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

wsj.com

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

#61

Post by wintermutestwin »

aviraldg wrote: post #9
echelon wrote: post #3

If you want to save society, the mental health of our children, and preserve a sane and functional democracy, etc, etc. Stop working for Facebook. Quit working for that leadership. Let their talent erode and their technical debt lead to atrophy. Don't expend your finite life living and slaving for this empire of evil. The next best step is to pledge to not hire ex-Facebookers.

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.

>allowed me to discover a lot of opportunities and connect with some long lost friends, so I would say the cost is worth it.

This value that they are providing should not necessitate the wholesale pillaging of user data. My data is worth way more to me than a simple weblog service. These thieves are trading trinkets for land and the natives just don't realize how valuable their land actually is. (hint - it is worth way more than FB charges their advertisers)

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

#62

Post by smt88 »

changoplatanero wrote: post #44
kevin_thibedeau wrote: post #27

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Patagonia and Clif Bar sacrifice profits for principles.

Or is that just part of their marketing?

As a consumer, I don't care if it's part of their marketing or not. I just care that they do it.

I have a friend who works at Patagonia, and it sounds like the employees at least are "true believers" in the causes they promote.

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

#63

Post by turminal »

fredgrott wrote: post #36
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…

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

Selling user data to third parties is no better than showering them with ads.

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

#64

Post by a4isms »

changoplatanero wrote: post #44
kevin_thibedeau wrote: post #27

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Patagonia and Clif Bar sacrifice profits for principles.

Or is that just part of their marketing?

Patagonia was founded by Yvon Chouinard, one of the original Yosemite “Masters of Stone.” Nobody is above reproach, but he is generally regarded as a principled environmentalist.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yvon_Chouinard

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

#65

Post by runarberg »

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…

I thought that foreign manipulation of the 2016 election was well in fact documented. If you don’t believe that the Russian government interfered with the election, you must at least believe that a private company located in the UK did so. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Facebook%E2%80%93Cambridge_Ana...

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

#67

Post by koolba »

vln wrote: post #48
lukestevens wrote: post #42

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It’s a strange pattern [0]: [Sophie Zhang] joined Facebook in 2018 after the financial strain of living on part-time contract work in the Bay Area had worn her down. When she received Facebook’s offer, she was upfront with her recruiter: she didn’t think the company was making the world better, but she would join to help fix it. “They told me, ‘You’d be surprised how many people at Facebook say that,’” she remembers.…

I said the same thing. It's how I rationalized selling out for a company that does harm to the world.

We’re all whores. It’s just a question of whether you’re selling your body or your soul.

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

#68

Post by torgian »

ClumsyPilot wrote: post #45
TedDoesntTalk wrote: post #41

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Then any communications medium is a middleman — postal mail, telephone, even telegraph. Maybe the only exception is speaking face-to-face. There’s no middle-man there.

Sound waves are the middleman, only direct telepathy will do.

But here, air is the middle man, so maybe the solution is skin to skin contact.

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

#69

Post by nabaraz »

wintermutestwin wrote: post #53
the_fire_friar wrote: post #39

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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

I think OP is making the case that all ultra-successful companies eventually gives up on ethics and their founding principles.

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

#70

Post by nabaraz »

anaganisk wrote: post #7
nixpulvis wrote: post #4

Naw, just burn it down and start anew, that's fine too. It's really not all that special, and people should become comfortable with rebuilding things at the moment. Don't burn everything, just some things.

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

Costco is my go to example. It seems to treat its employees really well.
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