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I mean, despite my huge ethical disagreements with FB, they have successfully built one of the largest platforms (the largest by active users??) in the world. S

I mean, despite my huge ethical disagreements with FB, they have successfully built one of the largest platforms (the largest by active users??) in the world. Scaling at this side is very, very difficult. Not to mention creating some of the widest-used OSS libraries on the web. Plus, it’s one of the few platforms our grandparents can use, and we all know how hard it can be to make software that older folks like to use. So they are clearly not hiring terrible devs. (Well, sure some of them are, but that’s the case everywhere)

gregjor 4y ago
I can agree with all of that but still question how it requires so many supposedly “best” engineers. Facebook won the network effect lottery years ago, creating (or falling backwards into) an addictive platform that people join because everyone they know joined, not because their platform has obvious technical advantages over competitors. They scaled the platform organically over time because they had to, not because of some genius master plan. My parents successfully use iPhones and iPads and GMail, along with Facebook. I can’t say they “like to use” Facebook, but if they want to see photos of their kids and grandkids they have to use it. I don’t know anyone who enjoys using FB, including my own kids. It seems users see it as a necessary evil — where else can they go?