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Facebook is one of these companies that are so disconnected with their user base they cannot even comprehend why people are upset. The best part about facebook

Facebook is one of these companies that are so disconnected with their user base they cannot even comprehend why people are upset. The best part about facebook is that they think they're so freaking good, lecturing others about how to speak and act while themselves doing the opposite. Corporate double speak, the main thing I hate about woke culture.

Nextgrid 6y ago
Facebook is absolutely not disconnected from their userbase - their product is great at addressing their user's needs. There are many problems with Facebook, including being disconnected with the law/regulations, ethics and morals, but being disconnected from their userbase is not that. Regarding "wokeness", this is not specific to Facebook per-se and is commonplace in the startup/tech world where the majority of companies make their revenue from intangible things such as "growth and engagement" which bad PR (or just a loud minority) would adversely affect. Wokeness is not usually a thing in companies which have a competitive edge and a real product people buy because their revenue isn't entirely dependent on public opinion and their competitive edge means it's hard/impossible to replace their product with a competitor's (assuming there are competitors even).
- NinjaSaves 6y ago
  I think what Facebook is very good at is developing features and app elements that Increase User Engagement(TM). Which is some thin PR language on top of the truth: Facebook develops their apps to maximize user addiction and subsequently enact a lot of de-facto peer pressure to constantly expand their install base without them even having to try. Built-in word of mouth plus peer-pressure. Facebook conditions their userbase to need the app in their life, whether because your pictures are all there or because your family is on it, and beyond that it doesn't really matter if they listen to their base. They've got them already. Maybe the userbase thinks facebook addresses their users' "needs" (strong word for it), but that's more of a commentary on FB's propaganda team and black-hat UX than anything else.
gbersac 6y ago
People don't use Facebook because it won't share their data. I'm pretty sure most Facebook user suspect Facebook does it more than it actualy does. People use Facebook because it is efficient at connecting people. The "won't share your data" part is very secondary to that.
- deleted 6y ago
  [deleted]
cbozeman 6y ago
Corporations adhering to 'woke' politics / ethics is a result of this overprotectedness that the most recent generation was subjected to. Jonathan Haidt has a lot of great work in this area. He mentions how things started to shift in earnest around 2015, and I gotta tell you, having left college at 2013, I definitely agree. I started seeing rumblings of it around that time. Eventually those people leave university and go get jobs at these corporations. The other part, and I don't know how dramatic it is, is that a lot of corporations are so terrified of losing a single nickel, that they'll support whatever trend of the moment they need to, to protect their profits.
- ecmascript 6y ago
  I completely disagree, I am ~30 and I believe my generation strongly dislikes woke culture and people younger than me hates it with all their hearts, except for a rare few that is into it. The main pushers of woke culture, imo, is my parents generation and generally people older than 40. My generation cares a lot more about facts than the boomer generation which cares a lot more about feelings. That is why when selling to my generation you always want to be upfront with facts and pricing and when selling to older people you want to paint how the product or service are gonna make their lives better and much more about the emotions. My generation is used to being spammed by information since we were small, my parents weren't and are much more susceptible to bullshit.
  - cbozeman 6y ago
    > my generation strongly dislikes woke culture and people younger than me hates it with all their hearts, except for a rare few that is into it. My nephew has a totally different take on this... he's graduating from UT Austin, and I know that's a very liberal campus, but he's also persona non grata, being a 22 year old straight white male who got his Dad's 9/11 G.I. Bill and grew up in thoroughly middle class / lower upper middle class areas for his entire life. He had a bit of mini-breakdown when he and his girlfriend came to spend a weekend with me in Fort Worth around Christmastime. The constant barrage of "white men" being the source of the world's problems, and "recognize / check your privilege" when he would have discussions in classes over the past four years had really worn on him.

Nextgrid 6y ago

Facebook is absolutely not disconnected from their userbase - their product is great at addressing their user's needs. There are many problems with Facebook, including being disconnected with the law/regulations, ethics and morals, but being disconnected from their userbase is not that. Regarding "wokeness", this is not specific to Facebook per-se and is commonplace in the startup/tech world where the majority of companies make their revenue from intangible things such as "growth and engagement" which bad PR (or just a loud minority) would adversely affect. Wokeness is not usually a thing in companies which have a competitive edge and a real product people buy because their revenue isn't entirely dependent on public opinion and their competitive edge means it's hard/impossible to replace their product with a competitor's (assuming there are competitors even).

NinjaSaves 6y ago
I think what Facebook is very good at is developing features and app elements that Increase User Engagement(TM). Which is some thin PR language on top of the truth: Facebook develops their apps to maximize user addiction and subsequently enact a lot of de-facto peer pressure to constantly expand their install base without them even having to try. Built-in word of mouth plus peer-pressure. Facebook conditions their userbase to need the app in their life, whether because your pictures are all there or because your family is on it, and beyond that it doesn't really matter if they listen to their base. They've got them already. Maybe the userbase thinks facebook addresses their users' "needs" (strong word for it), but that's more of a commentary on FB's propaganda team and black-hat UX than anything else.

gbersac 6y ago

People don't use Facebook because it won't share their data. I'm pretty sure most Facebook user suspect Facebook does it more than it actualy does. People use Facebook because it is efficient at connecting people. The "won't share your data" part is very secondary to that.

deleted 6y ago
[deleted]

cbozeman 6y ago

Corporations adhering to 'woke' politics / ethics is a result of this overprotectedness that the most recent generation was subjected to. Jonathan Haidt has a lot of great work in this area. He mentions how things started to shift in earnest around 2015, and I gotta tell you, having left college at 2013, I definitely agree. I started seeing rumblings of it around that time. Eventually those people leave university and go get jobs at these corporations. The other part, and I don't know how dramatic it is, is that a lot of corporations are so terrified of losing a single nickel, that they'll support whatever trend of the moment they need to, to protect their profits.

ecmascript 6y ago
I completely disagree, I am ~30 and I believe my generation strongly dislikes woke culture and people younger than me hates it with all their hearts, except for a rare few that is into it. The main pushers of woke culture, imo, is my parents generation and generally people older than 40. My generation cares a lot more about facts than the boomer generation which cares a lot more about feelings. That is why when selling to my generation you always want to be upfront with facts and pricing and when selling to older people you want to paint how the product or service are gonna make their lives better and much more about the emotions. My generation is used to being spammed by information since we were small, my parents weren't and are much more susceptible to bullshit.
- cbozeman 6y ago
  > my generation strongly dislikes woke culture and people younger than me hates it with all their hearts, except for a rare few that is into it. My nephew has a totally different take on this... he's graduating from UT Austin, and I know that's a very liberal campus, but he's also persona non grata, being a 22 year old straight white male who got his Dad's 9/11 G.I. Bill and grew up in thoroughly middle class / lower upper middle class areas for his entire life. He had a bit of mini-breakdown when he and his girlfriend came to spend a weekend with me in Fort Worth around Christmastime. The constant barrage of "white men" being the source of the world's problems, and "recognize / check your privilege" when he would have discussions in classes over the past four years had really worn on him.