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Look, I'll be the first one to say there is a lot of corporate double-speak in this and the guy has a habit of rambling. I don't like the content of the video.

Look, I'll be the first one to say there is a lot of corporate double-speak in this and the guy has a habit of rambling. I don't like the content of the video. But I am surprised to see so many people saying a YouTube video is a bad way to communicate this. Would people really prefer a small news article about how they are "Restructuring for the future" or a small Twitter thread started by an ex-employee? The fact that this is a video makes it incredibly easy for us to judge his statements as humans, and easily decipher that _he is using corporate double-speak_ and judge him on that. I don't like the video. I don't like the situation. I don't like the lack of concrete transparency about why. But I do like the fact that it is communicated by a person in a video, easy for all to judge what is being said.

bluefirebrand 6y ago
The problem is that he's essentially using this news as self promotion to build his channel. He's probably getting ad revenue for that, and if he's not, youtube is. That's pretty messed up.
- slimsag 6y ago
  That's fair. I'm willing to bet that this video does more financial harm to them than anything else, especially at just 26k views - but your argument is fair.
- xhkkffbf 6y ago
  Well, what would you prefer? An anonymous blurred face like the news programs create for anonymous whistleblowers? The point is that this is more personal than some typed up press release. I suppose he could self-host it on his own site, but the reality is that many people only see YouTube videos that are recommended for them. So he's trying to reach a longer audience. (That being said, I think the reasoning is kind of bogus. Why not retrain the team? I think they just want them off the balance sheet so they can spend less on development. But that's my guess. For all of his talk about being transparent, he didn't include many numbers.)
  - bluefirebrand 6y ago
    Honestly, why does the public need an announcement like this at all? The news of a bunch of people getting fired does not need any audience, never mind a large one.
    - slimsag 6y ago
      I am so baffled by this viewpoint, I really don't understand it. Instead of living in a world where we get to openly criticize companies like Patreon for their choices and leadership failures, and instead of ex-Patreon employees being able to more easily go and get new jobs.. ..you'd rather live in a world where en-masse layoffs are not even viewed as a noteworthy event, aren't public, and instead just viewed as a "sucks to be you" private situation?
    - failwhaleshark 6y ago
      It's almost as bad as bringing an IRL audience to watch people be fired. I know of a startup that did that to me once because the owner was a massive prick and their VC had zero professionalism or taste. There are things you just don't do in business if you're a professional: - Fire people reactively, emotionally, and/or publicly - Have management disagreements in plain view of everyone - Hire random people and throw them into other people's teams - Have disagreements in front of outsiders - Let jerks accumulate/jerk behavior go uncontested - Plan and execute your business so poorly that you hire and fire swaths of staff with less thought than moving around furniture
- SpelingBeeChamp 5y ago
  This is the CEO and co-founder of Patreon we're talking about. I highly doubt he cares about his Youtube adsense revenue.

bluefirebrand 6y ago

The problem is that he's essentially using this news as self promotion to build his channel. He's probably getting ad revenue for that, and if he's not, youtube is. That's pretty messed up.

slimsag 6y ago
That's fair. I'm willing to bet that this video does more financial harm to them than anything else, especially at just 26k views - but your argument is fair.
xhkkffbf 6y ago
Well, what would you prefer? An anonymous blurred face like the news programs create for anonymous whistleblowers? The point is that this is more personal than some typed up press release. I suppose he could self-host it on his own site, but the reality is that many people only see YouTube videos that are recommended for them. So he's trying to reach a longer audience. (That being said, I think the reasoning is kind of bogus. Why not retrain the team? I think they just want them off the balance sheet so they can spend less on development. But that's my guess. For all of his talk about being transparent, he didn't include many numbers.)
- bluefirebrand 6y ago
  Honestly, why does the public need an announcement like this at all? The news of a bunch of people getting fired does not need any audience, never mind a large one.
  - slimsag 6y ago
    I am so baffled by this viewpoint, I really don't understand it. Instead of living in a world where we get to openly criticize companies like Patreon for their choices and leadership failures, and instead of ex-Patreon employees being able to more easily go and get new jobs.. ..you'd rather live in a world where en-masse layoffs are not even viewed as a noteworthy event, aren't public, and instead just viewed as a "sucks to be you" private situation?
  - failwhaleshark 6y ago
    It's almost as bad as bringing an IRL audience to watch people be fired. I know of a startup that did that to me once because the owner was a massive prick and their VC had zero professionalism or taste. There are things you just don't do in business if you're a professional: - Fire people reactively, emotionally, and/or publicly - Have management disagreements in plain view of everyone - Hire random people and throw them into other people's teams - Have disagreements in front of outsiders - Let jerks accumulate/jerk behavior go uncontested - Plan and execute your business so poorly that you hire and fire swaths of staff with less thought than moving around furniture
SpelingBeeChamp 5y ago
This is the CEO and co-founder of Patreon we're talking about. I highly doubt he cares about his Youtube adsense revenue.