Email from Jeff Bezos to employees • Hacker News Board

Re: Email from Jeff Bezos to employees

#231

Post by PaulDavisThe1st » Tue, Feb 02, 2021, 10:08 PM UTC

> This journey began some 27 years ago. Amazon was only an idea, and it had no name.

It had a name, and that name was "Cadabra".

It didn't become Amazon until Jeff watched a documentary about the Amazon River. His lawyer had already turned up his nose at "Cadabra", and Jeff was looking for something else.

It's also worth noting that the idea didn't grow over time - Jeff always intended to build something like "Sears for the 21st century". The bookstore was just the way in, not the long term plan.

ps. amazon employee #2

Re: Email from Jeff Bezos to employees

#232

Post by kevan » Tue, Feb 02, 2021, 10:10 PM UTC

somethoughts wrote: post #114

It will be interesting to watch how Andy Jassy as head of AWS (dealing with building out data centers, SW partnerships, API uptime, negotiating with Intel, designing Graviton CPUs, etc.) will be able to transition to such things as Prime Video content licensing discussions and goal setting for Whole Foods and the nuances of warehouse distribution labor disputes. As a founder of Amazon - having built Amazon from nothi…

If I remember right from The Everything Store Amazon hasn't had a COO title since a rough experience with Galli in 99-00.

Re: Email from Jeff Bezos to employees

#233

Post by Tepix » Tue, Feb 02, 2021, 10:10 PM UTC

GizmoSwan wrote: post #137

He has bought a new 0.5 billion dollar boat this year. https://themarketherald.com.au/magazine/the-pursuit-of-comfo... Bill gates is still renting. What do you think he was going to do with all that cash. After few years he will review his life after vacationing becomes dull for the workhorse.

Too bad it's not a sailing yacht.

He shares the vision of Gerard O'Neill. Making it reality will require large amounts of money.

Re: Email from Jeff Bezos to employees

#234

Post by GizmoSwan » Tue, Feb 02, 2021, 10:10 PM UTC

ksec wrote: post #66

From https://www.aboutamazon.com/news/company-news/email-from-jef... >Fellow Amazonians: >I’m excited to announce that this Q3 I’ll transition to Executive Chair of the Amazon Board and Andy Jassy will become CEO. In the Exec Chair role, I intend to focus my energies and attention on new products and early initiatives. Andy is well known inside the company and has been at Amazon almost as long as I have. He will be a…

US printing machines has funded the share printing machine that has allowed them to keep buying other companies.

Re: Email from Jeff Bezos to employees

#235

Post by ngcazz » Tue, Feb 02, 2021, 10:10 PM UTC

matsemann wrote: post #173

d_silin wrote: post #48

1.3 million employees, wow!

> Today, we employ 1.3 million talented, dedicated people All those creating the value. Many of them having poor working conditions and living off social welfare programs. One guy at the top skimming everything. Is he really worth all those billions? Could he survive on a little less and share with those doing the work? Or is his contribution really more than all those million combined..?

The downvotes must mean that, as always, welfare is missing the point.

Re: Email from Jeff Bezos to employees

#236

Post by dwaltrip » Tue, Feb 02, 2021, 10:10 PM UTC

dantheman wrote: post #195

WitCanStain wrote: post #165

Earlier quoted context omitted.

A for-profit corporation seems like a terrible candidate for such a position.

Why it actually provides things people want and is based on voluntary interaction.

It doesn't have deep, grounding values.

Re: Email from Jeff Bezos to employees

#237

Post by tal8d » Tue, Feb 02, 2021, 10:10 PM UTC

HideousKojima wrote: post #179

arcticbull wrote: post #148

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What do you mean by "get this big"? Governments aren't defined by a market cap, but rather by the services they provide to their citizens. Consider that a private company's only goal is to enrich its shareholders, and they have no responsibility to the people or places around them. They are only accountable to their shareholders and the government. A governments responsibility is solely to its citizens who also contr…

Governments are defined by the populace and land they have sovereign authority over, not the services they provide. That's not terribly different from a corporation being defined by its assets and employees

Warmer... but not quite. Governments are defined by a monopoly on force. Whoever distinguishes "murder" from "homicide" is the government, and that government's territory stretches as far as those definitions are in effect.

Re: Email from Jeff Bezos to employees

#238

Post by PaulDavisThe1st » Tue, Feb 02, 2021, 10:10 PM UTC

kaszanka wrote: post #74

Jonnax wrote: post #13

" Amazon is also announcing today that Jeff Bezos will transition to the role of Executive Chair in the third quarter of 2021 and Andy Jassy will become Chief Executive Officer at that time. “Amazon is what it is because of invention. We do crazy things together and then make them normal. We pioneered customer reviews, 1-Click, personalized recommendations, Prime’s insanely-fast shipping, Just Walk Out shopping, the…

Amazon did not invent customer reviews.

Could you point me to another merchant who offered customer-readable customer reviews before Amazon? I'm not saying there isn't one, just that when we were implementing them, I was unaware of any precedents ...

Re: Email from Jeff Bezos to employees

#239

Post by ufmace » Tue, Feb 02, 2021, 10:11 PM UTC

SllX wrote: post #208

munificent wrote: post #106

Earlier quoted context omitted.

For comparison, using national total wealth, that makes Amazon worth more than Saudia Arabia, Denmark, Portugal, or New Zealand. It's $280.5 billion in revenue in 2019 put it above the GDP of Romania, Peru, Ukraine, etc. Corporations should never be allowed to get this large.

> Corporations should never be allowed to get this large. Make your case instead of dropping your groupthink everywhere. Why? And: What is the maximum size a corporation should be allowed to grow? Who gives that permission now?

Would also want to know, once you decide the maximum size of a corporation, exactly what happens to it once it exceeds that size, and who determines that it has infact exceeded it, and carries out whatever the plan is for what happens at that time.

Re: Email from Jeff Bezos to employees

#240

Post by ianai » Tue, Feb 02, 2021, 10:11 PM UTC

orev wrote: post #147

jimbob45 wrote: post #113

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What is it you perceive that happened to MS? They appear to be doing well and are the top competitor to Amazon's AWS.

MS completely missed on mobile phones and tablets, despite trying so many times at it. The “Windows everywhere” approach prevented them from doing what really had to be done (make something new for these new devices). That was all under the Ballmer era. It’s only now that they have a new CEO who is happy to pursue other approaches that they have been able to start going in a better direction again.

Exactly. Bill stepped down in 2008. Balmer was CEO until 2014. Oddly that’s when their products started to turn around significantly.

Cook has made a lot of original Mac power users completely pissed. He’s gutted entire software products that people relied upon using. He’s probably why we had the half decade of MBPs developers didn’t like. Etc. His best accomplishment has been the services stuff and maybe the M1.