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Why do you think Google hired these contractors? Why use contractors on these kind of dirty jobs? Do you honestly think that Google wasn't aware of what they we
by Geee 15y ago
Why do you think Google hired these contractors? Why use contractors on these kind of dirty jobs? Do you honestly think that Google wasn't aware of what they were doing?
- drivebyacct2 15y agoYes. (edit, I'd rather just say "I don't know"). "Do you honestly think that Google can be responsive for every aspect of their contractors?"
- tsycho 15y agoYeah, since contractors willfully, and without any prodding/directives/orders from their employers, like to spend their hours in labor-intensive tasks that just happen to be vandalizing their competitors' data. I wonder, under what tasks were these hours billed by the contractor?
- drivebyacct2 15y agoI don't know, I also don't know why Google would risk their reputation to reverse a few streets in OSM. I simply don't know. I'm not making any excuses for anyone, but I've seen fellow employees do ALL SORTS of stupid things that they thought were good for the product or company they were working for, and their manager let alone their hiring company certainly didn't know about it.
- tsycho 15y agoFair point. It's also possible that maybe the contractors' manager knew or was complicit. I just find it difficult to believe that multiple such infractions (Mocality, OSM, fake Chrome reviews etc.) can all be blamed on rogue/stupid contractors, there are likely to be some rogue/stupid employees involved as well.
- mdwrigh2 15y agoDo you really think Google stands much to gain from scamming Kenyan businesses and messing up Open Street Maps (who, might I add, have received donations from Google)?
- guard-of-terra 15y agoWe have to build a mental model of what's happening. We have two at the moment: First, that one or more than one of workers in Google in India for some reason had strange sort of hatred towards OSM, not caused by they working for Google, which caused them to vandalize OSM objects in certain cities located in different hemisphere. Second, that they for reasons unknown were told to do that; Or the measure of their achievements could be influenced by OSM maps being worse; the profit has to be short-term and obvious for lower-level workers to fall for it. First seems to be highly improbable; second seems just improbable :) Right now second wins. Any other mental models?
- guard-of-terra 15y agoThird model: a third party could be hurting Google by clumsily hurting OSM using double agents. Their goal was to make it to the news and then make Google take a PR hit. Who could be behind this?