Facebook, Microsoft and More: The Companies Everyone Loves to Hate
And AOL. And Yahoo. And now Facebook.
And let's add Google to the mix, too, while we're at it.
These are the companies the Internet loves to hate. Why? Because they're big. Because they're successful. Because they've moved past the "lovable" startup and on to the "oh-shit-we-have-investors-we-should-be-making-money" phase. It's not that they've changed the way they communicate, particularly. Their products haven't gone through any radical changes making them less reliable, and they haven't stopped donating money to decent causes and helping out communities both in the U.S. and abroad. They're just big and, in this industry especially, everyone loves the little guys.
Startups are rockstars. Small is the new black. It's hot, it's trendy--everyone wants to be a startup. And when companies like Google and Facebook start buying them up, all the little guys' supporters get understandably irritable (see the ludicrously long infographic of Google acquisitions to the left).
But instead of just complaining about these companies, why don't we pick out some specific things we want them to fix? These companies still do good work. Despite their size, they're still leading the pack in terms of innovation in technology, media and the Web. And regardless of whether or not you think Google has abandoned their "don't be evil" motto, they do indeed still do good things. They just need to make money too. Don't hate them for that.
Next time you decide to bash Facebook, Google, or even Microsoft for their size, think about why you're bashing them. Is it because they did something specifically to anger you? Did they push a product out that you feel doesn't live up to your expectations? If so, that's great.
If you just want to bash them because they're big and successful, hold up. Maybe you're just being jealous, just going along with the crowd that always likes to beat down on the big companies leading the industry. Perhaps we should be more careful not to criticize others' success, especially when it's been gained through fairly legitimate means.
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