mocae

Poor Apple! After reading this extensive article by cultofmac.com I too can understand all restrictions and exorbitant overpricing. God bless Apple. Amen.

Well this is kind of different thing since it's politics that is not necessary related to your business (I assume).

Here you had people leaving because of the clash between business ideology and their (as well the outsides) moral values. The company did not only advance and hire people who already had no moral values. They just found out. Now they shift people around until the compatible ones stay.

I get this dependency argument. I'm actually very familiar with it. There is still a level below where you become part of the story.

6/ The other thing I find disturbing, after all these years, is the willingness of my former colleagues to not only comply with the censorship but their enthusiasm in rationalizing it. It is not a coincidence that the rationale they give was the same one management had given them

This is the really disgusting thing. Are they "just" sucking up to management or are they maybe the only ones who buy the propaganda?

Or is this some kind of self-justification process that protects them from their dying sense of guilt?

Maybe because they don't have a blog and/or all their followers are on twitter?

As someone who lives in Germany for quite some time, believe me, Americans are a problem here too. Smile in your face and drown you in over-politeness while stabbing you in the back.

Gotta love the straight German way.

Like who?

Seriously. Besides that one blogger who was screaming because he didn't even want to bother with the help wordpress provided, I did not hear of a single person/company that quit because of that.

It would also be quite embarrassing considering the time you had to prepare, the help that is all over now or the fact that nobody seems to enforce it. Especially for businesses.

Well, look at Voss cheering there. I'm sure his bank account will benefit. Same goes for the right owners who will sue people. I mean, they need to get along in the 21st century and if you are to lazy or old, suing people is the only way left.

You have no choice?

Turn your mouse around. Where is it made? This is true since it was a joke in the 90s.

I get it. It's not unethical when you engage in commerce with a regime you find unethical, or when you buy from all the other companies that manufacture their goods in China ... but it's unethical if Google doesn't want to ignore 1.4 billion people?

I never said it's not unethical. You say that I say that. Which is quite weak. I hope this is the result of you realizing what you did and now trying to dig yourself out by shifting blame to others.

Yeah it's strange how nobody talks about the fact that google search is getting less and less relevant

Because it's not a fact? Or just a fact in a narrow community you belong to?

I haven't seen anybody using something else for at least 10 years now.

There is a difference between not having a choice and openly advertising and justifying unethical behavior. The fact that this is the only sentence you've touched speaks for itself.

it makes more sense to push for regulation rather than expect big multinational companies to Do The Right Thing

How does it make more sense? You can't influence foreign policy of your government and you won't find a party with such specific topics which is also powerful enough to actually accomplish something.

With a company like google you can create a shitstorm that will cost them. You can break a companies reputation with a hand full influencers those days.

PS. a company is not a robot (we'd even expect ethics from them). It consists of humans and we should expect acting ethical from a human. They don't get a license to kill the moment they enter their office.

There are places on this planet where not everything is a cheap Simulacrum.

I can't say I'm surprised learning about a new one from the USA Theme Park though.

You make it look like google would starve without China. Like they have to go there and participate. Shifting the blame for your lack of ethics onto some government is ridiculous in this context. My god...where is your shame?

"Don't be evil"

if you marketed yourself in such a way, you shouldn't be surprised if the general public applies different standards to you.

Sure they will, but they'll never be able to leave the country, fly or get a train ticket again.