[bepotts]

And it's so transparent at this point. I've listened to podcasts with reporters and they lament the rise of Facebook and how "Facebook is stealing their business" through ads and algorithm changes that hurt them.

But the bias doesn't matter because everyone on the internet hates them (and Google) so they just rush to pile on. Anything negative about Facebook gets to the front page very quickly. The thing is, Facebook has billions of users and you don't get billions of users by being evil. People may not love Facebook, but there really isn't a better way to keep up with friends, family, and to organize get togethers. I don't use Facebook that much, but I'll never delete it. It's just too valuable in my life.

As an aside: we're all engineers here, and if Facebook offered you guys a job, almost everyone here would take it. Their engineering team, quality of life, and compensation is extremely hard to beat. The NY Times found a couple college kids who don't want to work for Facebook. Okay. As a recent college graduate I can assure you that almost everyone in my graduating class would have taken a job at Facebook if given the chance. Facebook came and hired the smartest of my graduating class and the "hackathon" crowd puts Facebook at close to the top of their list of companies to work for. Facebook isn't hurting for talent and they have the compensation packages to compete for the best of the best.

[Rjevski]

> Anything negative about Facebook gets to the front page very quickly.

Pretty much everyone (whether you're a Facebook user or not) got their privacy violated by Facebook. The majority doesn't know it but we're on HN and everyone is aware of what's happening, so it's not too surprising that people feel bitter about it. I feel bitter about it too.

> Facebook has billions of users and you don't get billions of users by being evil.

They got billions of users back when they actually had a decent product, nowadays it's just network effects - nobody signs up for the product itself. In fact, they're perfectly aware that Facebook (the product) is on its deathbed, otherwise they wouldn't be chasing new trends by buying Instagram & WhatsApp.

[craigsmansion]

> you don't get billions of users by being evil.

Tobacco companies would disagree, no, actually, they would agree, full-heartedly, and pay well for your study that backs that up.

> Their engineering team, quality of life, and compensation is extremely hard to beat.

Working for Facebook in any meaningful technical capacity makes one a Machiavellian opportunist. For some, that's never worth it.

> As a recent college graduate

Yes, money is great and alluring. You can buy stuff with it, except for stuff you can't buy.

> there really isn't a better way to keep up with friends, family

Facebook puts a tax on being human, on trying to exist outside of a social vacuum. Doesn't that bother you?

[traek]

> Facebook puts a tax on being human, on trying to exist outside of a social vacuum.

I don't know what "trying to exist outside of a social vacuum" means. I also don't know what type of "tax" Facebook puts on being human that isn't levied--to at least some extent--by every other technological advance (telegraph, phone, internet, email, SMS...)

[gaius]

The thing is, Facebook has billions of users and you don't get billions of users by being evil

This is such an obviously nonsensical thing to say. What about the tobacco industry? What about sweatshop-manufactured clothing? It’s easy to find examples where being evil is in fact a necessary prerequisite of getting billions of users...

[ionised]

> Facebook has billions of users and you don't get billions of users by being evil.

You might want to talk to Pablo Escobar about that.