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look at the comments on https://plus.google.com/106189723444098348646/posts/dRtqKJCbpZ7?hl=en https://plus.google.com/106189723444098348646/posts/dRtqKJCb... (l

look at the comments on https://plus.google.com/106189723444098348646/posts/dRtqKJCbpZ7?hl=en https://plus.google.com/106189723444098348646/posts/dRtqKJCb... (larry page's original post). why do people do this? i'm assuming they're random people on the internet. why do they feel the need to publicly associate themselves with a huge company's quarterly results? is it something like wanting to be seen with the cool kids at school? it goes on and on - pages and pages of "google!!!11!!". their own fragment of the american dream? or maybe people within google jockeying for visibility? perhaps people comment ironically - a bit like photobombing? i suppose you could respond with "andrew, why do you post on hn asking q like this?". and i guess there's some kind of cachet in not being in the crowd. but i really do find it odd. i can only imagine myself making a comment like that if i was in some kind of super-happy-smashed situation like a great party. the context just doesn't fit. are those people really all "hey, yeah" in their real lives at this moment? weird, man. also, is g+ going to implement vanity urls?

pohl 15y ago
I don't know what to tell you. What's the difference between this and cheering at a sporting event? People draw tribal boundaries where they want to. (I'm reminded of The Onion t-shirt that says "the sports team from my area is superior to the sports team from your area").
- andrewcooke 15y ago
  that's a good comparison. i'm just surprised people are the same with companies - particularly with google. people here in chile are pretty fanatical about football, but i can't imagine them posting the same kind of comments on, say, some mining company's web page. so what's the difference? is this specific to web companies? social media [i guess maybe this]? thinking more, i guess it's the whole identifying with brands thing. so google is now like apple or nike? again, i suppose it's obvious, but i wasn't aware that google was that kind of company. i guess it changed? what do people own that they've got from google? could it be android that's driving this? what's making people identify with google? going back to the "hey yeah" feeling. i've felt that with sport, sure. but do people really feel it with quarterly earnings? this isn't just snobbery - you grow up with a football team. i don't think i would have known what quarterly results were until i was, say, 20. can something you learn that late connect in the same way?
  - jrockway 15y ago
    I think it's an experience thing. Everyone uses Google; they identify with the company because they see their product every day. Google controls their Internet experience, not to mention their Emacs, Docs, and Calendar. As to why they comment on Larry Page's report to the investors... it's probably because they can. Larry Page is a celebrity, and people like celebrities. When you can send a message to him for all to see, you feel some innate desire to do so. (I don't do this, because I know that Larry Page should not give a fuck about what I think. Other people are more self-confident, I guess :) Other companies incite the emotional response in the opposite direction: nobody likes Bank of America, Comcast, or Best Buy, even though most people have no negative experiences with those companies.
  - timwiseman 15y ago
    It would be hard to do this for a coal company because few coal companies deal too directly with the consumer, and even people who buy charcoal to grill with at home often do not get too attached to one brand since charcoal is close to being a commodity (yes, there are some people with strong opinions on this, but most people do not have them). But I suspect you will find this in every field where a consumer will be highly invested in the product, and especially in fields where their use of the product can be publicly seen, and even more so when it is publicly seen and thought (rightly or wrongly) to say something about the user. Many people are very proud of the type of car they drive. Most people who ride motorcycles have very strong opinions about the different brands and styles available. Many people (certainly not all, but many) who drive a Prius do so as much because they think it says something about them as for any other reason. As others have said, people will find different forms of tribalism in just about any public activity.
TillE 15y ago
Have you ever clicked a trending topic on Twitter? Yes, people really are that vacuous. Lots of them.
muhfuhkuh 15y ago
Alot of people derive pleasure from seeing a product that they use yield success to its company. They're called fans (or the more derogatory term, fanboys). Organizations relies upon these types of fans to spread the word about a product, service, or concept that they deem worthy of sharing. It's how our consumerism world goes 'round, and this association gives fans an ego boost when the rest of the consumers catch on to what they're fans of. Maybe you associate more with the "hipster" type of fan-- one who is an early adopter and decries the product once it "goes mainstream". If you like something that no one else likes, perhaps you jealously guard it, never mentioning it to anyone else. Once it goes mainstream, you trash on it, proud of not "being in the crowd" and (as in this case) shaking your head in disbelief at the humanity of it. tl;dr: "I liked Google when they were BackRub at Stanford. You'd probably never heard of them."
- andrewcooke 15y ago
  that's the kind of criticism i was trying to fend off with the second paragraph. it's more surprise that anyone would do this than disdain for the other team. i think. but maybe i do need to get some skinnier jeans.
BvS 15y ago
Shareholders?
jrockway 15y ago
Humans are hard-coded to form tribes. Remember high school? Google vs. Apple and Google vs. Facebook is like Chess vs. Football. Everyone takes sides, and everyone identifies with the side they took. The only way to avoid this is to be very introspective and realize that taking sides is not worth being proud of: anyone can take sides, and anyone can switch sides with no effort or intelligence required. I try to do this; I like Google+ better than Facebook, so I simply use Google+ and remind my friends that they should try it. But if they want to use Facebook; fine... get my updates from somewhere else. Similarly, there are things I'm fanboy-ish about, but these are usually things that I've invested intellectual effort into: Perl, Linux, Emacs, Free software. I get fanboyish about these topics because I've spend a good part of each day trying to make these communities better than they already are. So of course I want you to "make the jump"; that way, you can appreciate my work, which will motivate me to do more. This is tribalism too, but I hope it's a "higher level" form.
- MikeCapone 15y ago
  Very insightful. I'd also add that G+'s closed nature (invite only) has made the people who are in (and I'm one of those) feel a bit like they're all part of the same little family. Inhibitions are very low. This could change once the floodgates are open.
  - jrockway 15y ago
    Yeah, I definitely get a bit of that "family feel" from Google+. Back when Facebook was brand new, I remember not being able to join because my school was not good enough. Then we were added to the good list, and it felt like you had to join because you had earned the right to. Then they opened it up to everyone and it just felt cheap.
nextparadigms 15y ago
Because they care about "why" they do things. This explains everything: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qp0HIF3SfI4 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qp0HIF3SfI4

pohl 15y ago

I don't know what to tell you. What's the difference between this and cheering at a sporting event? People draw tribal boundaries where they want to. (I'm reminded of The Onion t-shirt that says "the sports team from my area is superior to the sports team from your area").

andrewcooke 15y ago
that's a good comparison. i'm just surprised people are the same with companies - particularly with google. people here in chile are pretty fanatical about football, but i can't imagine them posting the same kind of comments on, say, some mining company's web page. so what's the difference? is this specific to web companies? social media [i guess maybe this]? thinking more, i guess it's the whole identifying with brands thing. so google is now like apple or nike? again, i suppose it's obvious, but i wasn't aware that google was that kind of company. i guess it changed? what do people own that they've got from google? could it be android that's driving this? what's making people identify with google? going back to the "hey yeah" feeling. i've felt that with sport, sure. but do people really feel it with quarterly earnings? this isn't just snobbery - you grow up with a football team. i don't think i would have known what quarterly results were until i was, say, 20. can something you learn that late connect in the same way?
- jrockway 15y ago
  I think it's an experience thing. Everyone uses Google; they identify with the company because they see their product every day. Google controls their Internet experience, not to mention their Emacs, Docs, and Calendar. As to why they comment on Larry Page's report to the investors... it's probably because they can. Larry Page is a celebrity, and people like celebrities. When you can send a message to him for all to see, you feel some innate desire to do so. (I don't do this, because I know that Larry Page should not give a fuck about what I think. Other people are more self-confident, I guess :) Other companies incite the emotional response in the opposite direction: nobody likes Bank of America, Comcast, or Best Buy, even though most people have no negative experiences with those companies.
- timwiseman 15y ago
  It would be hard to do this for a coal company because few coal companies deal too directly with the consumer, and even people who buy charcoal to grill with at home often do not get too attached to one brand since charcoal is close to being a commodity (yes, there are some people with strong opinions on this, but most people do not have them). But I suspect you will find this in every field where a consumer will be highly invested in the product, and especially in fields where their use of the product can be publicly seen, and even more so when it is publicly seen and thought (rightly or wrongly) to say something about the user. Many people are very proud of the type of car they drive. Most people who ride motorcycles have very strong opinions about the different brands and styles available. Many people (certainly not all, but many) who drive a Prius do so as much because they think it says something about them as for any other reason. As others have said, people will find different forms of tribalism in just about any public activity.

TillE 15y ago

Have you ever clicked a trending topic on Twitter? Yes, people really are that vacuous. Lots of them.

muhfuhkuh 15y ago

Alot of people derive pleasure from seeing a product that they use yield success to its company. They're called fans (or the more derogatory term, fanboys). Organizations relies upon these types of fans to spread the word about a product, service, or concept that they deem worthy of sharing. It's how our consumerism world goes 'round, and this association gives fans an ego boost when the rest of the consumers catch on to what they're fans of. Maybe you associate more with the "hipster" type of fan-- one who is an early adopter and decries the product once it "goes mainstream". If you like something that no one else likes, perhaps you jealously guard it, never mentioning it to anyone else. Once it goes mainstream, you trash on it, proud of not "being in the crowd" and (as in this case) shaking your head in disbelief at the humanity of it. tl;dr: "I liked Google when they were BackRub at Stanford. You'd probably never heard of them."

andrewcooke 15y ago
that's the kind of criticism i was trying to fend off with the second paragraph. it's more surprise that anyone would do this than disdain for the other team. i think. but maybe i do need to get some skinnier jeans.

BvS 15y ago

Shareholders?

jrockway 15y ago

Humans are hard-coded to form tribes. Remember high school? Google vs. Apple and Google vs. Facebook is like Chess vs. Football. Everyone takes sides, and everyone identifies with the side they took. The only way to avoid this is to be very introspective and realize that taking sides is not worth being proud of: anyone can take sides, and anyone can switch sides with no effort or intelligence required. I try to do this; I like Google+ better than Facebook, so I simply use Google+ and remind my friends that they should try it. But if they want to use Facebook; fine... get my updates from somewhere else. Similarly, there are things I'm fanboy-ish about, but these are usually things that I've invested intellectual effort into: Perl, Linux, Emacs, Free software. I get fanboyish about these topics because I've spend a good part of each day trying to make these communities better than they already are. So of course I want you to "make the jump"; that way, you can appreciate my work, which will motivate me to do more. This is tribalism too, but I hope it's a "higher level" form.

MikeCapone 15y ago
Very insightful. I'd also add that G+'s closed nature (invite only) has made the people who are in (and I'm one of those) feel a bit like they're all part of the same little family. Inhibitions are very low. This could change once the floodgates are open.
- jrockway 15y ago
  Yeah, I definitely get a bit of that "family feel" from Google+. Back when Facebook was brand new, I remember not being able to join because my school was not good enough. Then we were added to the good list, and it felt like you had to join because you had earned the right to. Then they opened it up to everyone and it just felt cheap.

nextparadigms 15y ago

Because they care about "why" they do things. This explains everything: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qp0HIF3SfI4 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qp0HIF3SfI4