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Facebook is nearing a reputational point of no return

economist.com

331–340 of 609 posts

Re: Facebook is nearing a reputational point of no return

#331
post #3

No. That’s what people like us and all the main stream media hope for. But: most people I know don’t have the slightest clue that Insta and WhatsApp belong to the FB group. And even worse: most of them don’t give a shit about the reputation of FB. They just want to send messages and share pictures through those apps.

The argument being made isn't that people will stop using Facebook. It's that Facebook won't be able to hire the talent it needs. That's a longer, but more damaging feedback loop, assuming you believe it (the counter argument is they will be able to pay people enough to hire them anyway).

I don't believe it a single bit. They are hiring a bunch of engineers right after school, and a lot of engineers still believe that FB is a good product because they're using it on the daily.

Re: Facebook is nearing a reputational point of no return

#332
post #3

No. That’s what people like us and all the main stream media hope for. But: most people I know don’t have the slightest clue that Insta and WhatsApp belong to the FB group. And even worse: most of them don’t give a shit about the reputation of FB. They just want to send messages and share pictures through those apps.

> don’t have the slightest clue that Insta and WhatsApp belong to the FB group

When you open the apps the only thing written on the screen, besides their name, is "From Facebook", so I doubt that's true.

Most don't give a shit though, you're right about that

Re: Facebook is nearing a reputational point of no return

#333

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> most of them don’t give a shit about the reputation of FB This is close to a straw man argument. Nobody claims users will abandon Facebook. The article posits, instead, strengthening headwinds. Headwinds in hiring (there is already a double-digit premium Facebook must pay for talent). From recurring whistleblowing, and its impact on morale and productivity. Headwinds in projects and partnerships, like Libre/Diem be…

> there is already a double-digit premium Facebook must pay for talent That's an odd way of putting it. Do Google and Netflix and other big tech companies face the same "headwinds"? Their compensation is comparable. Facebook pays a premium because it's drawing from the top of the talent pool and is facing competition from other companies trying to acquire people with the same level of exceptional skill. The idea that…

It’s not anecdotally false that FB’s reputation and contribution to society is turning off some workers from applying.

My price premium to work at Facebook would be very high and I wouldn’t feel good about the deal. Sure not everyone feels that way but there is talent that they have alienated with their long history.

Re: Facebook is nearing a reputational point of no return

#334

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'd guess that they mean 10% or more total compensation versus comparable positions elsewhere. But I could also see this meaning $10k a year or more because 10% TC is such an insane number. In my experience, Facebook's offers do tend to beat Google's by $10k or so. But it's all so random and all over the place that it's tough to know if that's a consistent number.

Yeah it's not even true that FB is paying a premium. A thread full of people complaining about misinformation happily posting inaccurate information about Facebook. Go look at levels.fyi. Facebook pays close to market for senior engineers (~450k), more or less in line with companies like Uber, Robinhood, Twitter, Pinterest, LinkedIn, etc. In fact, Facebook doesn't even crack the top 5 on levels for senior SWE comp so…

the difference is that facebook is even bad for its users (and disliked by its users). Google is alright for its users (as is, or maybe was, Amazon). I'm talking about perception of course, not reality.

Re: Facebook is nearing a reputational point of no return

#335
post #3

No. That’s what people like us and all the main stream media hope for. But: most people I know don’t have the slightest clue that Insta and WhatsApp belong to the FB group. And even worse: most of them don’t give a shit about the reputation of FB. They just want to send messages and share pictures through those apps.

Exactly, no one is leaving unless something truly better comes along. Oh wait, our failed SEC and FTC let FB buy up the new and better things because they knew they couldn't compete. I'm assuming the next good thing will get sold to one of the mega companies too.

Re: Facebook is nearing a reputational point of no return

#336
post #101

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>it seems like most of the critiques of social media coming from big / old media are just symptoms of having their revenue bled away I feel that so many people blindly hate Facebook that they overlook this point. The loudest critics of social media are the old vanguards of news who are upset that the new kid on the block took their ad money.

>The loudest critics of social media are the old vanguards of news who are upset that the new kid on the block took their ad money. Also activists who are clearly engaging in motivated reasoning in arguing that Facebook needs to do more to censor conservative opinions.

> conservative opinions

That's an interesting way to say "misinformation".

Re: Facebook is nearing a reputational point of no return

#337

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> People didn't stop using oil after the Standard Oil break-up. Nor Windows after its antitrust brush or cigarettes after the tobacco master settlement. The power of those companies was simply sharply reduced. I actually disagree with this. When the company is forcibly broken up there's a chance that it's "power" (what?) is reduced but if we look at Standard Oil, that quicky is shown to be not-what-happened. SO becam…

> all the tobacco companies did was shift their business into providing alternatives to cigarettes. But they're still made from nicotine. Isn't this okay? Asking genuinely -- I haven't followed this one way or the other. But my understanding was that the health problems were mostly caused by the smoke. Does nicotine itself cause problems when delivered via gum or vape or whatever? Certainly the current ingestion meth…

Heart disease.

Re: Facebook is nearing a reputational point of no return

#338
post #217
post #3

No. That’s what people like us and all the main stream media hope for. But: most people I know don’t have the slightest clue that Insta and WhatsApp belong to the FB group. And even worse: most of them don’t give a shit about the reputation of FB. They just want to send messages and share pictures through those apps.

I am aware that Facebook has done a bunch of bad stuff, and that they own Instagram and WhatsApp. I still don't give a shit. For all it's faults Facebook is still the most convenient way to keep up with friends and family spread around the world, and share my underwater photography. If you engage with Facebook on your own terms and "hide all from" the news / politics / meme pages then it works great. And it's free! A…

The only people I know who still use Facebook, use it to share political memes, fake news, phishing scams, and rants. If I hid from all that there'd be nothing left.

Re: Facebook is nearing a reputational point of no return

#340
post #3

No. That’s what people like us and all the main stream media hope for. But: most people I know don’t have the slightest clue that Insta and WhatsApp belong to the FB group. And even worse: most of them don’t give a shit about the reputation of FB. They just want to send messages and share pictures through those apps.

This has been my experience too. All Facebook is to them is a place where they can keep up with friends and family. That's it. The kind of content that mirrors this article's sentiment never breaks through the noise.

Wow there must be less toxic parts of Facebook. All my friends and family post is the "kind of content that mirrors this article's sentiment".
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