Facebook Executive Hits Back at WhatsApp Co-founder Brian Acton: 'A Whole New Standard of Low-Class'

Facebook's David Marcus, who until recently ran the Facebook Messenger before starting the blockchain group earlier this year, is defending the company and CEO Mark Zuckerberg after a WhatsApp founder spoke critically of his experience at the company. Marcus: [...] On the business model. I was present in a lot of these meetings. Again, Mark protected WhatsApp for a very long period of time. And you have to put this in the context of a large organization with businesses knocking on our door to have the ability to engage and communicate with their customers on WhatsApp the same way they were doing it on Messenger. During this time, it became pretty clear that while advocating for business messaging, and being given the opportunity to build and deliver on that promise, Brian actively slow-played the execution, and never truly went for it. In my view, if you're passionate about a certain path -- in this case, letting businesses message people and charging for it -- and if you have internal questions about it, then work hard to prove that your approach has legs and demonstrate the value. Don't be passive-aggressive about it. And by the way the paid messaging that WhatsApp is rolling out now sounds pretty similar to metered messaging from my point of view...

Lastly -- call me old fashioned. But I find attacking the people and company that made you a billionaire, and went to an unprecedented extent to shield and accommodate you for years, low-class. It's actually a whole new standard of low-class. I'll close by saying that as far as I'm concerned, and as a former lifelong entrepreneur and founder, there's no other large company I'd work at, and no other leader I'd work for. I want to work on hard problems that positively impact the lives of billions of people around the world. And Facebook is truly the only company that's singularly about people.

Monkeys flinging shit

[DogDude]

Both/all of these companies are garbage companies that take advantage of people. None of them produce anything of any real value, except eyeballs for marketing people. They're all low class.

Re:

[Anonymous Coward]

Exactly!!! Both Fakebook and What-sapp are blood sucking data companies that will grab any and all data that they can on anyone (user or not) to sell to advertisers!! Thats about as low as you can get!

Wow

[Miser]

This person sure is sucking on the Zuck!

In all seriousness though, what would you expect a Facebook employee to say? That they agree with Acton? That's not the way you stay on the Facebook gravy (money) train.

Also, first post perhaps?

Re:Wow

[Anonymous Coward]

I would say that Acton built the value, otherwise FB wouldn"t have paid that much or wanted it that bad. So FB didn"t make him a billionaire, Acton did it himself.

perfect!

[ooloorie]

But I find attacking the people and company that made you a billionaire, and went to an unprecedented extent to shield and accommodate you for years, low-class. It's actually a whole new standard of low-class.

Seems like a perfect match for Facebook corporate culture.

as a former lifelong entrepreneur and founder

[Bradmont]

as a former lifelong entrepreneur and founder

How can you be a former lifelong anything? Are you dead?

Re:as a former lifelong entrepreneur and founder

[gosand]

as a former lifelong entrepreneur and founder

How can you be a former lifelong anything? Are you dead?

Life ends when you sell your soul.

Facebook - The People Company

[presidenteloco]

"And Facebook is truly the only company that's singularly about people."

suggested branding:

Facebook - The People Company

- "We know your people"

- "We like, know people"

Re:

[h33t l4x0r]

Facebook is one of the people-ist companies we've seen, from the standpoint of people.

Blah blah blah ...

[Anonymous Coward]

This is one sack of shit asshole in Facebook's management griping about another sack of shit asshole who used to be in Facebook's management.

You're both greedy assholes who trade in other people's private data.

So, let's publish the personal information, and family information of every fucking Facebook employee, and then move the discussion on to privacy.

Fuck you Facebook .. I don't use it, don't allow my browsers to follow any of those webbugs around the web, and don't care about your apps.

I hope you all fucking die in a fire.

Re:

[rtb61]

I would rather they live in poverty for the rest of their lives, with their every movement monitored and controlled, extended custodial sentences for those who simply can not be rehabilitated, actually I would rather they rehabilitate, good for us and good for them. The future negative consequences of living a destructive life exploiting others, the negative quantum concious balance, well that will be what ever that will be. Odds are really rather boringly empty devoid of everything but your negative quantu

We had no choice!

[Bradmont]

And you have to put this in the context of a large organization with businesses knocking on our door to have the ability to engage and communicate with their customers on WhatsApp the same way they were doing it on Messenger

They drove a dump truck full of money up to my house! I'm only human!

Is that what the kid are calling it these days?

[drew_kime]

I want to work on hard problems that positively impact the lives of billions of people around the world.

And how is Facebook positively impacting the lives of the Rohingya?

Re:

[drew_kime]

And how is Facebook positively impacting the lives of the Rohingya?

To be fair, he did not say that it is positively impacting the lives of everyone.

Perhaps the positive impact in that scenario was for the other people of Myanmar.

I get that was snark, but if someone convinced me to be so terrified of my neighbors that I went and killed them, I'm pretty sure my life didn't just get better.

Re:Facebook exec calling anyone low class.

[Darinbob]

It's very similar to "I bought you dinner so now I expect something from you!"

Two wrongs and all that...

[shaitand]

Selling out your users and putting their privacy in Jeopardy is fine but trying to mitigate the damage by making sure they are aware of it when Facebook pretends they've left their acquisitions running untouched and without interference is not fine? Wrong isn't some pie to be divided up where his amount of wrong somehow lessens Facebook's wrong. His guilt in no way mitigates the wrongs of Facebook.

Re:

[shaitand]

That doesn't mean we should support it or simply accept that it must be so. “The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.” Even being outraged and standing in opposition is still something even if your voice is all you have. When you give up and no longer consider what is right when lending your support to the consensus you truly are doing nothing.

Facebook spokesman commits public suicide

[Cajun Hell]

And you have to put this in the context of a large organization with businesses knocking on our door to have the ability to engage and communicate with their customers on WhatsApp the same way they were doing it on Messenger.

Thanks. I could listen to a competitor or a bitter ex talk shit about it. But instead I think I'll just let Facebook explain why it is so utterly valueless. Now I know that there's no hurry to ever try out this Whatsapp thing.

if you're passionate about a certain path -- in this case, letting businesses message people and charging for it

Yes, passionate about spamming. Riiight. But thanks again, since you also revealed that I should keep an eye out for the new spammer's jargon, "business messaging."

Re:

[kalpol]

Oh no, it's far more insidious than just spam. They want to know what you're up to and how much money you have to spend on it. They want to monitor all your communications to other businesses and your personal institutions. This is valuable info, and yes they can spam you with it, but they also want to sell it.

Re:

[Darinbob]

"We're about people! The people who own companies who want to monetize their customer. Those are the people we're passionate about monetizing!"

Misquoted

[Anonymous Coward]

And Facebook is truly the only company that's singularly about *monetizing* people.

FTFY

Re:

[Darinbob]

Well, there are some bunny ranches in Nevada that are singularly about people and monetizing them.

Comment removed

[account_deleted]

Comment removed based on user account deletion

Re:

[Lab Rat Jason]

Lol... somebody +1 this guy's post!

TL;DR

[Mike Buddha]

Wah! You should be more grateful because we gave you money!

the next Sarah Huckabee Sanders

[sdinfoserv]

If Trumpkin ever pulls the trigger and cans his butt-kissing, lying with a straight face, soulless mouth piece Sarah Huckabee Sanders - we've found someone just as adapt at shit spinning. David Marcus.

A whole new standard of low class

[Opportunist]

I believe him. Someone working at the top level of Facebook should be considered an authority on what's low class.

Mark Twain's Take

[ksw_92]

From Marcus: "And Facebook is truly the only company that's singularly about people[.]"

To paraphrase Mark Twain in "Life on the Mississippi": "'People' is their God; how to monetize their online personalities, their religion". Seems about right. It makes the WhatsApp guy a heretic in their organization, to be sure.

'Nuf said

[darkain]

"letting businesses message people and charging for it"
"Facebook is truly the only company that's singularly about people"

At least these two statements were in two separate paragraphs and not in the same one, eh!?

A Whole New Standard of Low-Class

[Tough Love]

Perfect description of Facebook in 6 words.

So much Kool-Aid to chug-a-lug...

[macraig]

... and so little stomach for it.

"...about people"? BS!

[saccade.com]

Marcus says "Facebook is truly the only company that's singularly about people."

What total BS. Facebook is about *advertisers*. People are just the product Facebook delivers to them.

Re:

[ediron2]

Maybe they meant it in a "its a cookbook' or 'soylent green is people' kind of way ;-)

Um OK

[KlomDark]

Bowl of SHIT

Facebook is the suck.

Money and Loylty

[ilsaloving]

TIL that if a company made you a lot of money, you are not allowed to make perfectly valid criticisms against it. Money should buy loyalty, no matter how corrupt or dishonest the source of that money turns out to be.

With that kind of attitude I'm honestly surprised Facebook isn't joined to Trumps hip.