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I was shocked at the beginning of the lockdown in Silicon Valley how many colleagues immediately went to a dark place because they had virtually no support stru

I was shocked at the beginning of the lockdown in Silicon Valley how many colleagues immediately went to a dark place because they had virtually no support structure, social interaction, or even sense of identity outside of their in-person workplace associations. Granted, a lot of in-person socialization out of the office is also off-the-table, but that's not the problem I heard from people. It's not healthy to live your entire life so embedded within a corporation.

Balgair 6y ago
It's understandable. Look at pre 2012 SV. All the ping-pong tables, all the beanbag chairs, the free beer, the free laundry, the sleep-pods, the cafeterias, etc. 'Cynical' people thought that these accruements were meant to keep you there and working all the time. People got rid of their apartments, set up Winnebagos in the parking lot. Intents do matter, but still, if you were that kind of person, the one that thought Google was just college 2.0, well, yeah, quarantime is not going to be good to you. This pandemic is resetting a lot of things. Expectations of intimacy are another thing on the list.
- Thorentis 6y ago
  What happened in 2012/13 that ended this?
  - Balgair 6y ago
    It's a complex issue and if you ask 10 people, you'll get 23 answers. One of my answers: the greater geopolitical community woke up to the power of Web 2.0 with Tahrir Square and the questions that social media technology poses to us all. Largely, Tahrir Square was the high water mark of Silicon Valley and the old promises of free information exchange and the hippie ethos that spawned it all. The reaction by the geopolitical leaders was swift afterwards. Again, super complex topic, I cannot stress this enough. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Egyptian_revolution_of_2011 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Egyptian_revolution_of_2011
    - Thorentis 6y ago
      This is the first I've heard of this. Got any articles about this or want to give a longer explanation?
- taurath 6y ago
  > People got rid of their apartments, set up Winnebagos in the parking lot. Thats... a lot more about rent prices than people wanting to be at work all the time.
  - hanspeter 6y ago
    It was also just one guy, I think.
- KKKKkkkk1 6y ago
  When I visited the Google office in Mountain View, I noticed the streets around it were packed with parked RVs. Do those RVs belong to homeless employees?
  - techslave 6y ago
    no. homeless people
Teknoman117 6y ago
I live alone and ended up going to live with my parents during this whole thing, since I can do my entire job remotely. It's largest amount of contiguous time I've spent with them in about a decade.

Balgair 6y ago

It's understandable. Look at pre 2012 SV. All the ping-pong tables, all the beanbag chairs, the free beer, the free laundry, the sleep-pods, the cafeterias, etc. 'Cynical' people thought that these accruements were meant to keep you there and working all the time. People got rid of their apartments, set up Winnebagos in the parking lot. Intents do matter, but still, if you were that kind of person, the one that thought Google was just college 2.0, well, yeah, quarantime is not going to be good to you. This pandemic is resetting a lot of things. Expectations of intimacy are another thing on the list.

Thorentis 6y ago
What happened in 2012/13 that ended this?
- Balgair 6y ago
  It's a complex issue and if you ask 10 people, you'll get 23 answers. One of my answers: the greater geopolitical community woke up to the power of Web 2.0 with Tahrir Square and the questions that social media technology poses to us all. Largely, Tahrir Square was the high water mark of Silicon Valley and the old promises of free information exchange and the hippie ethos that spawned it all. The reaction by the geopolitical leaders was swift afterwards. Again, super complex topic, I cannot stress this enough. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Egyptian_revolution_of_2011 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Egyptian_revolution_of_2011
  - Thorentis 6y ago
    This is the first I've heard of this. Got any articles about this or want to give a longer explanation?
taurath 6y ago
> People got rid of their apartments, set up Winnebagos in the parking lot. Thats... a lot more about rent prices than people wanting to be at work all the time.
- hanspeter 6y ago
  It was also just one guy, I think.
KKKKkkkk1 6y ago
When I visited the Google office in Mountain View, I noticed the streets around it were packed with parked RVs. Do those RVs belong to homeless employees?
- techslave 6y ago
  no. homeless people

Teknoman117 6y ago

I live alone and ended up going to live with my parents during this whole thing, since I can do my entire job remotely. It's largest amount of contiguous time I've spent with them in about a decade.