Mark In The Middle – The Verge

September 24, 2020
3 min read

First of all, as it often is with those types of stories – The Verge did a great job with presenting the article. Audio clips integrated into the story, so you can hear Zuckerberg’s voice, not only read the redacted quote is an interesting choice and I would actually like to see more of that.

Regarding the story itself. I think social media platforms, especially one as big as Facebook should be neutral. It is a rare thing that I agree with Zuckerberg, but here we are. A couple of quotes from him:

“That basically asked whether Joel can be in this role, or can be doing this role, on the basis of the fact that he is a Republican, or has beliefs that are more conservative than the average employee at the company. And I have to say that I find that line of questioning to be very troubling.

If we want to actually do a good job of serving people, [we have to take] into account that there are different views on different things, and that if someone disagrees with a view, that doesn’t necessarily mean that they’re hateful or have bad intent.”

Reading the US Twitter, I don’t know how anyone can remain sane. People are almost willing to kill one another because of the political affiliation. And I also find the way the question is asked regarding the Republican employee very troubling.

I also don’t get the walking out part of employees. If you don’t like the way the company is being run – leave. This “virtual walk out” for a day, when you have a nice job with pretty high salary is nothing more than a virtue signaling.

You shouldn’t work for a manager that you so strongly disagree with. Otherwise it is hard to believe your believes.

Can we build a quarantined Facebook city? an employee had asked ahead of the July 31st Q&A. Like, buying an island and all of us working there?

Zuckerberg read the question out loud, laughing gently.

“Gosh, I don’t think that that would be good long-term,” he responded. “I think it’s good to maintain connection to the rest of society.”

Fascinating answer. It shows how Zuckerberg really feels like something more than people at large. And I’m not sure how someone who bought out all the houses around his can say something about maintaining connection with the rest the society.

On anticipation and celebrities tweeting

September 9, 2014
3 min read

It’s September 9th finally and I’m very much in the anticipation of Apple presentation. This time I’m really interested in company’s announcements. I’m not sure why, but it feels like something big is coming (and it’s not a pun on the screen sizes). I try hard not to read the rumors. Yes, I know there will probably be two new bigger phones with 4.7 and 5.5 inch screen and there probably will be some kind of wearable. This is the information you get without even trying. All the websites and podcasts are talking about that. But I try not to open “news” about upcoming products. If all those mock-ups and information about internals are true, then I would rather be surprised during the presentation. If all this information is false, then what’s the point of reading and posting it. (I know what is the point for publishers, I’m not that stupid). I’m just waiting for Apple to impress me. It’s like going to watch a movie, when your expectations are too high, you probably would not enjoy it. So, if you can, you should isolate yourself from all this talk, which is of course easier said than done, because of the Internet.

It’s hard to find links about something other than Apple event. Everybody tries to get his last minute predictions. It’s interesting how predictions work. If you didn’t guess – nobody will care, maybe your biggest haters, if you get something right, you can for the rest of your life link to that triumph.

But this time, I feel like Apple has outdone itself. There is no hint in the invitation to journalists. Just “Wish we could say more.” That’s the first time, as far as I can remember, we’ve always gotten at least something to deconstruct. Also big room, a lot of journalists, even Gizmodo is invited and some fashion press.

One more thing, I’m considering what my next phone will be and that’s the last presentation I’m waiting for. Last year in a similar circumstance I’ve chosen HTC One instead of iPhone 5S and still think that was a right choice. There is plenty to hate about HTC One, but until iOS 8 I’ve enjoyed Android more, let’s see how it changes with the new OS and then the update to Android, later this year.

That’s not a celebrity you’re following on Twitter, it’s an assistant  Why would anyone think that celebrities are tweeting? First, they do not care. Why would Britney care about Twitter and what somebody is saying about her. Second, I don’t really care what Britney talks about. Fans enjoy her account as it is, I am sure. They retweet and mention her. If she was, indeed, writing herself, I don’t think much would change. All her fans would continue following her and those who weren’t interested would not be interested in any case. Maybe mentioning in the bio, that someone else is writing on behalf of celebrity would be nice, but that will never happen.