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Many many moons ago when i pointed out that FAANG are modern day fords and chryslers everyone thought i was exaggerating. Actually if you think about it they ar

Many many moons ago when i pointed out that FAANG are modern day fords and chryslers everyone thought i was exaggerating. Actually if you think about it they are in an even more precarious position as no one really _needs_ them and their popularity are a thing of fashion, and are far from too big to fail. Edit: Linkedin shows 300k jobs available in the us for the term "software engineer". I like to think and hope that things will be fine for those laid off.

bioemerl 4y ago
No way. Apple, Microsoft, Amazon, they all have very good businesses with very concrete productivity bonuses and real world advantages that they give to people, you can't make those things disappear. They also don't have good foreign competitors, like Chrysler and so on had in Japan. There are Chinese companies, but those companies largely exist thanks to their state barring competition from the outside, and I don't see it being super likely that that is a real threat, especially because if Chinese companies really start taking off the United States government will clamp down on them hard. I think these layoffs are more an example of just how crazy short-term we are thinking in the world. Everyone thought coal was going to go away, remote work was the future, tech jobs were the future! In reality we need more productivity, less labor demand, and for our smartest people to be out working on those problems, not on delivering people advertisements. All of these lay off people may end up out more distributed in the country working no boring jobs that ultimately free up butts and seats so that those butts can go take other seats for they are more necessary and important and productive.
- deleted 4y ago
  [deleted]
- niij 4y ago
  > There are Chinese companies, but those companies largely exist thanks to their state barring competition from the outside, and I don't see it being super likely that that is a real threat, especially because if Chinese companies really start taking off the United States government will clamp down on them hard. TikTok is a Chinese company and is major competition for Facebook
  - ok123456 4y ago
    No. TikTok just has a better product compared Facebook.
    - swalsh 4y ago
      TikTok is a contagion. It just happens to infect it's users more effectively than it's counterparts.
      - grp 4y ago
        And it also infected youtube and instagram.
    - niij 4y ago
      Which of my points are you replying "no" to?
  - bioemerl 4y ago
    TikTok already teeters on the brink of regulation and isn't a Microsoft or a Amazon that has real weight.
    - mike00632 4y ago
      You criticized Chinese tech companies for being incubated in a walled garden but then criticize TikTok for being subject to US government regulations in the American market? Shouldn't you also give Facebook the same criticism? The only place where Facebook is still experiencing substantial growth is India where their government banned TikTok. It seems to me like TikTok is the real international competitor.
    - pm90 4y ago
      Sorry, what do you mean by "real weight"? They absolutely dominate among Gen-Z, and is catching on mainstream appeal pretty quickly as well.
      - 4y ago
- grp 4y ago
  > those (chinese) companies largely exist thanks to their state barring competition from the outside > (...)the United States government will clamp down on them hard. In the same sentence, nice one. :)
  - bioemerl 4y ago
    As they say - do onto others. American companies today don't need the protection. They are better companies. With China now using state imbalances to fund their tech sector, restrictions will be needed. You can't compete with free stuff backed by a foreign state.
    - gmm1990 4y ago
      What makes you believe that the US companies are fundamentally better? Tictoc seems to outcompete US social media companies lately and Tesla said themselves their only competition comes from China. I don't think Bytedance has a huge burn rate or at least higher than could be funded on the public markets, no need for state backing.
      - bioemerl 4y ago
        Right now they just are. Larger world market share. More internal diversity and understanding of other cultures.
swalsh 4y ago
" no one really _needs_ them" Facebook? Sure, people can live without that. But Microsoft, Google, i'd argue even Amazon are integral parts of the economy. Trying building a modern business without the business software Microsoft maintains. Try doing work without Google. Amazon is a part of our modern shopping habits. Do they need to be as big as they were? Probably some room to go down, but they're an essential part of the economy now.
- yrgulation 4y ago
  Microsoft is not FAANG, at least not part of the acronym i was strictly referring to. The world needs a search engine, but the moment a new, competent, one pops up all you need to do is switch a URL and you are done with google. All other services google provides are replaceable. Amazon is a cool marketplace, infested by scams and low quality products, an alibaba of the west. It is an integral part of the economy by I manage to do just fine without it. AWS is a wake up call away from trending out of fashion.
  - ct0 4y ago
    Google is integreated in nearly every university and large company across the US. They aren't going anywhere.
  - wollsmoth 4y ago
    Microsoft isn't FAANG because they generally pay a bit lower. But they're still a worldwide powerhouse. Windows is extremely popular, and so is their office suite. You just can't license osx on non-apple machines and linux options are just not as popular yet.
    - yrgulation 4y ago
      Microsoft, even if i don't much like their products, are a grown-up company. That's probably why they haven't gone crazy with pay, which is still decent.
      - 4y ago
nfRfqX5n 4y ago
Very hn take. Nobody really needs Gmail or AWS? just look at what happens when AWS has an partial outage in a single region

bioemerl 4y ago

No way. Apple, Microsoft, Amazon, they all have very good businesses with very concrete productivity bonuses and real world advantages that they give to people, you can't make those things disappear. They also don't have good foreign competitors, like Chrysler and so on had in Japan. There are Chinese companies, but those companies largely exist thanks to their state barring competition from the outside, and I don't see it being super likely that that is a real threat, especially because if Chinese companies really start taking off the United States government will clamp down on them hard. I think these layoffs are more an example of just how crazy short-term we are thinking in the world. Everyone thought coal was going to go away, remote work was the future, tech jobs were the future! In reality we need more productivity, less labor demand, and for our smartest people to be out working on those problems, not on delivering people advertisements. All of these lay off people may end up out more distributed in the country working no boring jobs that ultimately free up butts and seats so that those butts can go take other seats for they are more necessary and important and productive.

deleted 4y ago
[deleted]
niij 4y ago
> There are Chinese companies, but those companies largely exist thanks to their state barring competition from the outside, and I don't see it being super likely that that is a real threat, especially because if Chinese companies really start taking off the United States government will clamp down on them hard. TikTok is a Chinese company and is major competition for Facebook
- ok123456 4y ago
  No. TikTok just has a better product compared Facebook.
  - swalsh 4y ago
    TikTok is a contagion. It just happens to infect it's users more effectively than it's counterparts.
    - grp 4y ago
      And it also infected youtube and instagram.
  - niij 4y ago
    Which of my points are you replying "no" to?
- bioemerl 4y ago
  TikTok already teeters on the brink of regulation and isn't a Microsoft or a Amazon that has real weight.
  - mike00632 4y ago
    You criticized Chinese tech companies for being incubated in a walled garden but then criticize TikTok for being subject to US government regulations in the American market? Shouldn't you also give Facebook the same criticism? The only place where Facebook is still experiencing substantial growth is India where their government banned TikTok. It seems to me like TikTok is the real international competitor.
  - pm90 4y ago
    Sorry, what do you mean by "real weight"? They absolutely dominate among Gen-Z, and is catching on mainstream appeal pretty quickly as well.
    - 4y ago
grp 4y ago
> those (chinese) companies largely exist thanks to their state barring competition from the outside > (...)the United States government will clamp down on them hard. In the same sentence, nice one. :)
- bioemerl 4y ago
  As they say - do onto others. American companies today don't need the protection. They are better companies. With China now using state imbalances to fund their tech sector, restrictions will be needed. You can't compete with free stuff backed by a foreign state.
  - gmm1990 4y ago
    What makes you believe that the US companies are fundamentally better? Tictoc seems to outcompete US social media companies lately and Tesla said themselves their only competition comes from China. I don't think Bytedance has a huge burn rate or at least higher than could be funded on the public markets, no need for state backing.
    - bioemerl 4y ago
      Right now they just are. Larger world market share. More internal diversity and understanding of other cultures.

swalsh 4y ago

" no one really _needs_ them" Facebook? Sure, people can live without that. But Microsoft, Google, i'd argue even Amazon are integral parts of the economy. Trying building a modern business without the business software Microsoft maintains. Try doing work without Google. Amazon is a part of our modern shopping habits. Do they need to be as big as they were? Probably some room to go down, but they're an essential part of the economy now.

yrgulation 4y ago
Microsoft is not FAANG, at least not part of the acronym i was strictly referring to. The world needs a search engine, but the moment a new, competent, one pops up all you need to do is switch a URL and you are done with google. All other services google provides are replaceable. Amazon is a cool marketplace, infested by scams and low quality products, an alibaba of the west. It is an integral part of the economy by I manage to do just fine without it. AWS is a wake up call away from trending out of fashion.
- ct0 4y ago
  Google is integreated in nearly every university and large company across the US. They aren't going anywhere.
- wollsmoth 4y ago
  Microsoft isn't FAANG because they generally pay a bit lower. But they're still a worldwide powerhouse. Windows is extremely popular, and so is their office suite. You just can't license osx on non-apple machines and linux options are just not as popular yet.
  - yrgulation 4y ago
    Microsoft, even if i don't much like their products, are a grown-up company. That's probably why they haven't gone crazy with pay, which is still decent.
    - 4y ago

nfRfqX5n 4y ago

Very hn take. Nobody really needs Gmail or AWS? just look at what happens when AWS has an partial outage in a single region