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Pardon my cynicism, but what strategic value does Kaepernick bring to Medium? On its surface, this looks like Medium broadcasting their social-moral stance by t

Pardon my cynicism, but what strategic value does Kaepernick bring to Medium? On its surface, this looks like Medium broadcasting their social-moral stance by tapping a guy who aligns with theirs. Nothing wrong with that, I guess, but it's hard not to become cynical about companies making these kinds of moves in order to virtue-signal to who they think their customer is.

ordinaryradical 6y ago
Agree. I'm glad Goodell wants him back in the NFL and he may get another shot at a career he was unjustly denied. I don't quite understand what this brings in for Medium. But I also really don't know anything about Kapaernick outside of the controversy. Is he a reader?
perfmode 6y ago
what strategic value is it customary for board members to bring?
- xwowsersx 6y ago
  Often times board members are strategic in the sense that they bring either domain expertise in the area of the business or they have connections inside the industry in which the company operates. Not always, but often...
  - perfmode 6y ago
    how would you characterize the industry in which Medium operates? how would you characterize Colin’s domain expertise? what sorts of connections do you imagine Colin might have? according to what you’ve communicated, whether you see the value may depend precisely on your answers to the above, and fundamentally: the beliefs and assumptions that underlie your answers.
deleted 6y ago
[deleted]
bradly 6y ago
For it to be virtue-signal would Kaepernick either have to not really do much or the board/c-team be dismissive of his ideas/strategies? I think companies are taking a hard look right now at if what they say they stand for is being represented by their leadership teams. My guess would be EV saw a big gap there and tried to make improvements on representation. It's hard for me to see how this could make Medium worse, and if we trust Kaepernick to make sound decisions for himself and his well being, what is there to be cynical about? Any African American being chosen for a leadership role right now have to deal with a large percentage of people questioning whether they deserve or are qualified for the position.
ssully 6y ago
I mean, they specifically say they are partnering with him and his publishing company to write stories on Medium about race and civil rights. Outside of that, they call out how his voice/actions led discussions on racial justice and how the world is just now catching up to him. I believe they are calling this out because they believe these discussions will be continuing, and they want to be the place for the discussions to happen. Also, Colin led those initial discussions years ago and took a lot of heat for it. History is now proving that he was in the right, and his critics were wrong. If you want your platform to host content about race/civil rights, Colin seems like a great person to have on your side.
GoodJokes 6y ago
Pardon my cynicism, but what strategic value does a plethora of old white men who have failed up their entire life on other boards bring? Why call out this example of a black man? Reactionary af

ordinaryradical 6y ago

Agree. I'm glad Goodell wants him back in the NFL and he may get another shot at a career he was unjustly denied. I don't quite understand what this brings in for Medium. But I also really don't know anything about Kapaernick outside of the controversy. Is he a reader?

perfmode 6y ago

what strategic value is it customary for board members to bring?

xwowsersx 6y ago
Often times board members are strategic in the sense that they bring either domain expertise in the area of the business or they have connections inside the industry in which the company operates. Not always, but often...
- perfmode 6y ago
  how would you characterize the industry in which Medium operates? how would you characterize Colin’s domain expertise? what sorts of connections do you imagine Colin might have? according to what you’ve communicated, whether you see the value may depend precisely on your answers to the above, and fundamentally: the beliefs and assumptions that underlie your answers.

deleted 6y ago

[deleted]

bradly 6y ago

For it to be virtue-signal would Kaepernick either have to not really do much or the board/c-team be dismissive of his ideas/strategies? I think companies are taking a hard look right now at if what they say they stand for is being represented by their leadership teams. My guess would be EV saw a big gap there and tried to make improvements on representation. It's hard for me to see how this could make Medium worse, and if we trust Kaepernick to make sound decisions for himself and his well being, what is there to be cynical about? Any African American being chosen for a leadership role right now have to deal with a large percentage of people questioning whether they deserve or are qualified for the position.

ssully 6y ago

I mean, they specifically say they are partnering with him and his publishing company to write stories on Medium about race and civil rights. Outside of that, they call out how his voice/actions led discussions on racial justice and how the world is just now catching up to him. I believe they are calling this out because they believe these discussions will be continuing, and they want to be the place for the discussions to happen. Also, Colin led those initial discussions years ago and took a lot of heat for it. History is now proving that he was in the right, and his critics were wrong. If you want your platform to host content about race/civil rights, Colin seems like a great person to have on your side.

GoodJokes 6y ago

Pardon my cynicism, but what strategic value does a plethora of old white men who have failed up their entire life on other boards bring? Why call out this example of a black man? Reactionary af