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I wonder if the Airbnb team has ever thought about their profit and its relationship to the externalities you describe I'm convinced the majority of "unicorns"

I wonder if the Airbnb team has ever thought about their profit and its relationship to the externalities you describe I'm convinced the majority of "unicorns" ignore (or actively dodge) externalities in favor of lucrative profits.

gnicholas 8y ago
I know successful companies (and the VCs that back them) look for large market inefficiencies, which create profit opportunity. I wonder if anyone has ever broken down their profit opportunity in terms of: (1) we're taking advantage of this existing inefficiency and (2) we're creating these externalities that we don't bear the cost of. Some investors would not be dissuaded by (2), if they are purely looking for financial returns. In fact, if you could make a compelling argument that you're externalizing some of your costs, it could be attractive to financial investors because it would help prove that your business model can be profitable.
munchbunny 8y ago
I'm convinced the majority of "unicorns" ignore (or actively dodge) externalities in favor of lucrative profits. I think most companies develop convenient ethical blind spots where profit motive conflicts with the ethical problem from generating externalities. AirBnB takes a strong moral stand on "inclusion" as a principle but has a clear blind spot when it comes to consumer, property, and residential externalities. Facebook takes a strong moral stand on free speech, but it has a clear blind spot for privacy and public discourse. Other companies don't necessarily take moral stands, but they still develop convenient blind spots. Youtube (Google) and ideological polarization in its recommendations, Equifax and its lack of cybersecurity measures, and so on.
- drewbug 8y ago
  > Facebook takes a strong moral stand on free speech It does?
  - FactolSarin 8y ago
    Of course! You're free to post anything they approve of.
- traek 8y ago
  > Facebook takes a strong moral stand on free speech, but it has a clear blind spot for privacy and public discourse. I think Facebook expressly does not take a stand for free speech, they've been pretty clear about banning offensive/hateful/sexual content from their platform (to the point of being prudish, e.g. with female nipples).
  - mtnGoat 8y ago
    Oddly Instagram seems to allow nipples.

gnicholas 8y ago

I know successful companies (and the VCs that back them) look for large market inefficiencies, which create profit opportunity. I wonder if anyone has ever broken down their profit opportunity in terms of: (1) we're taking advantage of this existing inefficiency and (2) we're creating these externalities that we don't bear the cost of. Some investors would not be dissuaded by (2), if they are purely looking for financial returns. In fact, if you could make a compelling argument that you're externalizing some of your costs, it could be attractive to financial investors because it would help prove that your business model can be profitable.

munchbunny 8y ago

I'm convinced the majority of "unicorns" ignore (or actively dodge) externalities in favor of lucrative profits. I think most companies develop convenient ethical blind spots where profit motive conflicts with the ethical problem from generating externalities. AirBnB takes a strong moral stand on "inclusion" as a principle but has a clear blind spot when it comes to consumer, property, and residential externalities. Facebook takes a strong moral stand on free speech, but it has a clear blind spot for privacy and public discourse. Other companies don't necessarily take moral stands, but they still develop convenient blind spots. Youtube (Google) and ideological polarization in its recommendations, Equifax and its lack of cybersecurity measures, and so on.

drewbug 8y ago
> Facebook takes a strong moral stand on free speech It does?
- FactolSarin 8y ago
  Of course! You're free to post anything they approve of.
traek 8y ago
> Facebook takes a strong moral stand on free speech, but it has a clear blind spot for privacy and public discourse. I think Facebook expressly does not take a stand for free speech, they've been pretty clear about banning offensive/hateful/sexual content from their platform (to the point of being prudish, e.g. with female nipples).
- mtnGoat 8y ago
  Oddly Instagram seems to allow nipples.