assertion. Culture of what?

Any other company in their shoes would have had a mass exodus. Chris was a big part of making employees feel like they shared a piece of the dream. Whatever your thoughts about Facebook, the fact that some of the smartest people have worked, and continue to work at a company "beset by scandal" should give you pause.

All Silicon Valley companies are like this. Do you really think Chris Cox was better at feeding people kool-aid than Steve Jobs?

Re: Facebook Loses Top Executives, Including Chris Cox

#89

Post by anyfoo »

stickfigure wrote: post #55
Toine wrote: post #22

> But after 2016, we both realized we had too much important work to do to improve our products for society "Primum non nocere." I cannot help but laugh at this statement. I think Facebook has done, and is still doing, way more harm than good for society. Like many other addiction-based services, it generated massive revenues for very few people, at the expense of society.

My friends and I derive significant value from keeping in touch via Facebook. I find your attitude condescending and insulting.

How is that contradictory to what Toine said?

Re: Facebook Loses Top Executives, Including Chris Cox

#90

Post by DataJunkie »

evgen wrote: post #45
jameslk wrote: post #40

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm not familiar with this. Kind of a big assertion to make. What was his first day speech?

At FB you have your first-day orientation and as a part of this Cox came in and gave a speech. I have no idea if it is the same speech to every week's 'class' or an evolving variation on the same themes, but it was a pretty good speech and is probably one reason why people are so eager to drink the kool-aid for the first few years.

I remember the speech. It had no effect on how much I looked forward to waking up in the morning to go work there.
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