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Many idealistic engineers were attracted to Google by its promise to not be evil, this is a betrayal of that promise. Microsoft's long reputation of being evil

by guelo 8y ago

Many idealistic engineers were attracted to Google by its promise to not be evil, this is a betrayal of that promise. Microsoft's long reputation of being evil means that engineers that work there don't really care.

pmoriarty 8y ago
"Many idealistic engineers were attracted to Google by it's promise to not be evil" Really? Just how many idealistic engineers are there? Sincere idealism is rare. Most of the engineers I've met just want to make lots of money and work on interesting stuff, which is likely why the overwhelming majority of Google employees are still working there.
- GauntletWizard 8y ago
  Plenty. Many are just bitter and disillusioned and afraid. Many have substantial investment of their own code and reputation that they can't take with them when they leave, not to mention the money they're leaving on the table (at t5 and above, 50%+ of pay is tied to 4-year vesting stock options). And that doesn't mention the institutional value that they're conceding to people they view as having betrayed their values - I have personally stayed in organizations way too long, trying to turn them around when they had gone in directions that were antithetical to their stated and previous goals. Look at the ACLU: it still holds tremendous cultural cachet as the defender of free speech - but there's been a generational change, and while plenty of the old guard still believe in that ideal, there's a whole new guard that have basically the opposite stance - they're concerned mostly about stopping "Hate Speech". There's a really good argument to be made that they are right to do so, that they're trying to clean up the mess that their predecessors made. (But I don't buy that last argument in the least, personally)
- hueving 8y ago
  Google attracting idealistic engineers != All Google engineers are idealistic. Like you identified, the idealistic ones will protest and maybe quit. Google will still likely be okay, it just won't be the place where idealistic engineers flock.

by guelo 8y ago

pmoriarty 8y ago

"Many idealistic engineers were attracted to Google by it's promise to not be evil" Really? Just how many idealistic engineers are there? Sincere idealism is rare. Most of the engineers I've met just want to make lots of money and work on interesting stuff, which is likely why the overwhelming majority of Google employees are still working there.

GauntletWizard 8y ago
Plenty. Many are just bitter and disillusioned and afraid. Many have substantial investment of their own code and reputation that they can't take with them when they leave, not to mention the money they're leaving on the table (at t5 and above, 50%+ of pay is tied to 4-year vesting stock options). And that doesn't mention the institutional value that they're conceding to people they view as having betrayed their values - I have personally stayed in organizations way too long, trying to turn them around when they had gone in directions that were antithetical to their stated and previous goals. Look at the ACLU: it still holds tremendous cultural cachet as the defender of free speech - but there's been a generational change, and while plenty of the old guard still believe in that ideal, there's a whole new guard that have basically the opposite stance - they're concerned mostly about stopping "Hate Speech". There's a really good argument to be made that they are right to do so, that they're trying to clean up the mess that their predecessors made. (But I don't buy that last argument in the least, personally)
hueving 8y ago
Google attracting idealistic engineers != All Google engineers are idealistic. Like you identified, the idealistic ones will protest and maybe quit. Google will still likely be okay, it just won't be the place where idealistic engineers flock.