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I just wonder what happens to everyone's DNA data as the company faces financial trouble and/or sells itself. That's in addition to any concerns about possible security breaches that might occur.
Sold to the highest bidder...
> Wojcicki has theories, but she doesn’t have clear proof for why consumers are shying away from getting tests Because the ones that want them have gotten them and there's no reason to ever buy the product again once you've done it once. I mean, smartphones are great, but the market for them would have hit a wall pretty quickly if no one ever had a reason to replace them after buying their first.
I kinda wanted to get one but the privacy concerns and having my data sold/added to a government database scares me.
Even if you think 23&Me is operating ethically today or that you trust the laws protecting your privacy once your genetic data is leaked there's nothing you can do about it.
Everyone paying attention the pattern of layoffs? Ebay, Mozilla, DigitalOcean, 23andMe, Intel... Pay down your credit card debt and make sure you have at least 6 months of expenses in the bank, if you're young and haven't been through this before.
None of these are likely the result of systemic factors. If anything, there being layoffs at some firms without it impacting general employment levels is a sign of a healthy and balanced economy.
Predicting recessions is a losers game though. In that the large majority of predictions are wrong but eventually a recession happens. Most people's predictions are based on bad analyses.
I was going to buy it for 2 different people for christmas but both declined over privacy concerns as they read in the news they are being used in sweeping investigations. Given the number of wrongful accusations that litter history and the general trend away from any regard for privacy among security agencies this is a very legitimate concern, even for regular folks like my parents.
> Wojcicki has theories, but she doesn’t have clear proof for why consumers are shying away from getting tests Because the ones that want them have gotten them and there's no reason to ever buy the product again once you've done it once. I mean, smartphones are great, but the market for them would have hit a wall pretty quickly if no one ever had a reason to replace them after buying their first.
And then there's the fact that if your parents did it, why would you do it? My parents did it so now I have exactly zero reason to do it myself. Also all the negative publicity behind data being sold, which should surprise nobody.
I can't believe they've received three quarters of a billion dollars of investment.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
This breaks my heart to hear. I interviewed there in 2011 as an infra guy, and not only was the infra team personable (the winning question was rapidly identifying the symptoms of a duplex mismatch on a switch ethernet port), the VP of Engineering was awesome as well. He even went so far as to say, "As a tech person, you belong out here in the Bay, even if it's not with us". I turned down the offer, but it was one of…
"As a tech person, you belong out here in the Bay, even if it's not with us" - What the fuck does that mean? People working in tech not in the bay aren't second tier.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
or they miss-estimated their market size and growth. I don't think most people care about DNA testing.
or it's already covered by healthcare when a doctor suspects it's necessary (for genetic predispositions).
For example, carrier screening, to see if you and your partner both carry recessive variants that may result in a rare genetic disease in some of your children: impossible with 23andMe's setup, but useful to a huge number of couples, and already common practice for some ethnic groups.
I can't believe they've received three quarters of a billion dollars of investment.
There ya go.
23andMe was a vanity project for Sergey's wife (now ex-wife.)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anne_Wojcicki
Same story for Marissa Mayer.