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Meta's New Reality: Record High Profits. Record Low Morale

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Re: Meta's New Reality: Record High Profits. Record Low Morale

#201

Post by frm88 »

bevekspldnw wrote: post #194
foobar_______ wrote: post #123

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Serious question - I know this will come off as inflammatory but I am genuinely curious. Do you ever talk to coworkers about the addictive, polarizing nature of Meta recommendation feed algorithms? There is pretty solid research around teen health (specially girls) around how many problems it causes. Is the pay just so good you turn a blind eye? Honestly, I can understand that if I am being honest. But I don't see as…

I lived and worked in SV for several years. Basically people don’t see anything they do as wrong and have no concept of shame. It’s a combination of learned obedience to authority and greed. You just take a bunch of people who made all A’s in school by doing whatever they were told by authority figures, give them new authority figures who give them new “homework” (monetize suicidal ideation), and the money to buy a c…

This correlates with the information I gleaned yesterday about the US education system from a very exasperated australian psychologist [0]. Apparently learned obedience is a goal from very early education.

[0] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j9MubNsh3rs

Re: Meta's New Reality: Record High Profits. Record Low Morale

#202

Post by frm88 »

ninininino wrote: post #23
glaslong wrote: post #8

Currently at Meta. This place has always been a bit ruthless in the 8+ years I've been around to observe. But the article is accurate. Never seen people this universally fed up. I thought tech was too cushy for it to happen, but there's serious collective action posting out in the open all over the place. It's also never been more cutthroat, backstabby, scope-grabby, political, and uncertain. There seems to be a flyw…

Is Zuck just too...neurodivergent or lacking in social awareness or low EQ or whatever the case may be to understand morale? Or just so cut-throat/trusting that people who don't currently work there want the META paycheck badly enough that even if morale is horrible they can just backfill departures?

After angel funding facebook Peter Thiel took it on himself to mentor Zuckerberg personally. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=TP7Z_Eqxhxk

Re: Meta's New Reality: Record High Profits. Record Low Morale

#203

Post by disgruntledphd2 »

georgeburdell wrote: post #151
disgruntledphd2 wrote: post #119

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I also work at Meta. The chaos and instability is awful. But I think they could fire pretty much everyone and the ads business would still continue to grow at nearly the same rate. I spent 5 years at Facebook (2013-18), and I can guarantee you that if you fired the sales teams, revenue would take a pretty large hit. More generally my friend who was there till last year (at a pretty senior manager level) said that o…

The median of its employees’ geographies is China. That’s how it got worse than your average maturing Bay Area company

> The median of its employees’ geographies is China. That’s how it got worse than your average maturing Bay Area company

I mean, this was true when I joined in 2013. One guy I worked with was the only non-Chinese person working with the targeting team. So I really don't think it can be reduced to such a simple explanation.

To be honest, Facebook acquired lots more US business culture, and that's (personally) where I think lots of the rot came from.

Re: Meta's New Reality: Record High Profits. Record Low Morale

#204

Post by apothegm »

frm88 wrote: post #202
ninininino wrote: post #23

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Is Zuck just too...neurodivergent or lacking in social awareness or low EQ or whatever the case may be to understand morale? Or just so cut-throat/trusting that people who don't currently work there want the META paycheck badly enough that even if morale is horrible they can just backfill departures?

After angel funding facebook Peter Thiel took it on himself to mentor Zuckerberg personally. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=TP7Z_Eqxhxk

That… would explain a lot.

Re: Meta's New Reality: Record High Profits. Record Low Morale

#205

Post by IAmBroom »

neilv wrote: post #113
ninininino wrote: post #23

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Is Zuck just too...neurodivergent or lacking in social awareness or low EQ or whatever the case may be to understand morale? Or just so cut-throat/trusting that people who don't currently work there want the META paycheck badly enough that even if morale is horrible they can just backfill departures?

I wouldn't blame company culture on neurodivergents. It's explained by a stereotypical ruthless flavor of business, which reinforced itself with the culture they hired and nurtured. The company has been known as kinda sketchy almost continuously since it was founded, yet people went there because it paid the most money. If leadership is now thinking that an executive "ideas person", plus a small execution team fortif…

> The company has been known as kinda sketchy almost continuously since it was founded, yet people went there because it paid the most money.

It was literally started as a way of creeping on cute girls.

It's never not been sketchy. I say that, despite the fact that it enables me to connect with > 1,000 friends across my continent, many of whom I hadn't had contact with in decades. Things can be both bad and good.

Re: Meta's New Reality: Record High Profits. Record Low Morale

#206

Post by IAmBroom »

disgruntledphd2 wrote: post #121
glaslong wrote: post #47

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I have a low but not infrequent amount of direct exposure to him and honestly I think it's ~30% he is extremely ruthlessly competitive at any cost, and ~70% every semi-reasonable idea he has gets immediately twisted into cargo-culting, empire-building nonsense by the VP layer.

> he is extremely ruthlessly competitive at any cost I mean, they had Carthago Delenda Est posters for a long time, so the competitiveness has been there for an extremely long time.

But I ask you... What has Carthage done for us lately?

Re: Meta's New Reality: Record High Profits. Record Low Morale

#207

Post by IAmBroom »

dominotw wrote: post #122
glaslong wrote: post #8

Currently at Meta. This place has always been a bit ruthless in the 8+ years I've been around to observe. But the article is accurate. Never seen people this universally fed up. I thought tech was too cushy for it to happen, but there's serious collective action posting out in the open all over the place. It's also never been more cutthroat, backstabby, scope-grabby, political, and uncertain. There seems to be a flyw…

describes every single company in usa right now

Nihilism is so cool and edgy!

I work for a large, employee-owned company that makes a serious, positive difference in the world. As have most of the corporations I've worked for.

Many are bad. There's no monetary incentive for morality in corporations, generally. But some are decent, or even good.

Re: Meta's New Reality: Record High Profits. Record Low Morale

#208

Post by dominotw »

IAmBroom wrote: post #207
dominotw wrote: post #122

Earlier quoted context omitted.

describes every single company in usa right now

Nihilism is so cool and edgy! I work for a large, employee-owned company that makes a serious, positive difference in the world. As have most of the corporations I've worked for. Many are bad. There's no monetary incentive for morality in corporations, generally. But some are decent, or even good.

corporate bootlicking is so cool and edgy!

Re: Meta's New Reality: Record High Profits. Record Low Morale

#209

Post by benterix »

glaslong wrote: post #8

Currently at Meta. This place has always been a bit ruthless in the 8+ years I've been around to observe. But the article is accurate. Never seen people this universally fed up. I thought tech was too cushy for it to happen, but there's serious collective action posting out in the open all over the place. It's also never been more cutthroat, backstabby, scope-grabby, political, and uncertain. There seems to be a flyw…

My first reaction normally would be "I'm sorry for all involved".

But... On second thought, I'd like say, "Good luck and I hope this ship drowns down".

Re: Meta's New Reality: Record High Profits. Record Low Morale

#210

Post by coldpie »

dominotw wrote: post #208
IAmBroom wrote: post #207

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Nihilism is so cool and edgy! I work for a large, employee-owned company that makes a serious, positive difference in the world. As have most of the corporations I've worked for. Many are bad. There's no monetary incentive for morality in corporations, generally. But some are decent, or even good.

corporate bootlicking is so cool and edgy!

Ahh, to be 15 again, when I knew everything and the world was so simple and obvious. Enjoy these days, friend.
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