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Are the political moods and opinions of big tech employees now a matter of daily news reports? For every event, there will be front page news stories alerting

Are the political moods and opinions of big tech employees now a matter of daily news reports? For every event, there will be front page news stories alerting us to Facebook / Google / Amazon / Apple employees' reactions? This is our news now?

Jach 8y ago
At least until the companies figure out how to crack down on whoever leaks internal discussions to the press. I clicked this after seeing "Rift" and "Facebook" thinking it was some Oculus news, should have read the full title first...
- dunpeal 8y ago
  > At least until the companies figure out how to crack down on whoever leaks internal discussions to the press. Considering these companies have tens of thousands of employees, that will never happen. It's impossible to prevent leaks with these kinds of numbers, and you can be sure the media would raise a huge stink if even one employee is punished for leaking. They would ruthlessly protect their sources. It's just very unfortunate how politics is becoming such a major issue in what's supposed to be the leading edge of American technology. Instead of innovation, technical merit, sound engineering, and all the other things these employments are supposed to be about. Politics and divisive discourse and posturing are squeezing out the important matters, and making people uncomfortable at work, a place supposed to be about work.
  - lovich 8y ago
    You cannot get to the scale of Facebook or Google without being political. These are tech companies in that they sell tech. They are not tech companies as in parties who are only interested in building the best products using technology. As far as how they act silicon valley is turning just as bad as Wall Street
    - dunpeal 8y ago
      > You cannot get to the scale of Facebook or Google without being political. There's plenty of counterexamples. There's huge companies much bigger than FB and Google that were never political outside of tech. Even in tech, you have Microsoft for example. I don't recall them ever being political in the 90s when they got huge. In fact, they don't seem political right now.
      - lovich 8y ago
        They all lobby, that is political just as a general example. Once you get big enough even the lack of action is a political choice. My point is that when you are at that scale your very existence is political, so there is no sense in trying to pretend politics does not exist.
woodpanel 8y ago
Somehow, yes. I may not agree with those employee moods [1], but I understand how a financials magazine would have interest about how one of most valuable tech-stock's most valuable assets is doing: it's devs. [1] not an American, not living in US either - so don't know any details about the Kavanaugh-Issue
- dunpeal 8y ago
  The New York Times is not a "financials magazine". No serious investor would try to infer from such a story about the value of FB stock. They'd be looking at hard data like earning reports, sales figures, expense curves. Not exaggerated click-baity news stories. This is just sensationalism.
  - woodpanel 8y ago
    Sorry, you're right. I've read the NYT article but had Bloomberg in my mind. My bad. But anyway: if I were holding FB stock, this would be of interest nonetheless. Either to be afraid. Or to know others will be afraid and you can "buy the dip".
ck425 8y ago
Consider how much potential influence Facebook and Google have on politics. Consider how many of our political issues are effected by the decisions of these company's. These people wield a lot of power, potentially political power of they choose to use it. That's why the news covers them.

Jach 8y ago

At least until the companies figure out how to crack down on whoever leaks internal discussions to the press. I clicked this after seeing "Rift" and "Facebook" thinking it was some Oculus news, should have read the full title first...

dunpeal 8y ago
> At least until the companies figure out how to crack down on whoever leaks internal discussions to the press. Considering these companies have tens of thousands of employees, that will never happen. It's impossible to prevent leaks with these kinds of numbers, and you can be sure the media would raise a huge stink if even one employee is punished for leaking. They would ruthlessly protect their sources. It's just very unfortunate how politics is becoming such a major issue in what's supposed to be the leading edge of American technology. Instead of innovation, technical merit, sound engineering, and all the other things these employments are supposed to be about. Politics and divisive discourse and posturing are squeezing out the important matters, and making people uncomfortable at work, a place supposed to be about work.
- lovich 8y ago
  You cannot get to the scale of Facebook or Google without being political. These are tech companies in that they sell tech. They are not tech companies as in parties who are only interested in building the best products using technology. As far as how they act silicon valley is turning just as bad as Wall Street
  - dunpeal 8y ago
    > You cannot get to the scale of Facebook or Google without being political. There's plenty of counterexamples. There's huge companies much bigger than FB and Google that were never political outside of tech. Even in tech, you have Microsoft for example. I don't recall them ever being political in the 90s when they got huge. In fact, they don't seem political right now.
    - lovich 8y ago
      They all lobby, that is political just as a general example. Once you get big enough even the lack of action is a political choice. My point is that when you are at that scale your very existence is political, so there is no sense in trying to pretend politics does not exist.

woodpanel 8y ago

Somehow, yes. I may not agree with those employee moods [1], but I understand how a financials magazine would have interest about how one of most valuable tech-stock's most valuable assets is doing: it's devs. [1] not an American, not living in US either - so don't know any details about the Kavanaugh-Issue

dunpeal 8y ago
The New York Times is not a "financials magazine". No serious investor would try to infer from such a story about the value of FB stock. They'd be looking at hard data like earning reports, sales figures, expense curves. Not exaggerated click-baity news stories. This is just sensationalism.
- woodpanel 8y ago
  Sorry, you're right. I've read the NYT article but had Bloomberg in my mind. My bad. But anyway: if I were holding FB stock, this would be of interest nonetheless. Either to be afraid. Or to know others will be afraid and you can "buy the dip".

ck425 8y ago

Consider how much potential influence Facebook and Google have on politics. Consider how many of our political issues are effected by the decisions of these company's. These people wield a lot of power, potentially political power of they choose to use it. That's why the news covers them.