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OMGPOP CEO tweets: "Shay Pierce was the weakest employee on the team"

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Re: OMGPOP CEO tweets: "Shay Pierce was the weakest employee on the team"

#21

Post by geuis »

Well, I had ignored the whole Draw Something phenomenon until a few days ago. I downloaded the game, and for the last 3-4 days have been finding myself enjoying it quite a bit and anxiously refreshing the app to see if my game partners had updated their drawings.

Needless to say, having just read this I deleted the app a couple minutes ago. They can keep my dollar, for all the good it will do them.

Remember that if you choose to uninstall the app, also go into Facebook and remove the app from their as well.

Re: OMGPOP CEO tweets: "Shay Pierce was the weakest employee on the team"

#23

Post by sehugg »

lhnz wrote: post #8

This is probably the most immature and mean thing I've seen for months. But can't we just ignore it?

I believe that accepting a portion of a $200 million payout from public investors subjects you to a certain amount of criticism.

Re: OMGPOP CEO tweets: "Shay Pierce was the weakest employee on the team"

#24

Post by mattkirman »

tzs wrote: post #9

The subject misquotes the tweet. It did not say "Shay Pierce". It just said it was the one employee who turned down going to Zynga. However, there was a second tweet that did explicitly mention Pierce. Here's a screenshot showing both: http://i.imgur.com/Dob8n.jpg The text of the other tweet is "What's so interesting about success is the number of failures who try to ride on your back. Shay Pierce is just one of many…

Shay Pierce was the only employee not to go to Zynga [1]. Even though the tweet doesn't explicitly mention Shay Pierce I'd say that the subject is still fairly accurate.

[1] http://www.gamasutra.com/view/news/167244/Turning_down_Zynga...

Re: OMGPOP CEO tweets: "Shay Pierce was the weakest employee on the team"

#27

Post by ChrisNorstrom »

zrgiu_ wrote: post #15

Like Notch said... "you are an insane idiot!". What did the CEO of OMGPOP had to gain from making those remarks ? He surely didn't expect the world to take his side.. Even if Shay Pierce really was "the weakest link of the team", you just don't say that. You just got bought for $200 million, now it's the time to show that you deserved to be the CEO of that company, by being diplomatic, respecting those around you (or…

True. It is indeed very unprofessional. But how come people like him are held up to such high standards? When you're not anyone important you can be brutally honest and say what you want like everyone else does. But as soon as you're in the public eye you're put on this pedestal. This is what scares the hell out of me. I'm a very uncensored person who says what he means and means what he says (and am an asshole sometimes). So the thought that one day IF I'm successful in getting my business off the ground a life of censorship awaits me. :(

Then I see celebrities like Snoop Dog (who owned a porn company), Sarah Silverman (who has some of the most offensive jokes imaginable), lil john (self explanatory), Colin Farrel, Charlie Sheen, Lindsey Lohan, and other well known figures who say and do anything they want yet still have successful careers, keep starring in movies, and even get in on really good business deals and endorsements. Lets not forget the Lady Gaga / Polaroid event where during the unveiling she said "smile you're fucking famous" and other unprofessional phrases.

It's like there's absolutely NO consequence for them. I guess because it's their "image" and it's "expected". So I guess the moral of the story is, become an offensive comedian /or/ celebrity known for being crazy and work your way up towards serious entrepreneur. That way you can talk shit and get away with it. OR start out as the well spoken guy, and just 1 accidental F-bomb later, show up on the news as the bad guy and get thrown out by your company board.

EDIT: ALSO, wtf did Notch gain by saying "You're an insane idiot"?! What did he gain from his remark?

Re: OMGPOP CEO tweets: "Shay Pierce was the weakest employee on the team"

#28

Post by j_baker »

Porter forgot the number 1 rule of politics: If your opponent is making a mistake, don't stop him. I understand what Pierce is saying (and can't help sympathizing), but I can't help thinking that writing that editorial was poor taste on Pierce's part, and probably would have reflected poorly on him had Porter kept his mouth shut and not turned him into a martyr.

I mean, if you disagree with a potential employer's" values", it's career suicide to write a widely distributed Op-Ed about it unless that value is something like "Don't club baby seals" and you have hard proof that said employer is actively clubbing baby seals. Calling them evil over what is essentially a contract dispute (even if it's a perfectly valid contract dispute) would make me think twice before negotiating a contract with him. If he's writing an Op-Ed about them, what's to prevent him from writing an Op-Ed about me if he doesn't like my terms?

Re: OMGPOP CEO tweets: "Shay Pierce was the weakest employee on the team"

#29

Post by brooknam »

v21 wrote: post #11

Sounds like he's well shot of them. And this seems bizarre behaviour on OMGPOP's part - he was entirely complimentary to OMGPOP and he publicly disclaimed credit for Draw Something. Even if you did hate him and the press he stirred up, the best way to make it go away is to completely ignore it. Why on Earth would you make this the story?

It was a poor decision, but I can see being furious/frustrated that the story of your company's success had mutated into one on how your new parent owner was evil.

Re: OMGPOP CEO tweets: "Shay Pierce was the weakest employee on the team"

#30

Post by tbsdy »

ChrisNorstrom wrote: post #27
zrgiu_ wrote: post #15

Like Notch said... "you are an insane idiot!". What did the CEO of OMGPOP had to gain from making those remarks ? He surely didn't expect the world to take his side.. Even if Shay Pierce really was "the weakest link of the team", you just don't say that. You just got bought for $200 million, now it's the time to show that you deserved to be the CEO of that company, by being diplomatic, respecting those around you (or…

True. It is indeed very unprofessional. But how come people like him are held up to such high standards? When you're not anyone important you can be brutally honest and say what you want like everyone else does. But as soon as you're in the public eye you're put on this pedestal. This is what scares the hell out of me. I'm a very uncensored person who says what he means and means what he says (and am an asshole somet…

People like him are held up to high standards because they have responsibilities and are paid accordingly. It's called leadership. Leaders watch what they say.

As for celebrities acting badly, this doesn't make it particularly admirable. I should point out that no F-bomb was used by the CEO in question - he merely showed a complete lack of class. There really was no upside. A lot of people wouldn't have known, or perhaps wouldn't have cared, that Shay didn't join the new company.

I'd suggest that the OMGPOP CEO be very careful about what he says. Saying someone was the "weakest link" in a team with no backup might lead to defamation proceedings.

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