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When we get Komooted

bikepacking.com

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Re: When we get Komooted

#141

Post by hermitcrab »

dzink wrote: post #100
hermitcrab wrote: post #10

Just look at what private equity did to British Water companies, Toy'R'Us and any number of other organizations. Do private equity companies perform any useful social purpose? Or are they all wreckers, asset strippers and carpet baggers?

In the 80s the abuse was concentrated in the management layer of companies - executives would store cash and buy private jets and lavish properties for the “company” leadership to enjoy. Private equity trimmed that fat at the time.

But presumably all that fat instead went to the private equity company instead?

Re: When we get Komooted

#142

Post by kensai »

The manifesto reads very leftish with many radical weasel words, as if the alternative is fantastic. Without a capitalistic structure they would have been long ago been headless chicken.

Now, don't get me wrong, it sucks majorly for the employees and it is painful; but particularly for the long-running ones, where is your equity? Komoot was once a startup, why did you accept to work there without equity.

Last but not least, indeed, never believe the bosses, unless you have (almost) the same end-game privileges.

Re: When we get Komooted

#143

Post by r0uv3n »

prmoustache wrote: post #81
dijital wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The article mentions one example: https://wanderer.to/ . Haven't used it personally but seems promising (albeit less "social" than something like Strava).

One only need a web server to share gpx files really. Planning routes can be easily done offline with desktop apps. Don't even start with mobile use, I have never seen a web based tool where you could plan a route by tapping on a smartphone screen without pulling your hair out of desperation.

Well, Komoot worked quite well for exactly that use case. I have also only very rarely found tools even in the desktop space that were quite as mature as Komoot for that use case.

Also the question remains, what do you navigate the planned routes / gpx traces? What happens if you notice you want to improvise and replan to hit some target on the way you saw in the distance while on the trail? This was (and currently still is) absolutely trivial and intuitive to do on Komoot. The best alternative I can think of is maybe brouter+ osmand, but that's really quite clunky in comparison with Komoot (similar to the experience you probably mean when talking about pulling your hair out)

Re: When we get Komooted

#144

Post by johnecheck »

I am not a lawyer, but don't employees (and maybe even users) have a breach of contract claim here?

At least in the US, if you tell me 'We'll never sell out' and I take a job with no equity because of it, that's a verbal legal contract and I have grounds to sue if you then sell out.

In theory, at least, our legal systems discourage/prevent this sort of lying and backstabbing. In practice, perhaps not.

Re: When we get Komooted

#145

Post by bonzini »

ramon156 wrote: post #25

The more I see Bending Spoons in the news, the more I realize how shitty of a company it aims to be. I once applied to their job listing. I adored the idea of working there. Now all I can think about is "I'm glad they rejected me"

Say what you want of Bending Spoons, but they know what they're doing. They buy companies with a faithful user base that are losing money, and jack up prices to force the user base to show if they really are faithful. Then either they make money or they close the service, but it turns out it's the former more often than not.

For example, Evernote was losing money on server costs and after almost 20 years of existence did they really need a generous free tier to build up a user base? All that BS had to do for Evernote to make a profit was nerfing the free tier.

Re: When we get Komooted

#146

Post by appreciatorBus »

pydry wrote: post #124
bjackman wrote: post #115

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You can be in case 1 and find meaning in what you do. That's where the blacksmith is. There's absolutely nothing wrong with doing a good job for 40 hours a week in return for a salary. Being a competent professional who does quality work is rewarding! I just think if you're doing work of that nature (which _most of us are_, BTW) you need to recognise it for what it is. Don't burn yourself out trying to squeeze every…

At the same time we can maaaaaaaybe start pushing back on all of the "capitalism is not the problem" and "capitalism is the least worst of all available options" memes? Or is it too soon already?

All of the same human dynamics will be present under socialism or communism or whatever you prefer.

Under capitalism, a boss might try to persuade you to work hard harder than you might otherwise for dubious or illusionary future reward.

Under some form of collectivism, there will still be pressure to attend some sort of goal, even if it is non-financial in nature. That pressure will ultimately come in the form of a leader of some form, and one of the tools they will have to achieve that (possibly collective) goal will be to persuade you to work longer and harder than you might otherwise for some dubious or illusionary future reward. Perhaps this future reward won’t be in money, but that won’t change the underlying dynamic.

Re: When we get Komooted

#147

Post by Mistletoe »

hermitcrab wrote: post #10

Just look at what private equity did to British Water companies, Toy'R'Us and any number of other organizations. Do private equity companies perform any useful social purpose? Or are they all wreckers, asset strippers and carpet baggers?

Are there any examples of private equity improving a company?

Re: When we get Komooted

#148

Post by bakuninsbart »

akdor1154 wrote: post #65
sneak wrote: post #27

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why is that insane? A job this week is no guarantee, legally or practically, of a job next week. To assume otherwise is foolish and naive. That’s simply not how employment works.

> A job this week is no guarantee, legally or practically, of a job next week. It is in Europe - one or three months are the standard notice periods I believe?

Germany has a 6 month probation period for new hires in which both sides can terminate the contract with 2 week notice. After that, it is one month, two months after 3 years going up to 7 months after 20 years.

Re: When we get Komooted

#149

Post by pydry »

appreciatorBus wrote: post #146
pydry wrote: post #124

Earlier quoted context omitted.

At the same time we can maaaaaaaybe start pushing back on all of the "capitalism is not the problem" and "capitalism is the least worst of all available options" memes? Or is it too soon already?

All of the same human dynamics will be present under socialism or communism or whatever you prefer. Under capitalism, a boss might try to persuade you to work hard harder than you might otherwise for dubious or illusionary future reward. Under some form of collectivism, there will still be pressure to attend some sort of goal, even if it is non-financial in nature. That pressure will ultimately come in the form of a…

You could equally argue that there is no point making murder illegal because "all the same dynamics leading to murder" will still happen. They will. Society exists to either curtail or encourage our instincts for a collective purpose.

This is not about that.

This about an institution being rewarded and operating entirely within the law which takes a valuable asset, systematically disenfranchises the people who made it valuable before parasitically sucking it dry for material gain.

That is a pretty unique capitalist dynamic, actually.

Re: When we get Komooted

#150

Post by r0uv3n »

_tbl6 wrote: post #52
dijital wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The article mentions one example: https://wanderer.to/ . Haven't used it personally but seems promising (albeit less "social" than something like Strava).

Less "social" would be a feature for me. I just want one that can plan routes, track journeys, and give me directions. I don't want to be worried that I'm accidentally sharing what I'm doing/where I am with the world.

Eh, the social features of Komoot were never intrusive to me, and among social features of most apps they were some of the most well designed. Local community, very much focused on actually sharing tracks and trying out other people's routes (and maybe commenting with your experience afterwards).

There was a guy in his 60s regularly doing very nice circular hiking routes of 40 to 60 km in our nearby forests, and apart from that just being kind of awesome and impressive to see when you look at local routes, actually walking his routes was often a very nice experience with diverse landscapes often along nice small, less used paths. It was great seeing nice weather in the morning, and then oftentimes without any pre-planning just walk or bike to the forest and just start along one of this guy's routes within a few minutes, all in an incredibly hassle free manner and with a result which pretty much always beat out just following the official hiking trails shown on signs etc. I don't know if there's another app right now where you can so easily profit from the experience and knowledge of your local community.

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