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Why so many negative responses to this post? Are you disappointed that not everyone that has interacted with Mark Pincus had a bad experience? I found it intere

Why so many negative responses to this post? Are you disappointed that not everyone that has interacted with Mark Pincus had a bad experience? I found it interesting because it was certainly different. It shows another side. I do not know about most of you guys calling this piece "puff" because it is not bashing Pincus, but i do like balance while learning about people and things. It is possible to infer from this that Pincus goes out of his way to be kind to talented workaholics and is not an all round devil. Therefore, if you are naturally a workaholic, you would enjoy working for him. If not, you should really consider. This post brings a balance to the otherwise one-sided narrative about Mr Pincus/Zynga.

wpietri 14y ago
I think the negative responses come from the total disconnect with what is known about Pincus and Zynga. The piece would have a lot more credibility if he acknowledged the issues. He could have denied them, or, better, could have explained that they were legitimate but that there was another side to Pincus. But as it is, all I can feel about the piece is WTF. Is the guy clueless? Is this denial? Is he kissing ass? Did he just see the hero he was looking to see? Is he right but only seeing a narrow slice? Do we all just have Pincus wrong? No idea, but the piece gives me no reason to find out.
- OoTheNigerian 14y ago
  I would have supported your point if I remember people demanding for the "positive side" of Pincus in comments discussing posts bashing him/Zynga. I read this as a deeply grateful person writing about his positive experience with a mentor of his. It might have been written because the author wants to balance the solely negative stories we hear of him. Because this is Svbtle does not mean we should forget that this is a personal blog.
  - wpietri 14y ago
    If this is an attempt at balance, he should say so. The problem isn't with his core story. It's the poor management of audience expectations.
  - mnicole 14y ago
    Edit: Since this link was posted to HN, Sash has removed each of his other posts, so those are what I am referring to in the second-to-last paragraph. > It might have been written because the author wants to balance the solely negative stories we hear of him. My opinion of the company was not based on what other employees have said; their business practices before all of this alone made them look bad. The employee accounts and admissions Pincus made regarding doing anything to make money just added insult to injury. Additionally, I don't think there's anything worth balancing regarding a CEO who tells his employees to steal rather than innovate because they're not as smart as their competitors. The OP used the term "groomed" to speak to how many young employees were quickly shot up the ranks without any experience and how this was intentional. I would be grateful to someone that irresponsibly gave me a fancy title and put me in charge of something too, despite the reality that he was using my youthful ambitions to his advantage, working me to the bone under the guise that I was capable of the work I was doing, despite failing in doing so. I also don't know anything about the author's health before the incident where he collapsed, but it wouldn't surprise me if the stress of working in such a way played a role in it. It all seems a little too Stockholm Syndrome to me, but I'm not Sash so I really can't say. > Because this is Svbtle does not mean we should forget that this is a personal blog. So then what is the point of Svbtle as an exclusionist platform if at the end of the day it's no different from any other? ".. an invite-only publishing network that brings some of the best things from newspapers and magazines to a network of great people. We focus on the people, the writing, and the ideas. Everything else is secondary." His first post on the platform was a quote from Pincus from an article written last year about how well the company was doing, and a single sentence agreement with it. The second entry was a few sentences about how ideas are useless (when actually dreamers are just as important as doers, but I guess when you can make money profiting off of other people's ideas, you would hold this sentiment). Outside of the linked entry, the rest were just a few sentences to a paragraph or two on nothing all that earth-shattering. Personally, I think they should put the answers the authors write in response to the "Expertise + Authority: Who are you? Why should people listen to you?" and "What do you plan to write [about]?" questions they answer when they apply in the sidebar. That's what I want to know before I sink my teeth into the entry.
    - argonaut 14y ago
  - jiggy2011 14y ago
    Pincus gets such a slamming every time he is mentioned on HN that his name is (fairly or not) basically synonymous with "bad guy" around here. So when an article like this pops up without addressing the several elephants in the room it's a bit like somebody writing "What it's like to work with Adolf Hitler" without a single mention of the second world war. If you are trying to challenge somebodies assumptions about something it is often best to address them head on.
- photorized 14y ago
  Sounds like the author was too young/naive/inexperienced to understand the issues. And the mentor meant the world to him. This is like imprinting in ducks and geese. Doesn't mean the article isn't accurately conveying this person't individual experience. It was still interesting to read.

wpietri 14y ago

I think the negative responses come from the total disconnect with what is known about Pincus and Zynga. The piece would have a lot more credibility if he acknowledged the issues. He could have denied them, or, better, could have explained that they were legitimate but that there was another side to Pincus. But as it is, all I can feel about the piece is WTF. Is the guy clueless? Is this denial? Is he kissing ass? Did he just see the hero he was looking to see? Is he right but only seeing a narrow slice? Do we all just have Pincus wrong? No idea, but the piece gives me no reason to find out.

OoTheNigerian 14y ago
I would have supported your point if I remember people demanding for the "positive side" of Pincus in comments discussing posts bashing him/Zynga. I read this as a deeply grateful person writing about his positive experience with a mentor of his. It might have been written because the author wants to balance the solely negative stories we hear of him. Because this is Svbtle does not mean we should forget that this is a personal blog.
- wpietri 14y ago
  If this is an attempt at balance, he should say so. The problem isn't with his core story. It's the poor management of audience expectations.
- mnicole 14y ago
  Edit: Since this link was posted to HN, Sash has removed each of his other posts, so those are what I am referring to in the second-to-last paragraph. > It might have been written because the author wants to balance the solely negative stories we hear of him. My opinion of the company was not based on what other employees have said; their business practices before all of this alone made them look bad. The employee accounts and admissions Pincus made regarding doing anything to make money just added insult to injury. Additionally, I don't think there's anything worth balancing regarding a CEO who tells his employees to steal rather than innovate because they're not as smart as their competitors. The OP used the term "groomed" to speak to how many young employees were quickly shot up the ranks without any experience and how this was intentional. I would be grateful to someone that irresponsibly gave me a fancy title and put me in charge of something too, despite the reality that he was using my youthful ambitions to his advantage, working me to the bone under the guise that I was capable of the work I was doing, despite failing in doing so. I also don't know anything about the author's health before the incident where he collapsed, but it wouldn't surprise me if the stress of working in such a way played a role in it. It all seems a little too Stockholm Syndrome to me, but I'm not Sash so I really can't say. > Because this is Svbtle does not mean we should forget that this is a personal blog. So then what is the point of Svbtle as an exclusionist platform if at the end of the day it's no different from any other? ".. an invite-only publishing network that brings some of the best things from newspapers and magazines to a network of great people. We focus on the people, the writing, and the ideas. Everything else is secondary." His first post on the platform was a quote from Pincus from an article written last year about how well the company was doing, and a single sentence agreement with it. The second entry was a few sentences about how ideas are useless (when actually dreamers are just as important as doers, but I guess when you can make money profiting off of other people's ideas, you would hold this sentiment). Outside of the linked entry, the rest were just a few sentences to a paragraph or two on nothing all that earth-shattering. Personally, I think they should put the answers the authors write in response to the "Expertise + Authority: Who are you? Why should people listen to you?" and "What do you plan to write [about]?" questions they answer when they apply in the sidebar. That's what I want to know before I sink my teeth into the entry.
  - argonaut 14y ago
- jiggy2011 14y ago
  Pincus gets such a slamming every time he is mentioned on HN that his name is (fairly or not) basically synonymous with "bad guy" around here. So when an article like this pops up without addressing the several elephants in the room it's a bit like somebody writing "What it's like to work with Adolf Hitler" without a single mention of the second world war. If you are trying to challenge somebodies assumptions about something it is often best to address them head on.
photorized 14y ago
Sounds like the author was too young/naive/inexperienced to understand the issues. And the mentor meant the world to him. This is like imprinting in ducks and geese. Doesn't mean the article isn't accurately conveying this person't individual experience. It was still interesting to read.