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Twitter’s CEO Dick Costolo Is Stepping Down

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Re: Twitter’s CEO Dick Costolo Is Stepping Down

#261

Post by matwood »

checker wrote: post #259
matwood wrote: post #187

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Which is wildly successful and doesn't cost us taxpayers a dime. You have to be kidding! The USPS is a disaster and barely works. I'm about to cancel my prime membership because Amazon started using the USPS although Amazon have finally got the message at least for my account and rarely use them now. Look up Prime and USPS if you want to see pages and pages just how bad service is with the USPS.

What if I told you that USPS was probably carrying some of your Prime packages for Fedex and you just didn't know about it? http://www.wsj.com/articles/u-s-mail-does-the-trick-for-fede...

SmartPost and SurePost? Yeah, if I see that I call Amazon and tell them to cancel the order because basically I will not get the package. They simply refuse to bring packages to my door, even though according to the regulations they have to. I've tried talking to the local post master, but he avoids me ('he's in a meeting', 'I'll have him call you', 'Yeah, don't wait because he'll be awhile'). What's funny is that Amazon now has a special Sunday delivery service through the USPS and somehow they get delivered, but any other day of the week they do not.

It's so bad, confusing and illogical sometimes I just laugh at the situation. But, it's only a situation that can happen in a government agency.

Re: Twitter’s CEO Dick Costolo Is Stepping Down

#262

Post by checker »

matwood wrote: post #261
checker wrote: post #259

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What if I told you that USPS was probably carrying some of your Prime packages for Fedex and you just didn't know about it? http://www.wsj.com/articles/u-s-mail-does-the-trick-for-fede...

SmartPost and SurePost? Yeah, if I see that I call Amazon and tell them to cancel the order because basically I will not get the package. They simply refuse to bring packages to my door, even though according to the regulations they have to. I've tried talking to the local post master, but he avoids me ('he's in a meeting', 'I'll have him call you', 'Yeah, don't wait because he'll be awhile'). What's funny is that Am…

Wow that's outrageous if that's the case. If it's really bugging you keep going up the chain.

Re: Twitter’s CEO Dick Costolo Is Stepping Down

#263

Post by lukewrites »

austenallred wrote: post #115
binxbolling wrote: post #106

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Which is wildly successful and doesn't cost us taxpayers a dime. If our "leaders" stopped actively sabotaging the USPS, it could be doing even better.

>Which is wildly successful and doesn't cost us taxpayers a dime You might want to double check your info on that one. The US Postal Service lost $32 Billion over the past four years. USPS losses: * 2011: $5.1 Billion * 2012: $15.9 Billion * 2013: $5.5 Billion * 2014: $5.5 Billion 2011/2012: http://money.cnn.com/2012/11/15/news/economy/postal-service-... 2013: https://about.usps.com/news/national-releases/2013/pr13_0…

The USPS started operating at a loss because Republican lawmakers passed the Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act, signed into law by George W Bush, requiring the USPS to prefund retirement benefits.

http://about.usps.com/who-we-are/financials/annual-reports/f...

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2012-08-02/understand...

Re: Twitter’s CEO Dick Costolo Is Stepping Down

#264

Post by truthsayer1980 »

decasteve wrote: post #244
throwaway6497 wrote: post #228

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think we tend to overuse the word visionary quite a bit these days in the industry. Have you read the book by other Twitter founder who was ousted? He paints a different picture of Jack. Jack is no slouch but a visionary? He is not in the same league as Elon Musk. Jack is a hipster in a suit; he is smart and has carefully crafted his public persona (probably inspired by Jobs and modeled his persona after his ideas)…

Elon also has a well crafted public persona. He's still visionary but easy to tell a lot of thought went in to how he presents himself. A few interviews with his brother Kimbal takes Elon down a notch, in a fun brotherly way. Kimbal is the more natural and affable of the two.

I'm with you, but don't do this. Musk is regarded a god here. Only criticize Musk with throwaway accounts.

Re: Twitter’s CEO Dick Costolo Is Stepping Down

#265

Post by truthsayer1980 »

Mahn wrote: post #167
anon808 wrote: post #137

Earlier quoted context omitted.

and he's also getting a nice return on his angel investment in tellapart . . . which twitter acquired a month ago for $.5 Billion.

That sounds a bit sketchy, did no one call him out for that?

Usually this is structured in a way that it's 100% legally safe like in: "I was not part of the decision (but people who highly depend on me were)"

Re: Twitter’s CEO Dick Costolo Is Stepping Down

#266

Post by [deleted] »

themartorana wrote: post #169
yummyfajitas wrote: post #123

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It was only wildly successful until our leaders "sabotaged" it by forcing it to obey standard actuarial practices. (Unlike the rest of the govt, the USPS is now required to fully fund it's pension plans.) See this comment for a more detailed explanation: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=6710602 Also, it's pretty hard not to be "wildly successful" when you get a legally enforced monopoly. Comcast is also "wildly s…

Yes and no. It's a monopoly that can't charge what it takes to stay afloat. Raising prices or changing delivery schedules requires an act of Congress! No member of Congress wants to have to answer for that, so the price of sending a letter hundreds - if not thousands - of miles, to be hand-delivered remains under one-half of one dollar $USD . THAT IS INSANE. It's been argued, deftly, that even with a decline in volum…

[deleted]

Re: Twitter’s CEO Dick Costolo Is Stepping Down

#267

Post by SamReidHughes »

billyhoffman wrote: post #246
refurb wrote: post #208

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The US gov't sure as hell requires private corporations with pensions to make sure they are fully funded. The pension might be optional, but running an underfunded one is not.

Really? From http://www.nytimes.com/2012/07/21/business/pension-plans-inc... "AFTER years of poor investment returns, the pension funds of the United States’ largest companies are further behind than they have ever been. The companies in the Standard & Poor’s 500 collectively reported that at the end of their most recent fiscal years, their pension plans had obligations of $1.68 trillion and assets of just $1.32 tril…

As the article you linked says, they're underfunded because the investments didn't perform as well as expected.

If there's something else to it, by all means feel free to state precisely the difference between how these pension funds from the random article you googled operate, and the USPS's requirements. There might be, but the article you linked doesn't imply that.

Re: Twitter’s CEO Dick Costolo Is Stepping Down

#268

Post by andybak »

ryguytilidie wrote: post #257
andybak wrote: post #236

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> It's simply someone who's good at envisioning new products We risk running out of superlatives if we take that attitude. Can we reserve 'visionary' for those 'once in a generation' types and not degrade it to mean 'competent product manager'.

Objecting to someone calling Jack Dorsey a visionary because you believe its hyperbole and then calling him a "competent product manager" seems just as, if not more disingenuous.

Other than what I've read here I don't really know who Jack Dorsey is.

My point was based on the grandparent's own words: "You don't have to be Elon Musk to be a 'product visionary'. It's simply someone who's good at envisioning new products" which sounds to me like an abasement of the English language.

This reminds me of another battle I have apparently lost. Companies that have a "vision".

No you probably don't. You might have a plan, a goal or an ethos but with the exception of a small handful of companies- if you claim your's has a 'vision' then you're deluded or incurably pretentious.

I could just about live with 'mission' as at least that doesn't sound like you're claiming divine providence.

(If it's not immediately obvious that I'm British, bear our famed dislike of overstatement in mind. However plenty of UK companies seem to spout this nonsense: https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=site%3A.co.uk+"our+vision" )

Re: Twitter’s CEO Dick Costolo Is Stepping Down

#269

Post by hellbanner »

afarrell wrote: post #215
hellbanner wrote: post #69

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Or if government funded open-source software research.

DARPA does

Can't edit, but I meant to say *more. And DARPA, IIRC, is mostly focused around its namesake, yes?

Where are the open-source softwares for supply-chain management, payment processing, calendar programs etc.. day to day needs of many citizens?

Re: Twitter’s CEO Dick Costolo Is Stepping Down

#270

Post by abalone »

andybak wrote: post #268
ryguytilidie wrote: post #257

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Objecting to someone calling Jack Dorsey a visionary because you believe its hyperbole and then calling him a "competent product manager" seems just as, if not more disingenuous.

Other than what I've read here I don't really know who Jack Dorsey is. My point was based on the grandparent's own words: "You don't have to be Elon Musk to be a 'product visionary'. It's simply someone who's good at envisioning new products" which sounds to me like an abasement of the English language. This reminds me of another battle I have apparently lost. Companies that have a "vision". No you probably don't. Yo…

Calling someone who's "good at envisioning" a "visionary" is pretty straightforward English.
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