a thoughtful web.
Good ideas and conversation. No ads, no tracking.   Login or Take a Tour!
comment by Ivory027
Ivory027  ·  3709 days ago  ·  link  ·    ·  parent  ·  post: The Internet is Fucked

It is crazy to think the US has been an innovator in so many things and being ruled by capitalism which has also increased innovation and early on, adopted anti-trust and monopoly laws in order to increase competition has fallen in to the same traps that come with capitalism time and time again. It is hard to believe that Google Fiber will take 20+ years to come to many major cities in the US while other countries, further behind then us, already have 100 mbs at a low cost in small cities. It seems that they should think they are shooting themselves in the foot in the big picture. However, that is the thing with bottom lines for shareholder profit margin companies. It is all about the profit now, with no regard for the future, until they are forced to change, or can control the change and slow it from happening.





thenewgreen  ·  3709 days ago  ·  link  ·  

    that is the thing with bottom lines for shareholder profit margin companies. It is all about the profit now, with no regard for the future
As someone that has worked for several fortune 100 companies and one fortune 50 company, I can confirm this. Huge organizations, like any other organization have goals. These goals come from the top down. The top is almost always concerned with the same thing, "growth," not "profitability alone, but "growth." Not the growth of ideas or the dispersion of quality products, these things are nice to them but only if they foster "growth" and not just any growth but usually double digit growth. Why? Because this is what shareholders have come to expect. Did your company show an 8% increase in revenue last year? -HORRIBLE!! WHY NOT DOUBLE DIGIT! -Heads will roll and they will not roll from the top.

A good, healthy company focuses on sustainable profit and sizable margin. There's no need to grow 10% or more every year if that's not what the market naturally allows for. It's insane to even think that continuous growth is possible. Literally insane. The market is finite.

I mentioned that I've worked for three fortune 100 companies and it's worth mentioning that the one I'm currently employed at is far less guilty of these things than the other two were. Not all of them are purely evil, some are governed by more reasonable minds.

user-inactivated  ·  3708 days ago  ·  link  ·  

I'm going to go ahead and believe what you've stated as your work experience...

So would you agree or disagree with the following observation:

We (the US) are driving off an economic cliff, with our perception of value steering the way.