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Comment by dyauspitr | Hacker News Reader

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From the linked interview at https://www.theverge.com/2024/3/25/24108872/bluesky-ceo-grab...:

> And so, mid-2021, they interviewed me along with some other folks and then chose me to lead Bluesky based on this vision that I pitched for how we were going to build Bluesky, which is essentially how we’ve built it. And so that’s how I got involved.

Why do they always use "folks" in place of the word people?

Regional slang. "Those people" can sound a bit cold/distancing when folks feels a bit warmer.

I’m sure it varies but I’m from the midwest and it’s just regional vernacular. It’s what I would say if I were speaking instead of writing.

I'm Swedish and use "folks" when talking/writing English all the times, just sounds more informal, cozy and folksy so that's what I usually go with.

I am too and no one says it more than silicon valley or other urban dwelling politically active leftists. All my life I never heard it much at all until it became some cultural linguistic trend in early 2000's once Obama said it.

edit: Seems like relatively recent trend, probably has peaked [0].

I'm not the only one that noticed [1][2]

[0] https://books.google.com/ngrams/graph?content=folks&year_sta...

[1] https://newrepublic.com/article/156807/politicians-always-ta...

[2] https://www.google.com/search?q=rise+in+popularity+of+the+wo...

… I mean, yeah, the language changes. People do not use exactly the same words at exactly the same frequency as they did 20 years ago. That’s how English works. Don’t like it? Go live in France.

(French changes, too, but in that case there is some active effort to stop it changing.)

It's a political signifier and should be recognized as such, is what I'm saying. As the New Republic described, it was a rhetorical "tic" of Obama, and is the same for other left wing types. It comes off as weird to me; not everyone uses it but a certain type over uses it a lot. So this is recognizable.

Why did you use the word "always" in place of the word "often?" I doubt there was any motive behind it.

I noticed this trend take off during Obama’s first term. He used “folks” often in speeches and interviews. It caught on as a word that implies cultural unity and common heritage without actually referencing a specific culture or people.

Considering that she was not hired _just now_, it would be more reasonable if she is criticised on the basis of what she has done there last 3+ years rather than based on vague qualification-based arguments. Though I am also curious as what you think would make good enough qualifications for such a position, because I do not think that very traditional CEO qualifications would work that well here.

You seem under qualified to make this assertion. On what basis do you think you can make this claim?

I’m a cto at a 350+ person company

And what qualifies you for that?

You don't need qualifications to become the CEO of a brand new company, which is what BlueSky basically was when she got the job. It doesn't matter how she got it at that early stage.

Seeing that company grow, and remaining CEO through that transition (and beyond) on the other hand isn't for everyone. I'm not a user or a customer, but from all the publicity and excitement, it looks like she's doing a pretty good job so far.

Handed out? She built it.

No she didn’t and that’s what I mean.

Self-appointment? Nobody stops you from founding your own company and becoming a CEO of it.

But she isn't the founder.

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