I'll bite. Worked at FB for a couple of years, until very recently. The HN groupthink on the company is quite strong, reaching conspiracy theory levels in some cases. Thing is, 95% of users (which is like, half the world) either do not know or care about the latest controversy.
Personally, I just do not buy into this "Facebook is evil" narrative, and even less so having worked there. Social media holds a mirror up to society, and we don't like what we see there. It's not our fault, it's Facebook's! So screams the press that is losing subscribers to new forms of media. Is FB sometimes incompetent? Sure (who isn't at that scale). Could they do things better? Of course. Are they trying to? Absolutely (the cynics would never admit this point, but it's true, e.g. the amount of resources and cross-company efforts thrown at improving privacy is incredible).
From my perspective, Facebook (and WhatsApp, and Oculus) have added a lot more to my life than they have taken away. My family and friends are all on Facebook, so clearly they feel similarly. Internally, there are indeed plenty of smart, empowered people that also haven't bought into the doom and gloom of what, ultimately, is a loud minority.
I fully recognize that my priorities might be different from those of others. Or perhaps they are impacted by the negatives differently. All opinions have their place, and I don't mean to speak for all employees either, just sharing my own point of view.
Personally, I just do not buy into this "Facebook is evil" narrative, and even less so having worked there. Social media holds a mirror up to society, and we don't like what we see there. It's not our fault, it's Facebook's! So screams the press that is losing subscribers to new forms of media. Is FB sometimes incompetent? Sure (who isn't at that scale). Could they do things better? Of course. Are they trying to? Absolutely (the cynics would never admit this point, but it's true, e.g. the amount of resources and cross-company efforts thrown at improving privacy is incredible).
From my perspective, Facebook (and WhatsApp, and Oculus) have added a lot more to my life than they have taken away. My family and friends are all on Facebook, so clearly they feel similarly. Internally, there are indeed plenty of smart, empowered people that also haven't bought into the doom and gloom of what, ultimately, is a loud minority.
I fully recognize that my priorities might be different from those of others. Or perhaps they are impacted by the negatives differently. All opinions have their place, and I don't mean to speak for all employees either, just sharing my own point of view.