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I think you are wrong in your assertion that "it takes a lot to rile up a company". It takes very little, as you can see from his story. Just pointing out blin

by neilk 16y ago

I think you are wrong in your assertion that "it takes a lot to rile up a company". It takes very little, as you can see from his story. Just pointing out blindingly obvious facts of privilege, race, and class can cause large companies to shit themselves. That's the point. You see his statements as passive-aggressive. They aren't. Passive-aggressive is something like "I respect your right to your opinion, no matter how steeped in white male professional privilege it may be." His statements are completely factual, even underplayed. I didn't even hear any ill-will towards the company (that just fired him, and threatened to fire his friends and co-workers), any conclusion about Google or TransVideo's actions, or indeed anything other than mild interest in people who didn't come from the same background. Now, we don't know what really happened, other than his own account. But I find the story credible.

yanw 16y ago
The credibility of the story isn't the issue, the issue is it's sensationalist nature These are the contract workers of a company that was hired by Google and as it is typical of contract workers and low wage jobs they are mostly (and sadly) minorities. They don't have access to Google's perks because they are not Google employees, their paychecks and amenities are taken cared of by their contractors. Security personnel get involved when people are snooping around company grounds this is all procedural, lets not take this stuff out of perspective. Edit: @neilk: there is nothing wrong going on. There are full time 401k employees and temp/contract low wage ones the author is representing it as if he uncovered a wrongdoing and was stopped from investigating it which is delusional. Edit 2: @neilk: It could be because their book scanning project is the subject of court cases and lawsuits and an overall sensitive project that some of it's inner workings they prefer to keep hidden, or maybe because he's not a Google employee and they weren't certain of his intentions so they played it safe, or because it's not the most glamorous part of their business, or a thousand other justifications, but as you mentioned it's all within their right.
- neilk 16y ago
  If this is a typical arrangement that companies often make, why is it sensational? @yanw: I agree there's nothing wrong going on, and everyone is within their rights. What's wrong with taking a picture of it? And before you reply that all photography on campus is supposed to be discouraged, you're right, but in practice nobody enforces that policy if you're taking pictures of other parts of Google. There are tons of photos on Flickr.
  - pg 16y ago
    Sensationalist means describing routine and/or innocent things in a way that makes them seem like a bigger deal than they are. As you surely knew.
    - neilk 16y ago
      Well, we can disagree, but I was not being disingenuous. I don't understand this attitude that (a) every company does this, there's nothing new here but (b) just videoing the parking lot is somehow an act on par with a Michael Moore muckraking job. It's one or the other. I do agree it's totally routine, but it is a bit dissonant with Google's carefully crafted image as the happiest workplace on earth, and that makes it interesting. Having worked there I don't think of Google as a shining light, nor is it an evil conspiracy; there are a lot of aspects that are just normal and prosaic. I think for a lot of people, it would be interesting to know that minority and low-skill workers also have jobs at Google, and that there is boring drudge work to do at Google, and class divisions like any other place in America. This doesn't mean Google is particularly evil or an exploiter, and I -- really, honestly! -- didn't see any such accusation in the original video, nor am I making one myself.
      - tkahn6 16y ago
        > just videoing the parking lot is somehow an act on par with a Michael Moore muckraking job You are being disingenuous. He wasn't terminated for 'just videoing a parking lot'. He clearly stated his goals were to investigate class and race on the Google campus as it related to the yellow badge workers. That sounds exactly like Michael Moore style muckraking.
kstenerud 16y ago
> Passive-aggressive is something like "I respect your right to your opinion, no matter how steeped in white male professional privilege it may be." Or something like "found it interesting that these workers, who perform labor similar to that of many red-badge contractors, such as software engineers, custodians, security guards, etc., are mostly people of color and cannot eat Google meals, take the shuttle, ride a bike, or step foot anywhere else on campus." Or "I was not aware of how secretive the Book Search project is" Or "understand how seriously my curiosity could jeopardize not only my own job and Transvideos’ relationship with Google" > His statements are completely factual, even underplayed. His statements are very slanted. "chubby white man", "extremely confidential area", "filtered and separated neatly into their bracketed accounts", "Ralph, the millionaire who owns Transvideo", and others I mentioned previously are carefully crafted to paint Google (and Transvideo) in the light of not only an exploiter of minorities, but also a petty company that cares more about their data integrity than people. > I didn't even hear any ill-will towards the company There's plenty of ill will and contempt there, seething beneath the surface in that passive-aggressive voice.

by neilk 16y ago

yanw 16y ago

The credibility of the story isn't the issue, the issue is it's sensationalist nature These are the contract workers of a company that was hired by Google and as it is typical of contract workers and low wage jobs they are mostly (and sadly) minorities. They don't have access to Google's perks because they are not Google employees, their paychecks and amenities are taken cared of by their contractors. Security personnel get involved when people are snooping around company grounds this is all procedural, lets not take this stuff out of perspective. Edit: @neilk: there is nothing wrong going on. There are full time 401k employees and temp/contract low wage ones the author is representing it as if he uncovered a wrongdoing and was stopped from investigating it which is delusional. Edit 2: @neilk: It could be because their book scanning project is the subject of court cases and lawsuits and an overall sensitive project that some of it's inner workings they prefer to keep hidden, or maybe because he's not a Google employee and they weren't certain of his intentions so they played it safe, or because it's not the most glamorous part of their business, or a thousand other justifications, but as you mentioned it's all within their right.

neilk 16y ago
If this is a typical arrangement that companies often make, why is it sensational? @yanw: I agree there's nothing wrong going on, and everyone is within their rights. What's wrong with taking a picture of it? And before you reply that all photography on campus is supposed to be discouraged, you're right, but in practice nobody enforces that policy if you're taking pictures of other parts of Google. There are tons of photos on Flickr.
- pg 16y ago
  Sensationalist means describing routine and/or innocent things in a way that makes them seem like a bigger deal than they are. As you surely knew.
  - neilk 16y ago
    Well, we can disagree, but I was not being disingenuous. I don't understand this attitude that (a) every company does this, there's nothing new here but (b) just videoing the parking lot is somehow an act on par with a Michael Moore muckraking job. It's one or the other. I do agree it's totally routine, but it is a bit dissonant with Google's carefully crafted image as the happiest workplace on earth, and that makes it interesting. Having worked there I don't think of Google as a shining light, nor is it an evil conspiracy; there are a lot of aspects that are just normal and prosaic. I think for a lot of people, it would be interesting to know that minority and low-skill workers also have jobs at Google, and that there is boring drudge work to do at Google, and class divisions like any other place in America. This doesn't mean Google is particularly evil or an exploiter, and I -- really, honestly! -- didn't see any such accusation in the original video, nor am I making one myself.
    - tkahn6 16y ago
      > just videoing the parking lot is somehow an act on par with a Michael Moore muckraking job You are being disingenuous. He wasn't terminated for 'just videoing a parking lot'. He clearly stated his goals were to investigate class and race on the Google campus as it related to the yellow badge workers. That sounds exactly like Michael Moore style muckraking.

kstenerud 16y ago

> Passive-aggressive is something like "I respect your right to your opinion, no matter how steeped in white male professional privilege it may be." Or something like "found it interesting that these workers, who perform labor similar to that of many red-badge contractors, such as software engineers, custodians, security guards, etc., are mostly people of color and cannot eat Google meals, take the shuttle, ride a bike, or step foot anywhere else on campus." Or "I was not aware of how secretive the Book Search project is" Or "understand how seriously my curiosity could jeopardize not only my own job and Transvideos’ relationship with Google" > His statements are completely factual, even underplayed. His statements are very slanted. "chubby white man", "extremely confidential area", "filtered and separated neatly into their bracketed accounts", "Ralph, the millionaire who owns Transvideo", and others I mentioned previously are carefully crafted to paint Google (and Transvideo) in the light of not only an exploiter of minorities, but also a petty company that cares more about their data integrity than people. > I didn't even hear any ill-will towards the company There's plenty of ill will and contempt there, seething beneath the surface in that passive-aggressive voice.