7 ms·

Completely OT but these announcements for acquisitions, new releases etc: Why are they always excited? We are really excited that Electric Imp is now part of

Completely OT but these announcements for acquisitions, new releases etc: Why are they always excited? We are really excited that Electric Imp is now part of the Twilio family. : Now that Twilio and Electric Imp have joined forces, we’re more excited than ever to see what you build. I get professional pride; it just always seems a bit overdone and insincere when it's phrased like that - though I'm sure in some cases (and no doubt this one) the participants really do feel excited.

apengwin 6y ago
Imagine: We're actually pretty ambivalent that we've acquired Electirc Imp. Is this important news? Not sure, but we'll find out together.
- mellosouls 6y ago
  Ha. I was more thinking "We are pleased to announce..." is sufficient.
  - conception 6y ago
    Being professional isn’t cool anymore.
- objektif 6y ago
  I like this one. I would add "We most likely overpaid by a lot."
vadym909 6y ago
Its an American cultural norm- which often seems 'fake' or 'posing' to Europeans, S.Americans or Asians who are little more reserved and stingy expressing such levels of sentiment. It was a shock to me when I started interviewing for jobs- and an American friend told me, its very important in the US, when interviewing to say "I'm really excited (more than you really are) about the opportunity to work at XYZ." The truth could be you hate the company or are ambivalent- but if you don't say you are absolutely excited- the assumption is you are not interested and therefore will be passed over for someone who is 'truly excited'.
- siquick 6y ago
  (Brit here) It seems like being excited or happy isn't enough anymore, you have to be super excited or super happy.
  - squarefoot 6y ago
    To me it all boils down to demand and offer. If they had to get 3 people, and there were just 10 of them all over the world, they suddenly wouldn't give a damn about the applicant being super excited, mildly excited or boringly unexcited.
- ashton314 6y ago
  I lived in Germany for two years and spent a lot of that time talking to natives, as well as students and refugees from around the world. When I returned home to my native America, I was put off by how over-the-top positive people were. I get it that when you say “how are you” in America, people are usually not asking how you are actually doing. I think I surprised a few people by telling them about all the things that were going wrong that day. Does anyone else get wrong-footed by these little niceties too?
  - PikachuEXE 6y ago
    I feel the the kind of "being excited" makes me feel strange Not saying they are bad, but strange Feels like a substitute of "the real thing" Well I don't encounter this often so I can't explain it better
  - stevenjohns 6y ago
    Not really. Pleasantries are common all over the world. If you've ever spent time in Latin America then you'd know it's rude not to ask anyone how they are before engaging in any sort of conversation. The Middle East (i.e East Asia) has very similar mannerisms. Engaging in these pleasantries signals I view you as a person rather than you are just a means to an end. It's the literal equivalent of foreplay before sex.
    - 6y ago
maerF0x0 6y ago
This is also a Bay Area thing. I've noticed that almost everything must have a bit of hyperbole to even be "Normal"... Imagine if someone says "How did you like X movie?" and you say "Yeah, I liked it". In the bay area that response would be assumed negative. Why go to a certain movie if it's not "Amazing"? Why spend $50 on sushi if it's not "Life changing"? Why wear shoes that are not "The best!" ? This is bay area culture. (it maybe else where too, but I particularly noticed it here)
- hardwaregeek 6y ago
  I 100% absolutely totally utterly agree with you. It took a bit to get used to people saying "I totally agree with you" only for that to mean that they didn't agree with me. I don't consider myself particularly blunt but in comparison I certainly come off that way.
- gumby 6y ago
  It’s an American thing.
- ZephyrBluu 6y ago
  Is there a particular reason for this becoming a cultural norm? My country (NZ) has the opposite culture. It would be really weird to hear people talk with that much hyperbole.
  - intellirogue 6y ago
    Yep, in NZ everyone would assume you were being sarcastic.
  - WJW 6y ago
    I imagine that the Bay area is more than usually filled with aggressively ambitious people, projecting "fake it till you make it" success to both themselves and others. If everyone around you does the same, anything less than "perfect" makes you a loser, which conflicts with the self image you are cultivating. Therefore, everything must be as amazing as possible just to keep up with the rest. A sort of real life instagram syndrome if you will. NZ (and other parts of the world as well, like the Nordic countries) have a similar reinforcing loop but in reverse. Excess boasting is seen as offensive, so nobody does it, so the average behavior trends towards modesty, making boasting stand out even more.
deleted 6y ago
[deleted]
pjc50 6y ago
> We are really excited that Electric Imp is now part of the Twilio family This means it's time to start your countdown to the sunset of the Electric Imp product line.
- corobo 6y ago
  Has Twilio ever killed anything it bought before it’s time? I don’t think it’s appropriate to paint every company with the Google brush, some companies still buy others for the tech rather than just the skill!
qmmmur 6y ago
It's the endless pursuit to personify business. It comes from middle management being mostly uncreative and lifeless drones.
scoutt 6y ago
For me is weirder... As a spanish and italian speaker the word "excited" always gets the "aroused" meaning... To be "exitado" (spanish) or "eccitato" (italian) means exactly to be aroused.
Dirlewanger 6y ago
You have to feign excitement to deal with the terrifying hellscape that is American corporate culture.
fiveguys94 6y ago
That's marketing for you; a good proportion of Electric Imp are brits, and we generally don't get "really excited" by anything short of the prospect of a good curry and a nice pint. Having been through other chains of acquisitions (empeg was acquired by Rio who then went chapter 11 and were acquired by DNNA who sold the engineering team to Sigmatel) where the plot was lost entirely over the passage of time, I'm entitled to play the "meh" card if necessary. In this case though, I'm personally really excited about the possibilities. Watch this space :)

apengwin 6y ago

Imagine: We're actually pretty ambivalent that we've acquired Electirc Imp. Is this important news? Not sure, but we'll find out together.

mellosouls 6y ago
Ha. I was more thinking "We are pleased to announce..." is sufficient.
- conception 6y ago
  Being professional isn’t cool anymore.
objektif 6y ago
I like this one. I would add "We most likely overpaid by a lot."

vadym909 6y ago

Its an American cultural norm- which often seems 'fake' or 'posing' to Europeans, S.Americans or Asians who are little more reserved and stingy expressing such levels of sentiment. It was a shock to me when I started interviewing for jobs- and an American friend told me, its very important in the US, when interviewing to say "I'm really excited (more than you really are) about the opportunity to work at XYZ." The truth could be you hate the company or are ambivalent- but if you don't say you are absolutely excited- the assumption is you are not interested and therefore will be passed over for someone who is 'truly excited'.

siquick 6y ago
(Brit here) It seems like being excited or happy isn't enough anymore, you have to be super excited or super happy.
- squarefoot 6y ago
  To me it all boils down to demand and offer. If they had to get 3 people, and there were just 10 of them all over the world, they suddenly wouldn't give a damn about the applicant being super excited, mildly excited or boringly unexcited.
ashton314 6y ago
I lived in Germany for two years and spent a lot of that time talking to natives, as well as students and refugees from around the world. When I returned home to my native America, I was put off by how over-the-top positive people were. I get it that when you say “how are you” in America, people are usually not asking how you are actually doing. I think I surprised a few people by telling them about all the things that were going wrong that day. Does anyone else get wrong-footed by these little niceties too?
- PikachuEXE 6y ago
  I feel the the kind of "being excited" makes me feel strange Not saying they are bad, but strange Feels like a substitute of "the real thing" Well I don't encounter this often so I can't explain it better
- stevenjohns 6y ago
  Not really. Pleasantries are common all over the world. If you've ever spent time in Latin America then you'd know it's rude not to ask anyone how they are before engaging in any sort of conversation. The Middle East (i.e East Asia) has very similar mannerisms. Engaging in these pleasantries signals I view you as a person rather than you are just a means to an end. It's the literal equivalent of foreplay before sex.
  - 6y ago

maerF0x0 6y ago

This is also a Bay Area thing. I've noticed that almost everything must have a bit of hyperbole to even be "Normal"... Imagine if someone says "How did you like X movie?" and you say "Yeah, I liked it". In the bay area that response would be assumed negative. Why go to a certain movie if it's not "Amazing"? Why spend $50 on sushi if it's not "Life changing"? Why wear shoes that are not "The best!" ? This is bay area culture. (it maybe else where too, but I particularly noticed it here)

hardwaregeek 6y ago
I 100% absolutely totally utterly agree with you. It took a bit to get used to people saying "I totally agree with you" only for that to mean that they didn't agree with me. I don't consider myself particularly blunt but in comparison I certainly come off that way.
gumby 6y ago
It’s an American thing.
ZephyrBluu 6y ago
Is there a particular reason for this becoming a cultural norm? My country (NZ) has the opposite culture. It would be really weird to hear people talk with that much hyperbole.
- intellirogue 6y ago
  Yep, in NZ everyone would assume you were being sarcastic.
- WJW 6y ago
  I imagine that the Bay area is more than usually filled with aggressively ambitious people, projecting "fake it till you make it" success to both themselves and others. If everyone around you does the same, anything less than "perfect" makes you a loser, which conflicts with the self image you are cultivating. Therefore, everything must be as amazing as possible just to keep up with the rest. A sort of real life instagram syndrome if you will. NZ (and other parts of the world as well, like the Nordic countries) have a similar reinforcing loop but in reverse. Excess boasting is seen as offensive, so nobody does it, so the average behavior trends towards modesty, making boasting stand out even more.

deleted 6y ago

[deleted]

pjc50 6y ago

> We are really excited that Electric Imp is now part of the Twilio family This means it's time to start your countdown to the sunset of the Electric Imp product line.

corobo 6y ago
Has Twilio ever killed anything it bought before it’s time? I don’t think it’s appropriate to paint every company with the Google brush, some companies still buy others for the tech rather than just the skill!

qmmmur 6y ago

It's the endless pursuit to personify business. It comes from middle management being mostly uncreative and lifeless drones.

scoutt 6y ago

For me is weirder... As a spanish and italian speaker the word "excited" always gets the "aroused" meaning... To be "exitado" (spanish) or "eccitato" (italian) means exactly to be aroused.

Dirlewanger 6y ago

You have to feign excitement to deal with the terrifying hellscape that is American corporate culture.

fiveguys94 6y ago

That's marketing for you; a good proportion of Electric Imp are brits, and we generally don't get "really excited" by anything short of the prospect of a good curry and a nice pint. Having been through other chains of acquisitions (empeg was acquired by Rio who then went chapter 11 and were acquired by DNNA who sold the engineering team to Sigmatel) where the plot was lost entirely over the passage of time, I'm entitled to play the "meh" card if necessary. In this case though, I'm personally really excited about the possibilities. Watch this space :)