
Quitting Instagram - cohaagen
https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2018/11/14/quitting-instagram-shes-one-millions-disillusioned-with-social-media-she-also-helped-create-it/
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barrow-rider
> Quitting Instagram: She’s one of the millions disillusioned with social
> media. But she also helped create it.

Interesting how the people making these social media platforms are growing
disillusioned with them and leaving them.

After they've made their money, of course.

See also: Facebook creators talking about how addictive and dangerous it can
be, or this just posted today --
[https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=18450058](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=18450058)

~~~
tyrust
I see where you're coming from. At the same time, what is the alternative? Is
an employee of a company that you don't like condemned for life, forced to
serve out their sentence or leave quietly?

It's reasonable for someone to join with good intentions and then later
realize that something isn't working. It's also reasonable for that person to
speak up once they leave; perhaps they can convince others to not make the
same mistake.

~~~
RyanOD
What "mistake" are you referring to? It's hard for me to see the mistake. She
joined a startup, enjoyed wild success, likely was rewarded well monetarily,
and left to go do new things.

~~~
tyrust
I was speaking broadly; I make no claim of whether this person made a mistake.

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ProAm
Full title is: "Quitting Instagram: She’s one of the millions disillusioned
with social media. But she also helped create it."

~~~
creaghpatr
Disillusioned, with millions [of dollars]

~~~
popquiz
Which only the co-founders got...

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AltruisticGap
I think a lot of people can feel how these apps affect their wellbeing. But
how do we clearly state what the issue is, is a more difficult question.

For me this brings a larger topic that has to do with software development...
any maybe it underpins the issue behind all those addicitve apps.

The issue is that typically, it is software and hardware that dictates the
apps, rather than a human looking at a human, problem, and creating an app to
solve a human problem. Of course that's the story we tell ourselves but it
isn't the truth.

Most of us who code have stumbled upon those decisions many times: suddenly
you realize a pattern in your code, and how convenient it is, that you could
also use it for something else. A vary basic example of this is, well since we
have profiles, now we can "connect" them. Why don't we add a "suggestion"
feature that shows a lot of "interesting" profiles? And let's also allow to
"follow" someone, because the software pretty much says : it's easy to do so
wtf not?

You see what I mean?

People will deny that and say that eg. YouTube "suggestions" are purely a
commercial, ie. completely rational and premeditated decision. But again I'd
argue it's not the full truth. The full truth, is it becomes a reality because
sofware and hardware made it not just possible , but easy.

Essentially: we let software and hardware tell us what to do, based on "what
can be done". Look over the web and you find gazillions of example of that.
Gazillions of completely unnecessary apps that exist solely because "we can do
it".

And now we have AI... and one can only imagine the gazillions more awful
applications of AI that will happen, that already happen today... "just
because we can do it".

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misiti3780
[http://archive.is/NUHWd](http://archive.is/NUHWd)

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gaius
_only Systrom and Krieger walked away with hundreds of millions of dollars;
Facebook offered other early employees small signing bonuses and limited
Facebook stock grants_

Why you should never be an early employee at a startup, example one zillion

~~~
projectramo
I would be surprised if they didn't get millions in equity though. Not a bad
gig.

I would guess their options had a strike around a $10-$20 million valuation.
So they would have got x50-x100 at the exit.

~~~
gaius
That is not what the words _small_ and _limited_ imply to me but in Silly
Valley I guess who knows?

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xte
Never be on it, nor on Fb, LinkedIn etc. Only in G+ at the time when it's born
and I used GMail.

IMO webdevs should be take story lesson rediscover non-web technologies, there
are many things outside webservers and browsers. Far more advanced, free,
pleasant to use, effective etc.

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jhowell
Where is she going to be working now? Or will she spend all of her free time
trying to recover from this time at Instagram. It's easy to write stories and
say things like this given all the news about social media now.

~~~
floil
Did you read the article? She hasn't worked at Instagram since 2014.

~~~
ciupicri
By the way, how can someone read the article when Washington Post lets you
read only a limited number of articles?

~~~
fekunde
You can use outline.com

Here is this particular article:
[https://outline.com/eztukA](https://outline.com/eztukA)

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hugh4life
Instagram is the only social network I really like... but I'm worried they're
starting to add too much to it.

~~~
timmaah
I don't watch stories. They have some kind of TV? What was wrong with a single
photo? Can I get my feed in chrono order please? An ad every 4 posts? How much
can I pay you per year to make it stop?

I live an interesting life and it was fun to share and meet others in the same
lifestyle niche, but I've just about given up on Instagram. Not worth it.

~~~
dingaling
I wish Instagram would let users disable 'Likes' on their posts. I want to
post cool things that I see or do. I don't want the pressure of competing for
approval but the little heart sits there empty...

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RyanOD
When I think of all the other challenges facing the world, it's hard for me to
take adults lamenting something like social media seriously.

Our world is an amazing place offering an unlimited number of a hobbies /
activities to engage in. People fall into and out of love with such activities
all the time. People also take / leave jobs all the time.

Not a big deal.

~~~
holowire
When I retired my social media accounts a couple of years ago (facebook,
instagram, twitter) I remember a distinct feeling of triumph that felt worthy
of sharing. Like I finally opened my eyes to see them for what they really
are... but in the end it was nothing more than that and I quickly occupied my
attention elsewhere with other activities.

Now this is only my narrow perspective on it, but I can very easily picture a
scenario where for a lot of people, some level of inflated self-importance
(granted by the very platform they are quitting) only heightens the perception
of magnitude with them actually leaving it. So I can see where treating self-
imposed exile becomes an act of heroism of sorts.

But I wholly agree with you, and I have a hard time sympathizing. All that is
required is a little effort in giving yourself some distance from it and your
free.

