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While a nice gesture, this would mean a lot more if Cloudflare was doing poorly right now. They're doing great, so this costs them very little and seems mostly

While a nice gesture, this would mean a lot more if Cloudflare was doing poorly right now. They're doing great, so this costs them very little and seems mostly like a PR stunt.

0xffff2 7y ago
Huh? If they were doing poorly they wouldn't be able to afford to do this. It's exactly the companies that are doing well that we want to step up and do things like this.
- mdorazio 7y ago
  That's the entire point you and other commenters are missing here. It's very easy to be generous when you're doing well, it's a lot harder to be generous when you're not. The latter is far more noble as a result. Easy comparison: if a millionaire stands up and yells at everyone about how they just donated $100 to a charity while someone else with barely any savings quietly donates the same amount, which one is more deserving of praise? Cloudflare is the millionaire in this example, thousands of small businesses making actual sacrifices to keep employees from getting fired are the other person. This is a feel-good PR stunt.
  - renewiltord 7y ago
    Honestly, 'deserving of praise' makes no sense to me. There are only behaviours you want to reinforce and behaviours you want to discourage. I think I want to reinforce offering internships (giving the $100 in your example) so I wouldn't differentiate between the two cases and I'd praise them both. This company is stepping up when they are able to. Good. I want more of that.
mehrdadn 7y ago
Yeah, they should really apologize for not harming themselves before trying to help others. Helping out interns when your business isn't tanking is such a selfish and unforgivable PR stunt.
giu 7y ago
Even if it's a PR stunt, what's so bad about this specific case? It costs Cloudflare little (this for one depends on how the mentoring is set up), yes, but it also provides a possibility for students to work on interesting problems during a difficult time, and they also get paid (the CEO just confirmed this in a comment on this post; additionally, see https://blog.cloudflare.com/cloudflare-doubling-size-of-2020-summer-intern-class/ https://blog.cloudflare.com/cloudflare-doubling-size-of-2020...) All in all I think this is a good thing in these times, PR stunt or not. Disclaimer: I don't work at Cloudflare
- mdorazio 7y ago
  I never said it's not a good thing. It's a great thing. It's also a PR stunt that costs them basically nothing. Downvote me all you want, I'll still call out this kind of thing every time I see it.
  - KoftaBob 7y ago
    What are you accomplishing and/or who are you helping by "calling out" the fact that these things help them from a PR perspective?
xyzzy92 7y ago
I have no idea why there is always a negative take on every HN post these days. Internships are the cheapest way to find talent. Many companies lay a path to obtain a full-time position after internships and its a win-win for both.

While a nice gesture, this would mean a lot more if Cloudflare was doing poorly right now. They're doing great, so this costs them very little and seems mostly like a PR stunt.

0xffff2 7y ago

Huh? If they were doing poorly they wouldn't be able to afford to do this. It's exactly the companies that are doing well that we want to step up and do things like this.

mdorazio 7y ago
That's the entire point you and other commenters are missing here. It's very easy to be generous when you're doing well, it's a lot harder to be generous when you're not. The latter is far more noble as a result. Easy comparison: if a millionaire stands up and yells at everyone about how they just donated $100 to a charity while someone else with barely any savings quietly donates the same amount, which one is more deserving of praise? Cloudflare is the millionaire in this example, thousands of small businesses making actual sacrifices to keep employees from getting fired are the other person. This is a feel-good PR stunt.
- renewiltord 7y ago
  Honestly, 'deserving of praise' makes no sense to me. There are only behaviours you want to reinforce and behaviours you want to discourage. I think I want to reinforce offering internships (giving the $100 in your example) so I wouldn't differentiate between the two cases and I'd praise them both. This company is stepping up when they are able to. Good. I want more of that.

mehrdadn 7y ago

Yeah, they should really apologize for not harming themselves before trying to help others. Helping out interns when your business isn't tanking is such a selfish and unforgivable PR stunt.

giu 7y ago

Even if it's a PR stunt, what's so bad about this specific case? It costs Cloudflare little (this for one depends on how the mentoring is set up), yes, but it also provides a possibility for students to work on interesting problems during a difficult time, and they also get paid (the CEO just confirmed this in a comment on this post; additionally, see https://blog.cloudflare.com/cloudflare-doubling-size-of-2020-summer-intern-class/ https://blog.cloudflare.com/cloudflare-doubling-size-of-2020...) All in all I think this is a good thing in these times, PR stunt or not. Disclaimer: I don't work at Cloudflare

mdorazio 7y ago
I never said it's not a good thing. It's a great thing. It's also a PR stunt that costs them basically nothing. Downvote me all you want, I'll still call out this kind of thing every time I see it.
- KoftaBob 7y ago
  What are you accomplishing and/or who are you helping by "calling out" the fact that these things help them from a PR perspective?

xyzzy92 7y ago

I have no idea why there is always a negative take on every HN post these days. Internships are the cheapest way to find talent. Many companies lay a path to obtain a full-time position after internships and its a win-win for both.