Complex internet services fail in interesting ways as they grow in size and complexity. Twitter’s recent issues show how failures emerge slowly over time as relationships between components degrade. Meta’s quick launch of Threads demonstrates how platform investments can compound over time, allowing them to quickly build on existing infrastructure and expertise. While layoffs may be needed, companies must be strategic to maintain what matters most - the ability to navigate complex systems and deliver value. Twitter’s inability to ship new features shows they have lost this expertise, while Threads may out-execute them due to Meta’s platform advantages. The case of Twitter and Threads provides a lesson for companies on who they want to be during times of optimization.
This is clearly a post talking about investing in engineering capabilities and prioritizing the retaining of talent and not a discussion around the ethics of the businesses involved.
But ethics are the most important part. What good is having good hiring practices, retention policies, training, career growth etc. if the business’ core product and ethics are focused on, and result in, truly horrifying things?