I wonder what's the connection, if any, between the author of the article and Gawker. If he's the same guy I found on Linkedin, he seems to be working for some kind of PR company for hire; also confirmed by the article footnote.
I hope nobody takes this article only for what it is but also questions why it is.
Thiel shows why tech billionaires are the new robber barons
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Re: Thiel shows why tech billionaires are the new robber barons
#12For the record, Scott Adams also believes in the philanthropic nature of Thiel's actions: http://blog.dilbert.com/post/145205211401/billionaire-brandi...
"I can't believe Scott Adams holds such a crazy opinion!" -- said nobody ever.
I see no reason to take sides on this debacle. Both Nick Denton and Peter Thiel are guilty of absolutely awful behavior. Denton for outing people and publishing private videos; Thiel for Paypal (and its horrible practices) and using his wealth to bankroll personal vendettas. Both are happy to exploit others for their own personal gain. They deserve each other.
Re: Thiel shows why tech billionaires are the new robber barons
#13From the article: "Many are growing disillusioned because they bought what Silicon Valley sold them: an idealistic and almost utopian vision in which the technological advances of the Information Age would change the world -- or at least the Western world -- for the universal good." Maybe it's just me, but I only occoasionally even heard of that idea, much less bought into it. Am I that far out of the echo chamber?
It used to be a very common idea, but has fallen out of vogue in favor of more raw capitalist sentiment. There very much used to be an idea of changing the world for the better, but it died along with a lot of America's positive outlook in the post-9/11 era.
Re: Thiel shows why tech billionaires are the new robber barons
#14This is totally BS. Litigation finance has been around for years, and has been done by all kind of people and organizations for all kind of purposes.
Thiel is rich, he does things, there is no causality with 'tech' here.
> Maybe it’s time for Silicon Valley to tone things down. To admit that, no, the Valley can’t solve all human problems -- not even close -- and never will.
WTF.
Re: Thiel shows why tech billionaires are the new robber barons
#15From the article: "Many are growing disillusioned because they bought what Silicon Valley sold them: an idealistic and almost utopian vision in which the technological advances of the Information Age would change the world -- or at least the Western world -- for the universal good." Maybe it's just me, but I only occoasionally even heard of that idea, much less bought into it. Am I that far out of the echo chamber?
While not necessarily in these terms, it is something is not uncommon to see in the comments here in HN (as in "truck drivers should learn how to program" and stuff like that).
While I feel there is a noticeable and unwarranted resentment growing in the media against SV (and I find kind of stupid binning so many people under the same umbrella), it is also true that many people in the environment do seem to suffer from naïveté and ivory tower syndrome, IMHO.
Re: Thiel shows why tech billionaires are the new robber barons
#16Distributing a private sex video was unethical and not an act of journalistic integrity. I view the Hulk Hogan case as justified and supporting it as a beneficial act.
Re: Thiel shows why tech billionaires are the new robber barons
#17> Litigation finance is typically a business venture. It doesn’t become charity because a wealthy person uses it as a template for a personal crusade and then insists he’s doing everyone else a favor.
Why? Many cases brought by individuals or groups on moral grounds have led the way to better governance. A lot of good work has been done by groups such as the Electronic Frontier Foundation. Why should individuals or groups not be allowed to litigate moral changes? Who is supposed to do this?
What's lost in all of this is what the lawsuit was actually about. Gawker wasn't speaking truth to power and criticizing individuals. Gawker posted an illegally obtained sex-tape. These articles attacking Thiel framed as billionaire versus journalists doesn't even mention this fact. The question should be why you need a billionaire to fund a lawsuit to get some sort of justice.
Re: Thiel shows why tech billionaires are the new robber barons
#18From the article: "Many are growing disillusioned because they bought what Silicon Valley sold them: an idealistic and almost utopian vision in which the technological advances of the Information Age would change the world -- or at least the Western world -- for the universal good." Maybe it's just me, but I only occoasionally even heard of that idea, much less bought into it. Am I that far out of the echo chamber?
I've heard that idea a LOT, especially from people 10-15 years ago. I think most people abandon that thinking pretty quickly, but it persists with a smaller but still significant number.
It was very much the stance of Wired magazine in the 90s, I think, and may still be. One major critique of that position is the "Californian Ideology" theory.
Isn't the quoted passage essentially what Mark Zuckerberg claims to believe? What about Google's "don't be evil"?
Re: Thiel shows why tech billionaires are the new robber barons
#19> Litigation finance is typically a business venture. It doesn’t become charity because a wealthy person uses it as a template for a personal crusade and then insists he’s doing everyone else a favor. Why? Many cases brought by individuals or groups on moral grounds have led the way to better governance. A lot of good work has been done by groups such as the Electronic Frontier Foundation. Why should individuals or g…
>These articles attacking Thiel framed as billionaire versus journalists doesn't even mention this fact.
This one does though:
>As for Gawker, it disseminated a sex tape of a retired pro wrestler. Let’s not pretend that the website did it as part of a great journalistic mission. Gawker did it to lure eyes to its website while smugly saying the First Amendment sheltered it.
The author's beef isn't with Thiel using his money to help sue Gawker, but with him considering this to be philanthropic:
>The problem isn’t the way Thiel used his money. It’s his pretensions about it.
Re: Thiel shows why tech billionaires are the new robber barons
#20Man interesting how all this happens, a few weeks ago when the verdict came out and no one knew of Thiel there was no large outcry.
Now to find out that the lawsuit was funded directly by someone who was hurt by the high shittery from gawker. It is not a surprise.
Tech billionaires are people, gawker pushed him and he is pushing back. Not sure there is much more to this.