•  maol   ( @maol@awful.systems ) 
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    98 months ago

    Isn’t this just how every tech company starts out? Google just want to help you find things on the web. Facebook just wants you to help connect with friends. We are very serious people doing serious work for humanity and you need to listen to us, and possibly give us things for free. It’s all about positioning.

    •  swlabr   ( @swlabr@awful.systems ) 
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      87 months ago

      Oh for sure. Another way to think about that is: they actually are honestly and genuinely trying to help humanity with their inventions and so forth, except for them “humanity” is just the wallet of whoever is bankrolling them.

      • oh they can be 100% sincere about their humanitarian ideals. But investor RTO, need for revenue streams to cover expenses, general market forces - these will always outstrip and determine the final cause of a company. Ideals don’t matter, eventually, at most, PR in the service of expanding market share, intentionally or not.