Kinja reply list

Read More
fighting polish is David Schwimmer as Rob Kardashian SrSam Biddle
8/10/15 3:38pm
Upworthy Tried to Unionize: What Happened Next Left Me in Tears!
Reply
- Read More
  adamjohnson08fighting polish is David Schwimmer as Rob Kardashian Sr
  8/10/15 3:44pm
  Im incredibly tired of this fucking headline. Thank you.
  
  Alternatives: After I Saw What Happened Next, My Jaw Hit the Floor.
  Reply
- Read More
  Medieval Knievelfighting polish is David Schwimmer as Rob Kardashian Sr
  8/10/15 3:48pm
  Mom of 4 lost belly fat with this one easy trick — she was fired by Upworthy and can’t afford food!
  Reply
Read More
raincoasterSam Biddle
8/10/15 4:24pm
The ability of a corporation to attract venture capitalism should not be something that prevents the employees of that corporation from getting a fair deal. And if a union is what’s necessary for them to get a fair deal (and it often is) then suck it, corporation. If you want to buy their loyalty to the extent they won’t unionize, give them options.

Also, I surely can’t be the only person who finds the idea of Upworthy having a political viewpoint jarring. I knew they were pro-kitten, pro-virality, but the idea of them having any kind of ideology is quite new to me. But then, I never looked at the site; it looked too much like it was ghostwritten by a cloying Dolores Umbridge clone.
Reply
- Read More
  AK7007raincoaster
  8/10/15 4:50pm
  The ability of a corporation to attract venture capitalism should not be something that prevents the employees of that corporation from getting a fair deal. And if a union is what’s necessary for them to get a fair deal (and it often is) then suck it, corporation.
  
  Did I miss the part where somebody stopped them from unionizing? I feel like they had the option to, but chose not to when told it was bad for them. I’m not saying that was right of management to say “please don’t,” but it wasn’t exactly Blair Mountain.
  Reply
- Read More
  raincoasterAK7007
  8/10/15 5:05pm
  Yes, you did.
  Reply
Read More
Cam/ronSam Biddle
8/10/15 3:45pm
Their piece on the beer hop shortage just had to have wacky Buzzfeedish GIFs.

https://www.upworthy.com/climate-change…
Reply
- Read More
  opiumsmabytchCam/ron
  8/10/15 4:11pm
  That’s sad, but worth it just for this Captain Planet gif:
  
  GIF
  
  Reply
Read More
LeNoceurSam Biddle
8/10/15 4:02pm
Just a few points: 1) “You didn’t have enough pageviews” and “this person did not have the storytelling abilities we need” may be exactly the same thing, phrased differently. If they were better “storytellers,” one could infer, they would generate more pageviews.

2) I think the tone of the article is somewhat misleading. The only thing I know about this story is what appears in this article, but even I can tell that Upworthy did not “stave off a union drive” so much as “persuade employees to not take a vote on it right now.” The employees could vote today, tomorrow, next month, or never.

3) Unless a company is big enough and the layoffs are widespread enough to trigger the WARN Act (or you have it written into your CBA!), very few people ever get “notice” of a layoff in America. This is a good reason to unionize! Non-union, non-executive employees ought to acknowledge to themselves that every day they walk into their job could be their last.
Reply
- Read More
  lwoodhouseLeNoceur
  8/10/15 4:20pm
  #2 seems like a distinction without a difference. It’s no different from how manufacturing employers have busted unions for decades: by saying that if you organize, we’re going to be forced to shut down and relocate to China/Mexico/the South/wherever.
  
  #1 — totally agree.
  Reply
- Read More
  JessicaFletcherLeNoceur
  8/10/15 4:42pm
  I had the same thought about #1—their definition of good story telling = whatever gets page views.
  Reply
Read More
Paul DimitrovSam Biddle
8/10/15 5:11pm
I love that, to the middle-aged liberals who own these piece-of-shit Internet outfits, their “progressive values” get tossed out the door when it comes to labor practices.

Fucking limousine liberals....
Reply
Read More
IDM3Sam Biddle
8/10/15 3:41pm
Left-wing is pro-union. Right-wing is anti-union. It sounds like Upworthy is straddling the fence, with a left-wing face and a right-wing soul.
Reply
- Read More
  ThidrekrIDM3
  8/10/15 6:21pm
  I’d perhaps put it this way: if they’re still reliant on venture capital for funding, venture capitalists are all pretty much vultures. Not only do they hate unions, but they hate anything that won’t lead them to a relatively quick profit, and they will happily disassemble a company piece-by-piece if they can make some money off the carcass. They have no souls whatsoever.
  Reply
Read More
Orlandu7Sam Biddle
8/10/15 3:41pm
An entire business model based on a third-party algorithm continuing to give more links on their site to your content than your competitors’? I’m going to pretend to be a conservative for about ten seconds here and suggest that maybe the free market has spoken.
Reply
Read More
P.J. MorseSam Biddle
8/11/15 8:57am
Maybe, just maybe, the leaders who use the startup excuse should factor in the notion that their employees might want a say in their business.

Oh, and maybe Upworthy’s business model shouldn’t rely as heavily on Facebook, either. I wasn’t a biz major, but I always wonder if those who base their business models on the Algorithm of the Moment are on dope.
Reply
Read More
Sam BiddleSam Biddle
8/11/15 11:37am
Correction: A representative from the Allen & Gerritsen public relations firm, which works for Upworthy, contacted me about an inaccuracy in the post:

As of June 9, Eli Pariser is no longer on the MoveOn board.

I’ve corrected the post accordingly.
Reply
Read More
dothedewSam Biddle
8/10/15 3:49pm
“Doing well by doing good.” - Benjamin Franklin

“Doing well by doing meh, until it becomes convenient for our institutional investors for us to do ~~good~~ a pretty mundane thing that will help some people.” - Eli Pariser
Reply