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People are talking about the sort of general idea of politics vs profit, but actually I don't think that's the issue. There are tonnes of companies that are pol

People are talking about the sort of general idea of politics vs profit, but actually I don't think that's the issue. There are tonnes of companies that are political. The problem is that Google doesn't have a coherent approach to their political position. Frankly, I think this is a self-created problem by talking way too much about politics and encouraging people to bring their politics to work, but taking very little action to actually respond to their employees. Rather than taking the hint that Google were just all-talk, employees decided they were going to force Google to take action and now there are literally no guard rails around what is a political issue and what isn't and what is up for debate and what isn't. How long is it before some Google employee starts kicking up a fuss about the ethical issues surrounding Google's core business?

vertex-four 7y ago
"I will accept any business that comes my way, no matter what" is a political position, and not neutral.
SolaceQuantum 7y ago
” How long is it before some Google employee starts kicking up a fuss about the ethical issues surrounding Google's core business?” I for one am super excited for this being the case. I want people to protest the privacy invasions and anti-open-web initiatives.
mindslight 7y ago
It's deeper than that. Two decades ago, Google didn't exist. A decade ago, they were still touting "Don't be evil" with most people believing them. Many companies are openly evil to a degree, but there is generally a strong self-selection at work - if one isn't keen on blowing up kids in far off lands, then one does not even send a resume to Raytheon! But Google simply hasn't been around long enough in their unabashed-Skynet state for this to have had an effect. So instead we've got a contingent that signed up thinking they were "disrupting" the status quo to make the world better, yet now find themselves at the center of the modern surveillance and control apparatus. And so that cognitive dissonance comes crashing down in different ways, one of them being trying to change the company into what they thought it was.

vertex-four 7y ago

"I will accept any business that comes my way, no matter what" is a political position, and not neutral.

SolaceQuantum 7y ago

” How long is it before some Google employee starts kicking up a fuss about the ethical issues surrounding Google's core business?” I for one am super excited for this being the case. I want people to protest the privacy invasions and anti-open-web initiatives.

mindslight 7y ago

It's deeper than that. Two decades ago, Google didn't exist. A decade ago, they were still touting "Don't be evil" with most people believing them. Many companies are openly evil to a degree, but there is generally a strong self-selection at work - if one isn't keen on blowing up kids in far off lands, then one does not even send a resume to Raytheon! But Google simply hasn't been around long enough in their unabashed-Skynet state for this to have had an effect. So instead we've got a contingent that signed up thinking they were "disrupting" the status quo to make the world better, yet now find themselves at the center of the modern surveillance and control apparatus. And so that cognitive dissonance comes crashing down in different ways, one of them being trying to change the company into what they thought it was.