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It is extremely self important. The fact that so many people with these proclivities have gravitated to Google can not be a good thing. I have to imagine Google

It is extremely self important. The fact that so many people with these proclivities have gravitated to Google can not be a good thing. I have to imagine Google HR is not too troubled by shedding noisy moralizers within their ranks.

shadowgovt 7y ago
Google spent decades selecting for these "moralizers" and is now reaping what it sowed; "don't be evil" was a cultural slogan that carries consequences if it attracts a particular kind of mindset. And in a few cases, yeah; HR is shitting bricks because it's losing people who built the underlying fabric of the system (which anyone who has built a large system will tell you increases risk to the entire software company; they're pretty sure the exiting employee has written down all the mission-critical knowledge of how to operate the system riding around in their head, and Google has a corporate culture of minimizing the "bus factor" of key systems, but there's always a risk that the next time something significant catches fire, the employee with 1.5 decades of experience who just walked out the door is the one who could have fixed it fastest). It'll be interesting to see if quality of product suffers (i.e. if there was actually correlation between technical competence and a care about the fate of the world and fellow employees).
- crdoconnor 7y ago
  >Google spent decades selecting for these "moralizers" and is now reaping what it sowed; "don't be evil" was a cultural slogan that carries consequences if it attracts a particular kind of mindset. And apparently that mindset drove an enormous amount of profit and, at least in the beginning, gave the company some sort of social conscience. It's amazing that you can be so against these things
  - shadowgovt 7y ago
    If that last sentence was directed at me, I fail to see what you've perceived me to be against. I'm in favor of people who may feel they were sold a false bill of goods when they joined re-evaluating their position and either fighting internally to change the direction the ship is steering or leaving the company if they don't see the direction as changeable.
  - booboolayla 7y ago
    A cog in the machine did not drive an enormous amount of profit - it's the higher echelon of the company that does it. The cog spent years thinking it's a moral paragon and an example to be looked up to, all the while it's been spinning the greatest spying machine man kind has ever known.
jodrellblank 7y ago
How is it anymore “self important” than any other blogger or internet commenter talking about climate change or human rights? Why are you calling “caring about people” a “proclivity” as if it was distasteful compared to the pure and high minded pursuit of profit at all costs?

shadowgovt 7y ago

Google spent decades selecting for these "moralizers" and is now reaping what it sowed; "don't be evil" was a cultural slogan that carries consequences if it attracts a particular kind of mindset. And in a few cases, yeah; HR is shitting bricks because it's losing people who built the underlying fabric of the system (which anyone who has built a large system will tell you increases risk to the entire software company; they're pretty sure the exiting employee has written down all the mission-critical knowledge of how to operate the system riding around in their head, and Google has a corporate culture of minimizing the "bus factor" of key systems, but there's always a risk that the next time something significant catches fire, the employee with 1.5 decades of experience who just walked out the door is the one who could have fixed it fastest). It'll be interesting to see if quality of product suffers (i.e. if there was actually correlation between technical competence and a care about the fate of the world and fellow employees).

crdoconnor 7y ago
>Google spent decades selecting for these "moralizers" and is now reaping what it sowed; "don't be evil" was a cultural slogan that carries consequences if it attracts a particular kind of mindset. And apparently that mindset drove an enormous amount of profit and, at least in the beginning, gave the company some sort of social conscience. It's amazing that you can be so against these things
- shadowgovt 7y ago
  If that last sentence was directed at me, I fail to see what you've perceived me to be against. I'm in favor of people who may feel they were sold a false bill of goods when they joined re-evaluating their position and either fighting internally to change the direction the ship is steering or leaving the company if they don't see the direction as changeable.
- booboolayla 7y ago
  A cog in the machine did not drive an enormous amount of profit - it's the higher echelon of the company that does it. The cog spent years thinking it's a moral paragon and an example to be looked up to, all the while it's been spinning the greatest spying machine man kind has ever known.

jodrellblank 7y ago

How is it anymore “self important” than any other blogger or internet commenter talking about climate change or human rights? Why are you calling “caring about people” a “proclivity” as if it was distasteful compared to the pure and high minded pursuit of profit at all costs?