121–130 of 139 posts
Earlier quoted context omitted.
US companies obey EU law when working in the EU. And there is a reason VC does not exist in Europe namely capital markets being divided.
Having spent years working for a VC and having raised rounds from VC's in Europe multiple times over the last 26 years, that it doesn't exist is news to me.
Obviously nobody implied it literally doesn’t exist.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Yeah, basically no successful American social media company advertises itself as being American. And its users do not think of it as "an American company," they just think of it as its own thing.
That might be true for social media, but there are 100s of American brands that make a large point of being thought of as an "American company" or "American made" goods.
No one uses social media networks because they care about the quality of the platform. They use them to stay connected with friends and family, to meet new people, or to be entertained.
Very different use cases.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Ah but for some reason that was missing from the principles. It is the ONLY thing that matters. Being European is a nice boost on the feelgood factor, if people even know. Anyone who ranks that above product quality is a minority - that’s why this has ~400 signatures not 4 million.
The product “quality” seems hardly relevant for social network services? Only the user base matters, otherwise Google Plus would have won against FB..
With a product that’s good enough or maybe better, at least the chances aren’t a guaranteed zero :)
Here is an idea for a EU product: Build something that is great, and make it so good, that everyone, including US citizens, will want to use it. Your ethics can still be great, but don't make me feel like your product won't be. If you have to market "Europe" or privacy it probably won't be.
Totally valid point - but there are a lot of other strategic consideration. Especially with 'Social' there are network externalizations like 'critical mass' - that actually compounds across a lot of things. No European country given size and language is going to be able to create something that resonates as well as the American variation beyond the critical mass needed, at least naturally. If 'French Facebook' starte…
Earlier quoted context omitted.
US companies obey EU law when working in the EU. And there is a reason VC does not exist in Europe namely capital markets being divided.
Also extreme risk aversion and generally very conservative business culture stuck in 60s (just less accepting of innovation than back then)
Yes being prudent and staying safe have costs. Acting stubbornly as base mindset all the time also have costs.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Totally valid point - but there are a lot of other strategic consideration. Especially with 'Social' there are network externalizations like 'critical mass' - that actually compounds across a lot of things. No European country given size and language is going to be able to create something that resonates as well as the American variation beyond the critical mass needed, at least naturally. If 'French Facebook' starte…
You are aware that most French locutors are living in Africa right now. And more in the realms of hazardous projections, it might become the first spoken language by 2050 IIRC, depending on actual demographic evolutions.
English wins because many people speak it and most people with influence do as well.
All of that will probably evolve a bit by 2050 but probably not enough to move the needle.
India and Philippines with huge numbers of English speakers will probably bulwark 'English as the Commons'.
Engagement metrics fed into recommendations algorithms are the paperclip maximizers that feed humanity's collective poison. Europe should do the one thing it knows how to do: regulate. For once, it is the answer. Do it only there. The rest of the dominos will fall. Making a european branded humanity poisoner is not the answer. Specifically, regulating against silent signals like watch time and comment count. Upvotes/…
* Ban targeted ads or make them opt in;
* Ban targeted content or make it opt in;
* Enforce the use of a do not track header - if the user does not want to be tracked a simple browser or OS setting should be enough.