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IAC sold 17 apps to Bending Spoons. $100M deal, all 330 employees fired

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Re: IAC sold 17 apps to Bending Spoons. $100M deal, all 330 employees fired

#181

Post by blep_ »

Fezzik wrote: post #178
recursive wrote: post #171

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why is it that owning stock in a company implies support for their actions? If you own stock, you may be able to vote on their future direction. I can see how owning stock is a bet on the future success of a company, but not an endorsement. Maybe I don't understand stocks.

I think owning stock is a financial endorsement of what the company is actually doing- you own a fraction of the company and saying ‘I just want a return on my money, no matter what the company does’ does not absolve you from actually financially supporting bad actors. If I hoist you in to a building to steal something I am endorsing your behavior. Same thing.

Let's rephrase then: why does owning stock imply financially supporting the company? After IPO, you're not buying anything from the company, you're buying from other investors.

Re: IAC sold 17 apps to Bending Spoons. $100M deal, all 330 employees fired

#182

Post by azmodeus »

blep_ wrote: post #181
Fezzik wrote: post #178

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think owning stock is a financial endorsement of what the company is actually doing- you own a fraction of the company and saying ‘I just want a return on my money, no matter what the company does’ does not absolve you from actually financially supporting bad actors. If I hoist you in to a building to steal something I am endorsing your behavior. Same thing.

Let's rephrase then: why does owning stock imply financially supporting the company? After IPO, you're not buying anything from the company, you're buying from other investors.

Stocks are also called shares, the name is a bit of a give away. It’s a share of a company you are a partial owner of it with some rights.

I think you do endorse the company whose shares you hold, in particular if it’s public knowledge.

Re: IAC sold 17 apps to Bending Spoons. $100M deal, all 330 employees fired

#183

Post by Fezzik »

azmodeus wrote: post #182
blep_ wrote: post #181

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Let's rephrase then: why does owning stock imply financially supporting the company? After IPO, you're not buying anything from the company, you're buying from other investors.

Stocks are also called shares, the name is a bit of a give away. It’s a share of a company you are a partial owner of it with some rights. I think you do endorse the company whose shares you hold, in particular if it’s public knowledge.

Not only that, but your goal as a shareholder is to benefit financially from the company. If a company is a bad actor and you know it, you are expressly financing and benefitting from bad acts. I’m not sure why other commenters are trying to abstract this fact out of existence. It is not rocket science!

Re: IAC sold 17 apps to Bending Spoons. $100M deal, all 330 employees fired

#184

Post by recursive »

Fezzik wrote: post #183
azmodeus wrote: post #182

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Stocks are also called shares, the name is a bit of a give away. It’s a share of a company you are a partial owner of it with some rights. I think you do endorse the company whose shares you hold, in particular if it’s public knowledge.

Not only that, but your goal as a shareholder is to benefit financially from the company. If a company is a bad actor and you know it, you are expressly financing and benefitting from bad acts. I’m not sure why other commenters are trying to abstract this fact out of existence. It is not rocket science!

> you are expressly financing

This is the part I don't understand. You generally buy stock from other stock holders. The company doesn't get the proceeds.

Re: IAC sold 17 apps to Bending Spoons. $100M deal, all 330 employees fired

#185

Post by EdwardDiego »

BizarroLand wrote: post #160
dehrmann wrote: post #152

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Except for Eric Schmidt, that cap table reads like a bunch of suckers trying to "diversify their success." Barry Diller, on the other hand, is no sucker.

I also like how we are attaching these people to this company as though the Weekend and Taika Watiti sat down and sculpted a plan to get rich by being dickheads. I bet their portfolio managers did that, and then attached their names to the deal to lend it an air of credibility, probably negotiating some sweet bonuses and spiffs for themselves in the process, and now this reads like they're all a POS, which, while tha…

> as though the Weekend and Taika Watiti sat down and sculpted a plan to get rich by being dickheads.

To be fair, Taika Waititi is known to be a bit of a very self-confident dickhead, which is why he achieved the success he did, you need that kind of unflappable-almost-delusional self-belief to make it in film, especially when you're starting from a small isolated island nation and trying to break into Hollywood.

But yeah, in this case, a financial advisor spotted a great opportunity.

Re: IAC sold 17 apps to Bending Spoons. $100M deal, all 330 employees fired

#186

Post by prepend »

BizarroLand wrote: post #173
prepend wrote: post #164

Earlier quoted context omitted.

People need to be aware of their investments. If I buy shares in Phillip Morris, then I better be ok with people smoking cigarettes and everything that entails. Especially if I’m publicly attaching my name with “prepend supports Phillip Morris.” There’s gradations of being a dick, but approving your portfolio managers plan to buy shady companies is still a dick move. So is not being aware of what your portfolio manag…

No, you're right, but I think maybe I didn't communicate my thought well. I'm not absolving them of their participation in bendingspoons and other such companies, I'm saying to not forget that it's the soulless portfolio managers that are the minds that move the body of evil. I do blame them for their participation, but not as much as the people offering them the opportunity to profit from the exploitation of others.…

> soulless portfolio managers

Only soulless people hire soulless portfolio managers.

A portfolio manager, like a lawyer or attorney, is really specific and takes a lot of selection. People choose intentionally.

Madoff didn’t work with 401ks. No one had their 401k funds with Madoff. It was all rich people using private hedge funds. Also, Madoff was a fraud, not an asshole.

It’s very different to harm people with adware infected, terrible apps than to run a Ponzi scheme. Madoff deceived his investors. Bendingspoons says exactly what they’re going to do and then does it. They aren’t deceiving anyone.

The jerk stockbrokers are all demand side. If people weren’t jerks they wouldn’t hire jerk stockbrokers. It’s a thing because people want it.

Re: IAC sold 17 apps to Bending Spoons. $100M deal, all 330 employees fired

#187

Post by EdwardDiego »

Fezzik wrote: post #178
recursive wrote: post #171

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why is it that owning stock in a company implies support for their actions? If you own stock, you may be able to vote on their future direction. I can see how owning stock is a bet on the future success of a company, but not an endorsement. Maybe I don't understand stocks.

I think owning stock is a financial endorsement of what the company is actually doing- you own a fraction of the company and saying ‘I just want a return on my money, no matter what the company does’ does not absolve you from actually financially supporting bad actors. If I hoist you in to a building to steal something I am endorsing your behavior. Same thing.

50% of my retirement funding is in Australian mining. Is it sustainable? Is it good for the environment? Is it an industry known for ethics?

No, no, and no.

Will they stop mining if no-one holds their public shares? Lol, no, lots of privately held mining companies exist who tend to perform even less ethically.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hancock_Prospecting#Attitudes_...

So, if they're going to dig the stuff up to sell to China anyway, I'm happy earning some money from it. I don't endorse their behaviour, but I do endorse the 10 - 15% return I've been getting on something they're doing already.

Re: IAC sold 17 apps to Bending Spoons. $100M deal, all 330 employees fired

#188

Post by krembo »

mhh__ wrote: post #169
curiouscats wrote: post #135

Is there an app that monitors your apps to see if any have been sold to such unethical companies to alert you to delete your accounts with those apps? That would seem like a useful app. Frankly Apple and Alphabet should offer such a service but I don't have much confidence that they will.

This is actually really important for things like browser extensions.

Just use Little Rat to block unwanted call-homes, telemetry and stuff like that https://github.com/dnakov/little-rat

Re: IAC sold 17 apps to Bending Spoons. $100M deal, all 330 employees fired

#189

Post by spoonjim »

BizarroLand wrote: post #160
dehrmann wrote: post #152

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Except for Eric Schmidt, that cap table reads like a bunch of suckers trying to "diversify their success." Barry Diller, on the other hand, is no sucker.

I also like how we are attaching these people to this company as though the Weekend and Taika Watiti sat down and sculpted a plan to get rich by being dickheads. I bet their portfolio managers did that, and then attached their names to the deal to lend it an air of credibility, probably negotiating some sweet bonuses and spiffs for themselves in the process, and now this reads like they're all a POS, which, while tha…

No, major celebrities are very careful about their brand and usually demand extra compensation to use it. I have seen some VC investments that require written approval of any use of the investor’s name or likeness.

Re: IAC sold 17 apps to Bending Spoons. $100M deal, all 330 employees fired

#190

Post by AniseAbyss »

EdwardDiego wrote: post #187
Fezzik wrote: post #178

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think owning stock is a financial endorsement of what the company is actually doing- you own a fraction of the company and saying ‘I just want a return on my money, no matter what the company does’ does not absolve you from actually financially supporting bad actors. If I hoist you in to a building to steal something I am endorsing your behavior. Same thing.

50% of my retirement funding is in Australian mining. Is it sustainable? Is it good for the environment? Is it an industry known for ethics? No, no, and no. Will they stop mining if no-one holds their public shares? Lol, no, lots of privately held mining companies exist who tend to perform even less ethically. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hancock_Prospecting#Attitudes_... So, if they're going to dig the stuff up to…

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