4 ms·

> The people at this company actually believe in the mission of bringing the world closer together. I'm sure this is true, but that's not the point. Lots of pe

> The people at this company actually believe in the mission of bringing the world closer together. I'm sure this is true, but that's not the point. Lots of people chose to do wrong things due to the belief in their mission. The Russians believe they're doing the right thing in Ukraine right now, does that justify their actions, the death and destruction? People always believe they're doing the right thing, whether or not it's actually true. Corporations just make it really easy to convince yourself that what you're doing has a positive impact because they have entire teams of people whose job it is to create that messaging. We all have the capacity to lie to ourselves, and I'm sure getting treated like a "rockstar" helps to avoid reality, as the author points out. If you still wonder why people work at Facebook, here's your answer. They, like so many others out there, believe the lies they manufacture themselves to perpetuate this system. They're hooked on their own supply.

mrkramer 4y ago
>If you still wonder why people work at Facebook, here's your answer. I think the primary incentive is money; if it wasn't for the money they would work for some nonprofit or be self-employed but the thing is nor nonprofit nor self-employment can earn you the money that Facebook can pay you unless you really "make it" by being self-employed. My assumption is majority of people are incentivized by money not by the cause but me personally I would rather try to "bring people closer together" by doing my thing than believe in corporate bullshit that Facebook feeds you with day in, day out.
- goldcd 4y ago
  I suspect that a great salary helps attract/retain - but (and I'm not a rockstar coder who has to worry about this) - but out of the FAANGs, Facebook on the surface looks to be the least interesting. There's the big social media silo and the Oculus and Whatsapp acquisitions - but nothing I look at and think "it would be cool to work on that". Just feels similar to some of the old guard like ebay - a dominant company that makes and I'm sure can pay well, but nothing I'd cut off my left arm to work on.
  - qualifiedeephd 4y ago
    >Facebook on the surface looks to be the least interesting. lol. i work on compilers at FB. it's like being a kid in a candy store. edit: and in comparison to google (not sure about amazon and ms), it's a much more open culture regarding technical reporting. maybe it's surprising, maybe it's not, but internal communications are done over workplace i.e. FB (so FB for FB). that means i can see all manner of technical writeups from all parts of the company, and i can immediately reach out to people (chat) and quickly learn about new things. just imagine, thousands and thousands of experts in their area, working on high tech, a chat away. and i'm not even just meaning SWE type people - i've chatted at length with some of the machinists at that support prototyping for oculus. it's not utopian (often times you can't get an answer from someone when you need it) but it's pretty great. when/if i leave for another FAANG i will definitely miss that.
    - goldcd 4y ago
      I stand corrected - think my obvious flaw was just judging from what's observed from outside. You're completely right that it's the internal processes that mainly affect your job enjoyment.
alephxyz 4y ago
"The first principle is that you must not fool yourself, and you are the easiest person to fool."
axg11 4y ago
You make a a great argument, without any evidence. I think there is a real case to made for saying that Facebook/Meta's products have brought people much closer together. Between Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp I am _far_ more frequently in contact with friends (and acquaintances) than an alternate reality where these products do not exist. Social media is an inevitable result of the internet. Take a look at any social platform: Twitter, TikTok, LinkedIn, and Snap. All of these platforms suffer from similar issues to Facebook/Instagram. They all harbour disinformation, and all of these platforms come with considerable other downsides along with their main positive goal: connecting people. I am not a Meta apologist. Meta and Zuckerberg, have made plenty of mistakes in their history. Facebook and Instagram happen to be the two biggest platforms (discounting YouTube and chat-only platforms). Perhaps _some_ of the issues we see on these platforms are inevitable outcomes as a result of human behaviour? I've spent some time diving into Facebook's efforts in moderation and safety. Despite all the negative coverage, they are one of the companies that has actually poured a lot of resources into these functions.
- widjit 4y ago
  for someone complaining about a lack of evidence, this response is dripping with bias and unprovable speculation we simply do not have access to an "alternate reality where these products do not exist" (so talking about it is misleading at best) and to claim that platform issues are "inevitable outcomes ... of human behavior" is a dangerous fallacy; what we can talk about meaningfully is what these companies and platforms do and are doing, and no amount of specious talk can (or should) cover for the astounding negatives that they have imposed on society.

mrkramer 4y ago

>If you still wonder why people work at Facebook, here's your answer. I think the primary incentive is money; if it wasn't for the money they would work for some nonprofit or be self-employed but the thing is nor nonprofit nor self-employment can earn you the money that Facebook can pay you unless you really "make it" by being self-employed. My assumption is majority of people are incentivized by money not by the cause but me personally I would rather try to "bring people closer together" by doing my thing than believe in corporate bullshit that Facebook feeds you with day in, day out.

goldcd 4y ago
I suspect that a great salary helps attract/retain - but (and I'm not a rockstar coder who has to worry about this) - but out of the FAANGs, Facebook on the surface looks to be the least interesting. There's the big social media silo and the Oculus and Whatsapp acquisitions - but nothing I look at and think "it would be cool to work on that". Just feels similar to some of the old guard like ebay - a dominant company that makes and I'm sure can pay well, but nothing I'd cut off my left arm to work on.
- qualifiedeephd 4y ago
  >Facebook on the surface looks to be the least interesting. lol. i work on compilers at FB. it's like being a kid in a candy store. edit: and in comparison to google (not sure about amazon and ms), it's a much more open culture regarding technical reporting. maybe it's surprising, maybe it's not, but internal communications are done over workplace i.e. FB (so FB for FB). that means i can see all manner of technical writeups from all parts of the company, and i can immediately reach out to people (chat) and quickly learn about new things. just imagine, thousands and thousands of experts in their area, working on high tech, a chat away. and i'm not even just meaning SWE type people - i've chatted at length with some of the machinists at that support prototyping for oculus. it's not utopian (often times you can't get an answer from someone when you need it) but it's pretty great. when/if i leave for another FAANG i will definitely miss that.
  - goldcd 4y ago
    I stand corrected - think my obvious flaw was just judging from what's observed from outside. You're completely right that it's the internal processes that mainly affect your job enjoyment.

alephxyz 4y ago

"The first principle is that you must not fool yourself, and you are the easiest person to fool."

axg11 4y ago

You make a a great argument, without any evidence. I think there is a real case to made for saying that Facebook/Meta's products have brought people much closer together. Between Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp I am _far_ more frequently in contact with friends (and acquaintances) than an alternate reality where these products do not exist. Social media is an inevitable result of the internet. Take a look at any social platform: Twitter, TikTok, LinkedIn, and Snap. All of these platforms suffer from similar issues to Facebook/Instagram. They all harbour disinformation, and all of these platforms come with considerable other downsides along with their main positive goal: connecting people. I am not a Meta apologist. Meta and Zuckerberg, have made plenty of mistakes in their history. Facebook and Instagram happen to be the two biggest platforms (discounting YouTube and chat-only platforms). Perhaps _some_ of the issues we see on these platforms are inevitable outcomes as a result of human behaviour? I've spent some time diving into Facebook's efforts in moderation and safety. Despite all the negative coverage, they are one of the companies that has actually poured a lot of resources into these functions.

widjit 4y ago
for someone complaining about a lack of evidence, this response is dripping with bias and unprovable speculation we simply do not have access to an "alternate reality where these products do not exist" (so talking about it is misleading at best) and to claim that platform issues are "inevitable outcomes ... of human behavior" is a dangerous fallacy; what we can talk about meaningfully is what these companies and platforms do and are doing, and no amount of specious talk can (or should) cover for the astounding negatives that they have imposed on society.