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Facebook Loses Top Executives, Including Chris Cox

nytimes.com

341–350 of 414 posts

Re: Facebook Loses Top Executives, Including Chris Cox

#341

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It's easy to believe the bullshit when that money machine is funding your six figure salary, free meals, unlimited vacation, recreational and health services, and 401K and Roth. That's why there are engineers at Google right now working on a censorship machine at the directive of the Chinese government. I find it highly doubtful that they would still believe the project is a net good on the world and not motivated by…

I would be careful not to assume that your morality is the only morality. The world is a big place and there are diverse ideas and beliefs all around.

That's just nihilism, if there are "other moralities" that are just as valid and that I can freely choose, there might as well be none.

Re: Facebook Loses Top Executives, Including Chris Cox

#343

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Wasn't it the culture he built which led to the many iterations of permissions which were intentionally confusing in order to get you to share everything more publicly than you thought you were? See: http://www.nbcnews.com/id/34825225/ns/technology_and_science...

Yes, I think so too. But it sounds like he's renounced that. And of course, it could be bullshit to deflect criticism. Even so, I've done lots of work with est / Landmark Education, and some with Lifespring, Tony Robbins and NLP. So I'm familiar with concepts of building relationships with family and friends, and broader social networking and community building. And a major aspect of that it honesty and open sharing,…

Just as an FYI, Facebook have allowed signups through Tor for about 4-5 years now.

Re: Facebook Loses Top Executives, Including Chris Cox

#344
post #143

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"Zuckerberg's vision of Facebook as a good thing for the world was a lie" - That is such a broad generalization. In the developing world where I live Facebook gives me the opportunity to maintain contact with my family who live on the other side of the world, as I walk the streets of São Paulo, for free. There are hundreds of millions of others like me who keep in contact with their family because of Facebook (and th…

Actually this was possible already, and most of Facebook's primary features existed before Facebook. Facebook can really be described as the time wasting, addiction-inducing, feature-sets on top of standard social communication features, driven by their main goal of delivering and monetizing ads. Helping you communicate with your friends and family? That's just an ad vector. Recently my friend group switched over to…

In reality it's hard to get all of your friends and family to switch services, because all of their circles also have to change and most of them don't really care about the negatives of FB. In the end you end up with 10 different messengers. The big convenience about FB is that everyone is on it and you don't need their mobile phone number.

Re: Facebook Loses Top Executives, Including Chris Cox

#345
post #143

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"Zuckerberg's vision of Facebook as a good thing for the world was a lie" - That is such a broad generalization. In the developing world where I live Facebook gives me the opportunity to maintain contact with my family who live on the other side of the world, as I walk the streets of São Paulo, for free. There are hundreds of millions of others like me who keep in contact with their family because of Facebook (and th…

> The alternative (cel phone calls and sms) is literally an inch away on our smartphone, but it is such bad quality and so expensive its unusable. For all of us, Facebook is definitely a good thing. I'm sorry but I don't buy this at all. There are so many alternatives to facebook that are also free (i.e. skype or email) beyond "cel phone calls and sms". You've simply become accustomed to the __convenience__ of facebo…

Whilst I agree with your general thought, I don't think you realise that in certain regions Facebook subsidises it's data usage so it is 100% free whereas Skype and email cost data. I hope that helps you understand where the parent is coming from. Though I obviously know that Facebook is doing this for market share and not to be "good" to people.

Re: Facebook Loses Top Executives, Including Chris Cox

#346
Has no one heard of planned obsolescence? Facebook has outserved its usefulness; it is little better than a rudderless ship under the current leadership and business model. The bell has tolled; and the Feds are at the gates. Cease operations and move on. There's a plot available in the social media graveyard next to MySpace with Facebook's name on it.

Re: Facebook Loses Top Executives, Including Chris Cox

#347
post #283

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It's not clear at all, you just picked a random example of grandma when the reality is billions of people have and connected to each other and there are many examples of people avoiding censorship, exposing crimes, finding loved ones, getting help, and spreading news that otherwise wouldn't have happened. The real issue is human nature. Social media is just a new medium that facilitates instant (and optionally public…

> The real issue is human nature. So is theft, murder, and the intentional infliction of pain for amusement. You can't dodge responsibility that way. You're also ignoring several aspects that makes FB different in kind than a lot of what came before it. As but one example, they are the world's largest blackmail machine. Maybe you trust Zuckerberg & pals now, what happens when they're gone? When FB goes in to decline?…

Those actions are already crimes. You can use a knife to cut vegetables or stab someone but it's a stretch to say we shouldn't have invented knives because someone did something bad with it.

Likewise social media is not just Facebook but a tool for communicating, and any use for good or evil is up to the individual. Facebook is also just one company and has at least a dozen major competitors. The companies will come and go but the tech is here to stay.

Re: Facebook Loses Top Executives, Including Chris Cox

#348

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I hope you are aware that the positive effect you describe also has a negative side. Those people who refuse to join Facebook (for good reasons as we were taught) are getting isolated. So who can tell what the net result is?

This is such a stupid argument. If 5 people do something that the 6th person doesn't want to ..doesn't mean the onus is on the 5 to stop doing it.

Surely that depends what the thing is?

Re: Facebook Loses Top Executives, Including Chris Cox

#349
post #143

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…

"Zuckerberg's vision of Facebook as a good thing for the world was a lie" - That is such a broad generalization. In the developing world where I live Facebook gives me the opportunity to maintain contact with my family who live on the other side of the world, as I walk the streets of São Paulo, for free. There are hundreds of millions of others like me who keep in contact with their family because of Facebook (and th…

For free? Oh, you're paying, a lot. Just not with money.

Re: Facebook Loses Top Executives, Including Chris Cox

#350

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not exactly. Tobacco has no benefits to society except possibly a dopamine hit for the user. Facebook has a lot of positives to go along with its negatives. For me, it's the only way I stay in touch with a lot of my friends from high school. And I know that it's only because of Facebook, because Facebook didn't exist for the first 10 years after I graduated, and most of my friends didn't get on it until about 15 year…

> Facebook has a lot of positives to go along with its negatives. For me, it's the only way I stay in touch with a lot of my friends from high school. Ask a reluctant smoker why they won't quit, beyond the addiction it's 1. Social. People talk during smoke breaks. They form bonds over smoke breaks. A 5 minute smoke break per hour means you spend 40 minutes around a friend, co worker, in relative private. It's even a…

Of all the people who smoke never once have I heard the social argument as you describe it. I'm not trying to comment on the subject of the analogy, but just on the fact that I trying to apply the analogy to this space is a bit of a stretch.

I've heard the argument of "I don't care what it does to me", or "I'm gonna die anyway, what gives if I shed a few years at the end", but never "I won't be able to connect to other people if I quit smoking" (in fact, I know people who quit smoking due to social reasons).

I know people who think they look cool when they smoke, or who get thoughtful when they smoke, but I've never heard of tobacco as a "social" activity like drinking alcohol is, for example.

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