Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Facebook whistleblower says she wants to fix company, not harm it

wsj.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

51–60 of 627 posts

Re: Facebook whistleblower says she wants to fix company, not harm it

#51

Post by ineedasername »

chrismcb wrote: post #40
1vuio0pswjnm7 wrote: post #25

We have seen this story before. Person joins Facebook thinking they can "help". Then quits. Facebook is a public company whose purpose is serve advertisers. Online ads is the only way they can generate revenue. It is not some woo-woo about connecting the world, giving people a voice, or whatever. That's what the internet enables, not a single website controlled by someone else. Facebook tries to take credit for what…

Facebooks purpose isn't too serve advertisers. Most for profit companies propose is to make money. Facebooks primary way of doing that is asking ads. But they can't sell ads without plenty of eyeballs. Their FB needs to also pay attention to the users.

Users are a supplier, an input, a resource used to make the actual product. Facebook cares as much about that supplier as a company cares about any other supplier. They'll push for the lowest possible prices and push the supplier as hard as they can without breaking the relationship.

Facebook will do as little as possible to benefit users, min/maxing as close to the breaking point as they can without going over the line.

Re: Facebook whistleblower says she wants to fix company, not harm it

#53

Post by wintermutestwin »

the_fire_friar wrote: post #39
fredgrott wrote: post #36

Earlier quoted context omitted.

the solution is re thinking the business model, we already have a successful model its called Discord. No ads, just premium services for users.

I will be pleasantly surprised if Discord could reach a $1 trillion dollar market cap on that business model.

Oh yes, an IRC service and a blog really need that kind of $ to thrive. /s

Re: Facebook whistleblower says she wants to fix company, not harm it

#54

Post by runarberg »

thomasjudge wrote: post #17
aviraldg wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Please stop assuming everyone shares your values and beliefs. Personally, I think that while there is some mismanagement at Facebook (that can be fixed) most of the issues brought up can probably be expected from anyone in this problem space at this scale. Facebook has allowed me to discover a lot of opportunities and connect with some long lost friends, so I would say the cost is worth it.

I do agree with this part of the statement from the company: "If any research had identified an exact solution to these complex challenges, the tech industry, governments, and society would have solved them a long time ago." The social costs of social media are complex, and solutions are not obvious. Unfortunately it's likely that if the companies can't meaningfully address these problems on their own, congress will…

idk. If you found out that your product is harmful, I would expect you to stop producing it. This is the case for every other consumer products except maybe cigarettes and alcohol. For example, if they find out a car is not safe, they pull it of the market at the very least, sometimes they even issue a recall. Why do we not hold social media products to the same standards?

Re: Facebook whistleblower says she wants to fix company, not harm it

#55

Post by reginold »

xwdv wrote: post #38
1vuio0pswjnm7 wrote: post #25

We have seen this story before. Person joins Facebook thinking they can "help". Then quits. Facebook is a public company whose purpose is serve advertisers. Online ads is the only way they can generate revenue. It is not some woo-woo about connecting the world, giving people a voice, or whatever. That's what the internet enables, not a single website controlled by someone else. Facebook tries to take credit for what…

They really need to filter out these kind of people in the hiring phase. Edit: And there goes the last bit of my karma. Incredible that I once had close to a 1000 karma, and then one day slowly but surely it dwindled down to nothing.

The "Mother is a priest" filter

Re: Facebook whistleblower says she wants to fix company, not harm it

#57

Post by mehphp »

mdoms wrote: post #50
iammisc wrote: post #30

The biggest conspiracy theory and insurrection attempt was the fake Russian conspiracy and the conspiracy to affect the election outcome conveniently described by time magazine. I'm completely uninterested in a ragtag group of curly haired shirtless weirdos who stormed congress. I am concerned about large corporations, rich interest groups and large multi media conglomerates that have actual power to affect political…

It's a perfectly legitimate concern and it's a shame you're being downvoted. Anyone who is concerned about fake news and misinformation should be appalled by the media's treatment of the bogus Russian interference story.

Didn’t the Senate Intelligence Committee release a bipartisan report that concluded Russia did indeed attempt interfere with our election?

How was it a bogus story?

Re: Facebook whistleblower says she wants to fix company, not harm it

#58

Post by smt88 »

travoc wrote: post #10
anaganisk wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Show me one company that places its profits/shareholder below the best interest of people. We just restart the cycle starting new.

Even cigarette companies eventually stopped targeting children for harmful products. Social media will get there some day, with enough legislation.

Cigarette companies didn't change their morals. The laws changed.

In fact, they bought into the vape industry (at a time it could be marketed in a way that appeals to kids) after research showed that vaping was a gateway to cigarettes.

Re: Facebook whistleblower says she wants to fix company, not harm it

#59

Post by wesleywt »

iammisc wrote: post #30

The biggest conspiracy theory and insurrection attempt was the fake Russian conspiracy and the conspiracy to affect the election outcome conveniently described by time magazine. I'm completely uninterested in a ragtag group of curly haired shirtless weirdos who stormed congress. I am concerned about large corporations, rich interest groups and large multi media conglomerates that have actual power to affect political…

Do you not care about people attacking your biggest symbol of power. Within in reach of many of your representatives. Driven by years of hate and misinformation? You should care.

Russian interference is well documented by American intelligence agencies and private individuals.

Re: Facebook whistleblower says she wants to fix company, not harm it

#60

Post by temp8964 »

1vuio0pswjnm7 wrote: post #25

We have seen this story before. Person joins Facebook thinking they can "help". Then quits. Facebook is a public company whose purpose is serve advertisers. Online ads is the only way they can generate revenue. It is not some woo-woo about connecting the world, giving people a voice, or whatever. That's what the internet enables, not a single website controlled by someone else. Facebook tries to take credit for what…

If what you said is true, how is Zuckerberg "the root of the problem"?
Post reply on HN