I really want to recruit for a ☆lovely☆ tech company or two.

[smsm1@mastodon.green]

@Thayer I wonder if higher levels of inflation and higher interest rates are a factor. The move to the cloud over owning own hardware may also be a factor. Technology is becoming more expensive reversing previous trends of it getting cheaper which won't help either.

[sean@mastodon.me.uk]

@Thayer tech seemed so full of optimism and excitement

Now it just seems full of lies

and I feel like a grumpy old man

[thayer@mastodon.social]

@smsm1 I think politically outside of our lefty tech bubble I think there's much less impetus to make anything better. I get the feeling of deep self centred nonchalance as a global vibe right now.

[rhube@wandering.shop]

@Thayer @smsm1 I feel like you're both right, which is a bummer. This is also why we need regulation to prevent the greedy, don't-care fucks dominating everything, but there doesn't seem to be enough resistance out there in the world to bring that about, either.

[thayer@mastodon.social]

@sean do you remember how cool it was when we worked with SirTBL!!! I was so excited to open up UK data with you and Richard, and James. Felt like we were right on the edge of doing something amazing. Then GOVUK felt like an extension but also a distraction. And yeah, now I'm like, where's that buzz! Get me back on something I can't contain myself about!

[thirstybear@agilodon.social]

@Thayer I am asking myself the same question. I am looking to move out of a closed mindset gig to something more progressive (as you know), and all I get is tumbleweed.

It seems to me that the current AI psychosis is dragging the software industry back to the 1990s and the worst excesses/failures of waterfall. I have my theories about why this is happening, mostly around senior management being unable to get away from the fantasy of being in control.

[dee@social.treehouse.systems]

@Thayer I no longer think they exist with the funding necessary to hire.

Some companies are definitely better than others, and there are individual leaders in many companies who are good... but this is not the same as a tech company that wants to change the World for better and the definition of "for better" being universal (because Anthropic believe they're changing the World for better, but that's a "least worst" definition compared to OpenAI and others, not actually better and still not inclusive of most of the World's population).

Over the past 5-10 years especially, it feels like the original optimism of how technology could bring in a better future has been abandoned for pure capitalism. It is, disheartening, and reflects the landscape we're in.

The best tech is small, volunteer led, community owned, and that isn't hiring at the salaries those in tech are used to.

As someone smarter than me once said, the greatest minds of our generation are using surveillance to sell adverts... except now it's worse as we also have crypto, and AI in the mix, as well as fascism.

[richlv@mastodon.social]

@Rhube @Thayer @smsm1 And uniform enforcement. Regulation without enforcement is visible in things like cycle paths that greedy fucks park on etc

[jon@activitypub.blankpad.net]

@Thayer they’re still out there (thank god, or I’d probably be raising alpacas by now). It’s a job and thus has its annoyances but there’s not a week goes by I’m not thankful to be working at a company which is doing something meaningful with a team who care, are highly competent, and also just lovely to spend time with. demandlogic.co.uk, where we’re sadly not hiring at the moment or I’d be forwarding this straight to the person responsible.

[di4na@hachyderm.io]

@Thayer @smsm1 Boomers are retiring. That is what is happening. They need pensions paid now, not to have a mission for their own job

[sean@mastodon.me.uk]

@Thayer yep - I remember walking across admiralty arch trying to find the right office !

I think I'm glad I didn't know then that that was the peak!

That project had problems too though

[sean@mastodon.me.uk]

@Thayer One thing with early web projects was that I was creating the first version of a website and at a time when tech was evolving fast

Now I'm working on version 4 or 5 of something and hopefully making it better but then you think whoever made version 3 had good intentions and sometimes I'm adding features I don't believe in

[tempusfelix@wehavecookies.social]

@Thayer @smsm1

I was reading recently about the Goldilocks point in systems. Where everything is about right (not perfect) and any additional change subsequently makes the system worse.

And I think we are past there with our current structure. Corporates need to corporate. They need to show profits and growth all the time. Most of the easy profit based mission driven stuff has been done and if not successful, subsumed or died off. So we are left with an agglomeration of the average, focused on false growth and churning out worse product each cycle.

And politically there is no heart or grit to make the changes that many are calling for, to use that creative energy for the collective good, because none of their big money donors are advocating for it.

I hope you find the small mission driven independent company that lights your fire and makes a positive difference.

[thayer@mastodon.social]

@tempusfelix @smsm1 thank you me too 🥰

[smsm1@mastodon.green]

@weebull @Thayer if you can run the company with no investors and keep it lean it may be possible to run a company with organic growth. @beasts seems to be one such example.

[publicwondering@mastodon.me.uk]

@Thayer I hope you find this. I've followed you in case that company want a Python Software Engineer.