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Damn, I feel cynical. But, sometimes HN is weird. From the article: > "This data can be used for many other purposes, too, many of which probably haven't been

Damn, I feel cynical. But, sometimes HN is weird. From the article: > "This data can be used for many other purposes, too, many of which probably haven't been invented yet," he said. > and " ... it is now estimated that 72 million pieces of personal data will be collected on every child around the world before their 13th birthday. " Meanwhile on the front page of HN at the same time, titled "VCs are Scared When They Should be Greedy" (https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=32170244 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=32170244) this appears with advice to companies seeking funding: > They need to build companies that attract investment. ... A founder willing to play into an investor’s need for certainty is a founder that’s going to come away with a deal. So, who do we need to tell to fuck off? The VC's who fund and encourage the shitty companies that gather this data for greater, more certain profits? The companies harvesting the data because their business model is really shadow/surveillance in exchange for that sweet VC money? We tech folks who work for these companies and write the shitty, invasive software and maintain the shitty, invasive databases that fuck customers over, so we can pull a salary, and hopefully some options? (Like hey, man , I am not my company.) Or the customer, who should just shut up, fuck off, and give up their data already? We give you the shitty... ahem, "high entertainment value", app for free. What do you expect for nothing?

quantified 4y ago
You actually are your company. Not the articles of incorporation with Delaware or wherever, or anyone particularly influential, but you are it in the same way that a piece of your spleen is you. This is what Mitt Romney got right when he said "corporations are people" (not the part he thought he got right). So if it's not changing the world for the better, it really is on you. Like the candy wrapper you let flutter away in the gentle breeze that you could have gone after but chose not to, or the car engine you left on for 20 minutes while chatting with your neighbor on their porch, you are an insignificant but definite contribution to the pollution.

quantified 4y ago

You actually are your company. Not the articles of incorporation with Delaware or wherever, or anyone particularly influential, but you are it in the same way that a piece of your spleen is you. This is what Mitt Romney got right when he said "corporations are people" (not the part he thought he got right). So if it's not changing the world for the better, it really is on you. Like the candy wrapper you let flutter away in the gentle breeze that you could have gone after but chose not to, or the car engine you left on for 20 minutes while chatting with your neighbor on their porch, you are an insignificant but definite contribution to the pollution.