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The Voice of Google

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Re: The Voice of Google

#91

Post by hn_acc1 »

dismalaf wrote: post #50
godelski wrote: post #40

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> What's fascinating is that Google gets virtually zero recognition for this, and beyond that, Google is one of the most hated corporations for it. The hate it's about what they did with the power they gained. You can both love and hate something at the same time. Humans have complexity and nuance, don't dismiss that. It's also worth noting that complaints are more vocal than complements. If things are working well t…

> The hate it's about what they did with the power they gained. Which is??? Serve ads without selling data? I'm not sure if y'all are aware, but CC companies sell your data. Your telecom provider sells your data. Banks sell your data. Google figured out a system to sell access while keeping your privacy. And somehow they're more hated than people who just straight up give your data away. If most people hate Google al…

If it wasn't for Google (and ads), my bank might not have even considered selling my data.. They only sold the credit bureaus in the past, AFAIK. Now it's considered a "must have"..

Re: The Voice of Google

#92

Post by hn_acc1 »

WarmWash wrote: post #21
mannanj wrote: post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Which product(s) are equal to the products richest people on earth use?

It should be read as the same product from google, not the same product across the market of products. We can snag on technicalities like Pixel phones, yt premium, and gemini quotas, but by and large, a kid in the Indian slums is using the same Google suite as a house wife in the Hamptons.

Libre Office has that too..

Re: The Voice of Google

#93

Post by warkdarrior »

mannanj wrote: post #69
gghackernewsgg wrote: post #42

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> that has created more depression and a lower quality of life for most people on earth. Very strong claim. Any sources for the "most people on Earth" part?

Most people on earth: Let's just look at how many people use technology. How many use it? And how many are obviously also using it more than 4 hours/day to consume information in a fashion that doesnt' serve their health, connection or wellbeing? Those statistics are widely known and accepted. Do you need me to provide evidence from that?

Yes, please point to the statistics showing that most people on Earth are depressed.

Re: The Voice of Google

#94

Post by timmg »

totallygeeky wrote: post #37

I'm struck at how brutal it is to be a woman in even pseudo-progressive tech spaces at times. How talking the talk does nothing if HR and leadership quickly and quietly work to undermine at all and make life hell. The HR line of "we investigated ourselves and found no wrongdoing" always feels surreal.

I think the company’s goals are what’s most important to the company. Being a woman is incidental to that, imho. There are lots of things an employee might be unhappy about. In most cases the company isn’t going to change its priorities for any of them.

Re: The Voice of Google

#95

Post by WarmWash »

godelski wrote: post #86
dismalaf wrote: post #50

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> The hate it's about what they did with the power they gained. Which is??? Serve ads without selling data? I'm not sure if y'all are aware, but CC companies sell your data. Your telecom provider sells your data. Banks sell your data. Google figured out a system to sell access while keeping your privacy. And somehow they're more hated than people who just straight up give your data away. If most people hate Google al…

> Serve ads without selling data? They sell data. Why do you think they don't? > CC companies sell your data. Your telecom provider sells your data. Banks sell your data. You're over simplifying. WHAT data being sold is a critical variable. Same with HOW MUCH . Not all data is created equally. Last I checked, my bank doesn't have real time access to my location. My bank doesn't know everyone I communicate with. Not e…

But what is the alternative, and why is it better?

An Apple-esque internet that gets you a full google-like suite of services, along with news and other general entertainment, all ad/tracking free, but for a cool $300/mo? User friendly, pro-consumer, but only for those who can afford it?

I genuinely struggle to say that a user friendly internet that cuts out 80% of the current global internet user base because they are too poor is a better system.

Re: The Voice of Google

#96

Post by WarmWash »

JKCalhoun wrote: post #80
jjtheblunt wrote: post #48

Earlier quoted context omitted.

what monopoly did they create? it seems they have competitors in everything they do.

Ads, obviously. I understand Meta has an ad business as well—but no one I know uses their sites.

Instagram makes ~$28/user/mo from ads, which is wild. They couldn't even sell a premium ad-free membership without losing money on those people. (Who the hell would pay $28/mo for instgram?)

Re: The Voice of Google

#97

Post by brcmthrowaway »

nphardon wrote: post #60
brcmthrowaway wrote: post #58

Google, Apple, Amazon, MS etc don't seem to be the default place for top EECS grads anymore. Maybe middling candidates and H1b prisoners but 4.0 GPA grads with personal projects end up at NVIDIA, OpenAI, Anthropic, etc. And Meta, because they still pay insane.

I think a lot are also opting for startups. I think the number of million dollar value start ups is up quite a bit right now. That h1b prisoner comment is starrrrrk (and true to my experience as well).

Very true, and folks sell their startup equity on the secondary market.

Re: The Voice of Google

#99

Post by [deleted] »

JKCalhoun wrote: post #81
scottyah wrote: post #24

I can't help but see most of this as Claire using her gift of elegant prose and crafting narratives to retell a story of a prodigy that had a great product-market fit in the beginning then was unable to maintain relevancy while becoming bitter at the people around her. It must be so difficult to start out as a shining star then watch something you helped shape grow away from you. It looks like some powerful people at…

Not sure it's still virtue signaling when you sacrifice your job. That might actually be virtue. I wonder though, what counts as actual virtue for some people.

[deleted]

Re: The Voice of Google

#100

Post by frollogaston »

ieatcandlewax wrote: post #85
imcrs wrote: post #74

> in 2023, Google laid off some twelve thousand people, representing around six per cent of its workforce, and, in the years that followed, an estimated four hundred thousand jobs were eliminated across tech This right here, ooh you're so close! Those 400k people were fired because white collar workers, as a bloc, became powerful, and started making demands of management, demands like "you should do something about s…

> Did they do those DEI things in 2021 because they wanted to, or because they had to? And if they had to, what power compelled them? These are rhetorical questions. I also don't think your description of an "incredible corporate culture" is widely shared, given how you described it in your comment.

I was there in 2023 and was glad they whacked all the DEI stuff. The work did also feel less bloated then and overall better. But then they ruined it by lowering the hiring bar.
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