Live data from Hacker News

Laying off George

zeldman.com

1–10 of 52 posts

Re: Laying off George

#3
Sure Yahoo sucks, but take the good side of this story George Oates will do awesome work wherever she goes next so build something that's worth having her work on it and then get in touch

Re: Laying off George

#4
Here's the real link (question to poster: Why did you link to an unnecessary reference?)

http://george08.blogspot.com/2008/12/not-quite-what-i-had-in...

My comment: Congratulations to the affected. A website that does little besides arranging "img" elements is fundamentally lame. I was hit in the 2001 blowout, and it was probably the best thing that could have happened. Find something good.....

Re: Laying off George

#5

Here's the real link (question to poster: Why did you link to an unnecessary reference?) http://george08.blogspot.com/2008/12/not-quite-what-i-had-in... My comment: Congratulations to the affected. A website that does little besides arranging "img" elements is fundamentally lame. I was hit in the 2001 blowout, and it was probably the best thing that could have happened. Find something good.....

"... (flickr) A website that does little besides arranging "img" elements is fundamentally lame ..."

That isn't an accurate description of what flickr does. The kinds of problems they work on are a lot more complicated than arranging images.

Re: Laying off George

#6
post #5

Here's the real link (question to poster: Why did you link to an unnecessary reference?) http://george08.blogspot.com/2008/12/not-quite-what-i-had-in... My comment: Congratulations to the affected. A website that does little besides arranging "img" elements is fundamentally lame. I was hit in the 2001 blowout, and it was probably the best thing that could have happened. Find something good.....

"... (flickr) A website that does little besides arranging "img" elements is fundamentally lame ..." That isn't an accurate description of what flickr does. The kinds of problems they work on are a lot more complicated than arranging images.

And even if it weren't much more technically complex than that, which I'm sure it is, a product is much more than the sum of the technologies behind it.

One of the most ubiquitous inventions I've seen develop in my lifetime is luggage on wheels. The technology is trivial (it's a combination of two simple things that have existed for centuries) but somehow it didn't get invented until the late '80s/early '90s. Now you wouldn't buy a suitcase without it, and it makes travel infinitely more pleasant.

Re: Laying off George

#7
post #3

Sure Yahoo sucks, but take the good side of this story George Oates will do awesome work wherever she goes next so build something that's worth having her work on it and then get in touch

Terrible situation, sorry to hear about it. Brm, you're exactly right, as truly high-quality employees are let go from failing big companies it creates unbelievable opportunities for startups to pick them up.

It's true no matter whether you work for a small company or large company--if you do something that's valuable to someone, you won't go hungry.

Re: Laying off George

#8
post #5

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"... (flickr) A website that does little besides arranging "img" elements is fundamentally lame ..." That isn't an accurate description of what flickr does. The kinds of problems they work on are a lot more complicated than arranging images.

And even if it weren't much more technically complex than that, which I'm sure it is, a product is much more than the sum of the technologies behind it. One of the most ubiquitous inventions I've seen develop in my lifetime is luggage on wheels. The technology is trivial (it's a combination of two simple things that have existed for centuries) but somehow it didn't get invented until the late '80s/early '90s. Now you…

Good point. Better yet, try a suit case with 4 wheels (mine is a Samsonite). I like it so much I would volunteer as a spokesman.

Re: Laying off George

#9
I'm sorry to hear how hard it's been for George. Flickr is a great product and has had huge returns for Yahoo.

That said, my uninformed reaction is to consider this a good move. The last thing Yahoo needs is another project with no clear business model, regardless how cool. This is the kind of work that should be funded by massive donations like wikipedia. If it's going to be supported by a company, it shouldn't be one on life support.

Re: Laying off George

#10
Did anyone else notice the oxymoron here?

"I'll just get straight to the point. You've been affected by the layoffs."

I guess it shouldn't surprise me that a middle manager would call a weasly euphemism getting "straight to the point".

Post reply on HN