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Comment by tomhoward | Hacker News Reader

That was my reaction too, scoffing as I imagined the headline "Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation is nearing a reputational point of no return" after the News of the World scandal in 2011 (or any of countless others).

But the sentence that matters is this one: "Facebook risks losing its young, liberal staff".

If Facebook can't attract/keep the best staff (especially hackers/devs/engineers), it can't stay at the top.

Even Microsoft of 1998 didn't become as toxic to solid tech talent as Facebook risks becoming if they keep this up.

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> Even Microsoft of 1998 didn't become as toxic to solid tech talent as Facebook risks becoming if they keep this up.

Idk, I think being the only big tech employer in Seattle at the time helped keep them afloat. Telecommuting was still nascent at the time and moving is always daunting. Today the environment is very different, Facebook is in the heart of SV, but even more importantly, now everyone is suddenly totally ok with indefinite remote work, so you’re no longer limited by not wanting to move, the only thing holding you back is $$, and at a certain point all the money in the world isn’t gonna make you fe good about what you’re doing.

News Corp passed the point of reputational no return, which is why they split themselves up into two separate companies in 2013.

I don't think Facebook's "... young, liberal staff" is going anywhere. They have experienced the power that comes with successfully shifting a global organization's culture, mission and product. Unfortunately, there are only so many hours in the day, and doing so hasn't given them enough time to actually do their jobs. The people that are left don't possess the tools to create and build anything of moment because that's not what they're good at and frankly, that's not why they were hired.

Facebook losing its young, liberal staff could be the best thing that has happened to the company in a long time, but that's not what's going to happen.

I think the use of the word "liberal" may be leaving an opening for misinterpretation. The real worry is that good, talented people leave/refrain from applying, regardless of ideological outlook or label.

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