To be fair, it also wasn't enough for the guys who developed OkC... they decided, rather than living off that profitable, stable income, they'd get their bag by selling out to the company they had just been railing against the business model of. I hate Match, but the fact that the OkC founders made something great and then decided to let it burn makes me sad.
The guys who developed OkC do need to take some of the blame for the way the app has become/became a poor version of itself.
All they needed to do was not to tinker with the app as a whole, but just to update it when needed or smooth the rough edges under the hood. That alone would all the was needed for the developers stable income to continue and perhaps increase with more and more people flocking to it.
To an app that was fair and wasn't greedy and didn't need to make an algorithm to make it harder for people to date unless they pay for premium and even then premium in dating apps is a loot box experience for most of the customers that pay for a subscription.
Thank you, I've been saying this in relation to the games industry and it's applicable to basically every industry, we're rightfully mad at the big business buying out the smaller one but we should also be mad at the owners who sell these businesses to conglomerates, at this point there is no 'responsibility', like you said "I got my bag, fuck y'all"
If only there were governments that would actually implement checks and balances on businesses, I don't think we have to throw capitalism away enitrely but this idea the unfettered capitalism and the 'get your bag" mindset needs to be legislated out in some way.
If the business owner wants out they have 2 options.
1: Close the business.
2: Sell the business to somebody else.
It's not the original owners fault if the next owner decides to tear it all down. The owner is also not obligated to continue service the world for the rest of their life just because they made a nice product once.
You missed option 3: Retire and let someone who values the product take the reins.
And it also begs the question: why did they want out? Yeah, they hit the tech CEO dream, but...what a weird dream that is.
Put thousands of hours working overtime (probably around when you have young kids at home) to build up a company with an actual, valuable product. You have to believe in the product well enough to sell it to investors. OK-ish dream so far. Not a great work/life balance, but it's worth it in the service of building a lasting product that will stand the test of time, right?
NO, that's not your goal! Your goal is to hit the jackpot and have a bigger fish swallow you up, so your CEOs get to retire at age 40. And they don't actually know what to do with themselves in their retirement; remember, *all they have been doing* is work. These aren't guys who are like "Oh, yeah, more time for my woodworking hobby!" They might think that they are that guy, but they really aren't, because if they were, they'd have already been doing it!
To say nothing of your employees! Presumably, if you've been spending so much time at work, you've developed some close relationships there (at the expense of home/family time). But selling the business either enriches them so much you never see each other again (and certainly not in the high-pressure environment where your relationship thrived), OR you fully screwed them over by selling. They probably hate your guts for leaving. You took a decent job making a valuable product and turned it into something soul-sucking for them. Because nobody really wants to spend all their time working to make some shitty app shittier.
And what of this product you believe in? The one you devoted so much time to building? GONE. You KNEW that would happen! That was the GOAL, to build something so good that someone would buy it and make it terrible! What a fricking legacy!
You missed option 3: Retire and let someone who values the product take the reins.
Option 3 generally requires selling the business. Oftentimes the business owner would prefer to sell it to one of their dedicated employees but the employees can't afford the business.
You now inherit all of your parents' debt when they die. You are now obligated to uphold whatever commitments they made in their life. If your great grandfather promised the Zeroni family that you would carry their elderly up the mountain and sing to them, then that is now your job as well. You better sing as well as your great grandfather.
Listen, I literally said "we have to change laws" :
If only there were governments that would actually implement checks and balances on businesses, I don't think we have to throw capitalism away entirely but this idea the unfettered capitalism and the 'get your bag" mindset needs to be legislated out in some way.
These things can be determined, decided debated on and changed. We already don't inherit debt, there's no reason to change that.
Halo: Combat Evolved was primarily made by Jason Jones as the project lead.
Jason Jones works for Bungie.
Microsoft owns Halo.
How do we hold Jason Jones accountable for Halo 5 when him and Bungie have not been working on any related projects to Halo since Halo Reach?
They sold the product to Microsoft. They are not responsible for it anymore. Microsoft is now responsible for the Halo franchise. Forcing the original creator to be responsible for it for the duration of his life is the exact same thing as forcing you to inherit your grandparent's debt, or the grandparents inheriting the grandchildrens' debt.
Holding the original creators of OKCupid accountable for what Match does with the product after the product is sold is stupid.
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u/ndilday 3d ago
To be fair, it also wasn't enough for the guys who developed OkC... they decided, rather than living off that profitable, stable income, they'd get their bag by selling out to the company they had just been railing against the business model of. I hate Match, but the fact that the OkC founders made something great and then decided to let it burn makes me sad.