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Reddit Welcomes Michael Seibel to Board of Directors

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Re: Reddit Welcomes Michael Seibel to Board of Directors

#81

Post by godzillabrennus »

henryfjordan wrote: post #75
whatshisface wrote: post #58

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Presumably the duties of a Silicon Valley board member would center on running a Silicon Valley company, which a Silicon Valley CEO would be uniquely qualified to do.

This is exactly my point. They brought someone in who presumably is going to see Monthly Active Users as the metric to live or die by when what the world needs from Reddit/Twitter/FB is a more social-good focus. It might be worth it to shed a few users and lose a few ad dollars to make positive change on their platforms but with a Silicon Valley CEO on the board that is unlikely to happen.

Let me know when you figure out how to build a social network that can profit from social good.

These days, profit and social good are rarely aligned.

Re: Reddit Welcomes Michael Seibel to Board of Directors

#82

Post by xxpor »

barry-cotter wrote: post #69
Digory wrote: post #55

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Reddit publicly committed to selecting a director based on race.[0] Hiring and firing in the US based on race is typically unlawful, even if the candidate is qualified. You can’t use race as a qualification. It’s a challenge to the laws, and I assume Reddit(or Conde Nast) wants to raise it. https://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&...

The fact that you can write “We are an equal opportunity affirmative action employer.” and not get sued gives the lie to this. The plain reading of the law and how it is interpreted and enforced are at odds.

The problem is you're missing an important aspect: members of the board of directors aren't employees.

Re: Reddit Welcomes Michael Seibel to Board of Directors

#83

Post by rayiner »

henryfjordan wrote: post #53

Why stick to the insular Silicon Valley club and not get someone who's devoted their life to civil rights? There are a ton of community activists who could actually bring a fresh perspective. EDIT: I do not mean to question his particular qualifications or his commitment to change, only to comment on the fact that it could have been someone from a different walk of life. Tech leadership in Silicon Valley does not app…

Presumably for the same reason you wouldn’t get a civil rights activist to replace the captain in a Navy boat. We need people fighting for civil rights, but we also need to create room for people from diverse backgrounds to do all of the rest of the work that needs doing.

Re: Reddit Welcomes Michael Seibel to Board of Directors

#84

Post by [deleted] »

godzillabrennus wrote: post #81
henryfjordan wrote: post #75

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is exactly my point. They brought someone in who presumably is going to see Monthly Active Users as the metric to live or die by when what the world needs from Reddit/Twitter/FB is a more social-good focus. It might be worth it to shed a few users and lose a few ad dollars to make positive change on their platforms but with a Silicon Valley CEO on the board that is unlikely to happen.

Let me know when you figure out how to build a social network that can profit from social good. These days, profit and social good are rarely aligned.

[deleted]

Re: Reddit Welcomes Michael Seibel to Board of Directors

#85

Post by caymanjim »

mindfulplay wrote: post #17

A dumb but serious question: what powers does a board of directors have? In terms of day to day operations, engineering, product, marketing and so on?

Boards don't actively do anything. They're a collection of notables whose presence provides clout to companies so they can attract investors, and whose inside connections to government and other power structures allows companies to curry favor and get special treatment. It's all politics and bullshit.

Re: Reddit Welcomes Michael Seibel to Board of Directors

#86

Post by missosoup »

henryfjordan wrote: post #75
whatshisface wrote: post #58

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Presumably the duties of a Silicon Valley board member would center on running a Silicon Valley company, which a Silicon Valley CEO would be uniquely qualified to do.

This is exactly my point. They brought someone in who presumably is going to see Monthly Active Users as the metric to live or die by when what the world needs from Reddit/Twitter/FB is a more social-good focus. It might be worth it to shed a few users and lose a few ad dollars to make positive change on their platforms but with a Silicon Valley CEO on the board that is unlikely to happen.

What exactly is 'social good', in your mind?

Re: Reddit Welcomes Michael Seibel to Board of Directors

#87

Post by jstgord »

Dear Reddit, for the love of Mike .. PLEASE treat reddit as a web-first platform.

You are killing the golden goose by trying to force people toward the app - by gradually removing features and usability from the mobile web site and constantly reminding people they "should" use the app.

I don't want reddit as an 'app', I want reddit to be readable/scrollable on mobile and web without any form of coercion.

Re: Reddit Welcomes Michael Seibel to Board of Directors

#88

Post by ori_b »

jstgord wrote: post #87

Dear Reddit, for the love of Mike .. PLEASE treat reddit as a web-first platform. You are killing the golden goose by trying to force people toward the app - by gradually removing features and usability from the mobile web site and constantly reminding people they "should" use the app. I don't want reddit as an 'app', I want reddit to be readable/scrollable on mobile and web without any form of coercion.

That goose already got killed with the new UI. It's only usable via old.reddit.com now.

Re: Reddit Welcomes Michael Seibel to Board of Directors

#89

Post by cmdshiftf4 »

digitaltrees wrote: post #26
nisuni wrote: post #13

I am sorry for him. I know as a fact that he’s brilliant and fully deserves the position, but given the circumstances (Ohanian resigning and calling for someone black to replace him) he will always have to live with people having the reasonable doubt that he didn’t arrive there for merit alone.

Anyone that remotely thinks that is an idiot. Michael is a fucking force of nature and one of the most impressive people you will ever meet. Seriously, if that thought ever comes up in your presence attack it head on because the person expressing it needs a big fucking gut check. Honestly, even you saying this is BS.

>Honestly, even you saying this is BS.

"I want my replacement to be a black person" -> black person is hired -> "were they hired because of their race?"

You: How dare you even imply they were hired based on their race!

If anyone is bullshitting anyone here, it's you bullshitting yourself. The sheer mental gymnastics you're working through here to be outraged at the above must take a terrible toll.

This is to say nothing of the candidate. I'm no judge of Board of Director candidates, and largely feel it's entirely based on connections and not what you the person is capable of, but his resume and presence in the industry has obviously been stellar. I wish him well in dealing with the utter cesspit that is 2020 Reddit.com.

Re: Reddit Welcomes Michael Seibel to Board of Directors

#90

Post by core-questions »

missosoup wrote: post #86
henryfjordan wrote: post #75

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is exactly my point. They brought someone in who presumably is going to see Monthly Active Users as the metric to live or die by when what the world needs from Reddit/Twitter/FB is a more social-good focus. It might be worth it to shed a few users and lose a few ad dollars to make positive change on their platforms but with a Silicon Valley CEO on the board that is unlikely to happen.

What exactly is 'social good', in your mind?

Social good is presently defined as "whatever the mob says it is at the moment". If that mob wants to hate on something, it must be virtuous to hate it. Just go look at the front page and see what I mean.
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