5 ms·

When your only metric for success is growth, you have no choice.

by jacobsenscott 7y ago

mjevans 7y ago
Long term success is achieved by not behaving as a parasite.
- draw_down 7y ago
  I wish I was as sure about that as you appear to be.
- ajna91 7y ago
  Why was draw_down's comment killed? A quick glance at his profile indicates he is a 4 year old account with more than a 1500 karma, yet every recent comment by him is flagged/killed [1]. Yes, some of them appear trollish, but not all of them. Does someone here have a grudge against him? [1] https://news.ycombinator.com/threads?id=draw_down https://news.ycombinator.com/threads?id=draw_down
  - comex 7y ago
    Comments which were killed due to flags are distinguishable: they say [flagged]. His comments are just [dead], meaning either they were caught by the spam filter or draw_down was shadowbanned; presumably the latter in this case. HN’s policies around shadowbanning continue to mystify me.
    - saagarjha 7y ago
      In this case it doesn't seem all that mystifying why they are shadowbanned: they have a history of inflammatory, low-quality comments.
- smt88 7y ago
  I wish this were true, but unfortunately cheaters win and growth (of money, power, or both) trumps all other motivations for some people. Competing is hard. Why compete when you can buy elected officials and change laws in your favor? The sad truth is that lots of value-destroying and/or cheating companies succeed for decades. Examples: - every management consultancy - IBM - record labels + RIAA - Outbrain and all the other "related links" companies - many pharma examples, like the Sackler family - all of the heavily subsidized US industries like corn and oil - Nestle, Coca-Cola, and other companies monopolizing and selling public water - many grad school programs - Mercola - countless Chinese knockoff brands on Amazon - the House of Saud - Susan G. Komen Foundation - Intuit/TurboTax - Amway - almost all fund managers - HerbaLife - Donald Trump - most ISPs, cable companies, and mobile carriers - many (if not all) major defense contractors
- jacob019 7y ago
  All life has had to prove it's fitness, including parasites.
- nirui 7y ago
  I doubt it. While you guys thinking Facebook, Twitter, Medium is bad enough, we in China is on another level. Most top websites in China will "ask" (If pop a download window counts) user to download their apps if the user is on a phone, some websites are intentionally left dysfunctional to force user to use their app. And guess what's the first thing those apps ask you to do? "Please login(, and... maybe send ALL your information to us plus a secretly taken screenshot of your portrait)". Since almost all of them are doing this, I assume it is a crucial strategy for them to keep their user active. Facebook Twitter etc maybe up to the same thing just not bold enough.
  - squarefoot 7y ago
    This happens everywhere. Privacy considerations aside, asking a user to download an app is just like placing a brand name on his/her main page, so that they're not just constantly exposed to it, but will be tempted to use the app when in need, real or ad-induced, of something to purchase.
    - blondin 7y ago
      we need to re-invent the whole internet and mobile... we can't possibly have apps for anything that spark our interest. that just won't work!
      - squarefoot 7y ago
        "we can't possibly have apps for anything that spark our interest. that just won't work!" Exactly. That was how the internet worked before the web (and still does today): pop/smtp, ftp, nntp, gopher, etc. had each one its own client because they were different protocols doing different things. But today, when phones have a working web browser that does what 99% of apps can do and more, it's against any logic forcing people to install an app for every brand, sometimes for every product. That would be ok for mail, news, file transfer, IoT, music, video, etc. because they're way different things, but installing 5 apps to read 5 newspapers or buying 5 products from 5 different vendors is like throwing into the toilet all innovation brought since the web was invented. I can guess only three reasons for this: sticking a brand name into the user screen, bypassing browsers adblockers, and getting a foot into the door for nefarious purposes since most apps require insanely dangerous privileges which one day could be exploited.
- jjgreen 7y ago
  That's a great analogy, but I'm not sure of the conclusion. Being a parasite on man is not good evolutionary move, since we'll pick the little bastards off. But attach to something stupid, that's a better prospect. So I guess it depends on how bright the host is, and that's questionable.
lota-putty 7y ago
I hope you mean `financial net-profit` by growth.
- buboard 7y ago
  I think growth is accurate, because growth leads to dominance, and then you re invincible, profit is secured

When your only metric for success is growth, you have no choice.

mjevans 7y ago

Long term success is achieved by not behaving as a parasite.

draw_down 7y ago
I wish I was as sure about that as you appear to be.
ajna91 7y ago
Why was draw_down's comment killed? A quick glance at his profile indicates he is a 4 year old account with more than a 1500 karma, yet every recent comment by him is flagged/killed [1]. Yes, some of them appear trollish, but not all of them. Does someone here have a grudge against him? [1] https://news.ycombinator.com/threads?id=draw_down https://news.ycombinator.com/threads?id=draw_down
- comex 7y ago
  Comments which were killed due to flags are distinguishable: they say [flagged]. His comments are just [dead], meaning either they were caught by the spam filter or draw_down was shadowbanned; presumably the latter in this case. HN’s policies around shadowbanning continue to mystify me.
  - saagarjha 7y ago
    In this case it doesn't seem all that mystifying why they are shadowbanned: they have a history of inflammatory, low-quality comments.
smt88 7y ago
I wish this were true, but unfortunately cheaters win and growth (of money, power, or both) trumps all other motivations for some people. Competing is hard. Why compete when you can buy elected officials and change laws in your favor? The sad truth is that lots of value-destroying and/or cheating companies succeed for decades. Examples: - every management consultancy - IBM - record labels + RIAA - Outbrain and all the other "related links" companies - many pharma examples, like the Sackler family - all of the heavily subsidized US industries like corn and oil - Nestle, Coca-Cola, and other companies monopolizing and selling public water - many grad school programs - Mercola - countless Chinese knockoff brands on Amazon - the House of Saud - Susan G. Komen Foundation - Intuit/TurboTax - Amway - almost all fund managers - HerbaLife - Donald Trump - most ISPs, cable companies, and mobile carriers - many (if not all) major defense contractors
jacob019 7y ago
All life has had to prove it's fitness, including parasites.
nirui 7y ago
I doubt it. While you guys thinking Facebook, Twitter, Medium is bad enough, we in China is on another level. Most top websites in China will "ask" (If pop a download window counts) user to download their apps if the user is on a phone, some websites are intentionally left dysfunctional to force user to use their app. And guess what's the first thing those apps ask you to do? "Please login(, and... maybe send ALL your information to us plus a secretly taken screenshot of your portrait)". Since almost all of them are doing this, I assume it is a crucial strategy for them to keep their user active. Facebook Twitter etc maybe up to the same thing just not bold enough.
- squarefoot 7y ago
  This happens everywhere. Privacy considerations aside, asking a user to download an app is just like placing a brand name on his/her main page, so that they're not just constantly exposed to it, but will be tempted to use the app when in need, real or ad-induced, of something to purchase.
  - blondin 7y ago
    we need to re-invent the whole internet and mobile... we can't possibly have apps for anything that spark our interest. that just won't work!
    - squarefoot 7y ago
      "we can't possibly have apps for anything that spark our interest. that just won't work!" Exactly. That was how the internet worked before the web (and still does today): pop/smtp, ftp, nntp, gopher, etc. had each one its own client because they were different protocols doing different things. But today, when phones have a working web browser that does what 99% of apps can do and more, it's against any logic forcing people to install an app for every brand, sometimes for every product. That would be ok for mail, news, file transfer, IoT, music, video, etc. because they're way different things, but installing 5 apps to read 5 newspapers or buying 5 products from 5 different vendors is like throwing into the toilet all innovation brought since the web was invented. I can guess only three reasons for this: sticking a brand name into the user screen, bypassing browsers adblockers, and getting a foot into the door for nefarious purposes since most apps require insanely dangerous privileges which one day could be exploited.
jjgreen 7y ago
That's a great analogy, but I'm not sure of the conclusion. Being a parasite on man is not good evolutionary move, since we'll pick the little bastards off. But attach to something stupid, that's a better prospect. So I guess it depends on how bright the host is, and that's questionable.

lota-putty 7y ago

I hope you mean `financial net-profit` by growth.

buboard 7y ago
I think growth is accurate, because growth leads to dominance, and then you re invincible, profit is secured