What I knew before visiting Facebook:
Intro and Expectations
Facebook is in many ways, West Coast culture in a company. Founded in Mark Zuckerberg’s college dorm, Facebook has taken the initiative in creating a loose, comfortable, open culture with no private offices and a casual dress code. I expected all of the stories I’ve heard about Facebook over the years to ring true. I expected to see an open environment with no offices and a multitude of employee benefits designed to improve performance.
Visit
It turns out, my initial ideas regarding Facebook were pretty spot on. Upon being scanned into the main office area, we were greeted by a wall completely covered in marker scribblings, with writings spanning from shout outs to carefully-crafted messages. This was in place to promote creativity and open-mindedness. Another way Facebook promoted this creative, cross-functioning culture was through an open-floor plan and its "Hack-a-Month" program. The open floor plan and lack of titles show are cornerstones of Facebook culture, for they help to foster innovation through teamwork, for nobody feels superior. This is one of the furthest cries from how the East Coast functions, and I feel as though this plan could really work. When no superiority is felt, ideas can be translated more unselfishly, only leading to better results. Cross-functionality is the key in Facebook's Hack-a-Month's, when they allow an employee to transfer to another team for a month and participate in their projects. At the end of the month, the employee can decide whether to stay or move back. This is a unique way to get the most out of your employees while also increasing morale. East coast companies should give it a shot.
After getting permission from our speaker George Tyson Glauser to take neat pictures on Facebook’s picturesque balcony and their trippy sideways Instagram background, we took a more in-depth tour of the office, from their large garden cum staircase to their multitude of La Croix-stuffed kitchens that lie in the middle of the office. There were a couple of private meeting rooms for teams to work in throughout the building, with each strand being named for a specific theme. Considering we were in Seattle, there was a collection of rooms named after former Seahawk running back Marshawn Lynch (names included: All About That Action Boss and Beast Mode). The freedom of the employees to name the rooms further enforces the creative, free company culture Facebook prides itself on.
Facebook continuously emphasized their core company mottos, particularly the idea to “move fast and break things”. Facebook did not seem to care if you failed at something, they just wanted you to do so quickly, so that you can learn from your mistakes. This is currently being embodied, they said, in their work to combat the “Fake News” plague sweeping Facebook. Zuckerberg has put together a team specifically to tackle this project, and that will be of primary focus until it is solved. Zuckerberg is a regular at this facility, they said, for he looks to see that the company is still living up to his ideals, the ideals that Facebook is making the world a better place for everybody by continuously providing them useful information and connecting with others.
One of the elements of Facebook that really struck me was that they are fully aware of their massive size and influence. Facebook often uses "scare tactics" when dealing in business negotiations, scaring away smaller companies that seek the same access that they do. This is a further method by a big Silicon Valley company to establish their dominance, which could lead to future polarization when it comes to large companies. The largest companies may end up owning most of the market, and I do not necessarily think that is a good thing in an innovative start-up culture.
Post Visit Actions
We only had an hour at Facebook, but we were able to accomplish a lot during our visit there. We got to see the entirety of the facility, and got a taste of what exactly “West Coast culture” embodies. From the ping pong tables to the kitchens, Facebook clearly promotes a lax workplace where creative ideas can flow in a positive manner. They spoke a lot about combating the negatives that arise in a modern age they helped create (ie. Fake news). This is something that I will look for in the future: how Facebook grapples with their own influence. This company has changed the world. What was once a simple social network has now proved a ground for the spread of fake news and propaganda. Facebook's new task is not to reach customers as a start-up, no, that part is completed. It's task now is to curb the negative effects their product is inducing in society.
Key Takeaways
- Like almost all kids my age, I have a Facebook account.
- They have been dealing with a “fake news” problem, with many false stories having been spread through the site.
- They are known as the pioneers of this open-minded Silicon Valley company culture
Intro and Expectations
Facebook is in many ways, West Coast culture in a company. Founded in Mark Zuckerberg’s college dorm, Facebook has taken the initiative in creating a loose, comfortable, open culture with no private offices and a casual dress code. I expected all of the stories I’ve heard about Facebook over the years to ring true. I expected to see an open environment with no offices and a multitude of employee benefits designed to improve performance.
Visit
It turns out, my initial ideas regarding Facebook were pretty spot on. Upon being scanned into the main office area, we were greeted by a wall completely covered in marker scribblings, with writings spanning from shout outs to carefully-crafted messages. This was in place to promote creativity and open-mindedness. Another way Facebook promoted this creative, cross-functioning culture was through an open-floor plan and its "Hack-a-Month" program. The open floor plan and lack of titles show are cornerstones of Facebook culture, for they help to foster innovation through teamwork, for nobody feels superior. This is one of the furthest cries from how the East Coast functions, and I feel as though this plan could really work. When no superiority is felt, ideas can be translated more unselfishly, only leading to better results. Cross-functionality is the key in Facebook's Hack-a-Month's, when they allow an employee to transfer to another team for a month and participate in their projects. At the end of the month, the employee can decide whether to stay or move back. This is a unique way to get the most out of your employees while also increasing morale. East coast companies should give it a shot.
After getting permission from our speaker George Tyson Glauser to take neat pictures on Facebook’s picturesque balcony and their trippy sideways Instagram background, we took a more in-depth tour of the office, from their large garden cum staircase to their multitude of La Croix-stuffed kitchens that lie in the middle of the office. There were a couple of private meeting rooms for teams to work in throughout the building, with each strand being named for a specific theme. Considering we were in Seattle, there was a collection of rooms named after former Seahawk running back Marshawn Lynch (names included: All About That Action Boss and Beast Mode). The freedom of the employees to name the rooms further enforces the creative, free company culture Facebook prides itself on.
Facebook continuously emphasized their core company mottos, particularly the idea to “move fast and break things”. Facebook did not seem to care if you failed at something, they just wanted you to do so quickly, so that you can learn from your mistakes. This is currently being embodied, they said, in their work to combat the “Fake News” plague sweeping Facebook. Zuckerberg has put together a team specifically to tackle this project, and that will be of primary focus until it is solved. Zuckerberg is a regular at this facility, they said, for he looks to see that the company is still living up to his ideals, the ideals that Facebook is making the world a better place for everybody by continuously providing them useful information and connecting with others.
One of the elements of Facebook that really struck me was that they are fully aware of their massive size and influence. Facebook often uses "scare tactics" when dealing in business negotiations, scaring away smaller companies that seek the same access that they do. This is a further method by a big Silicon Valley company to establish their dominance, which could lead to future polarization when it comes to large companies. The largest companies may end up owning most of the market, and I do not necessarily think that is a good thing in an innovative start-up culture.
Post Visit Actions
We only had an hour at Facebook, but we were able to accomplish a lot during our visit there. We got to see the entirety of the facility, and got a taste of what exactly “West Coast culture” embodies. From the ping pong tables to the kitchens, Facebook clearly promotes a lax workplace where creative ideas can flow in a positive manner. They spoke a lot about combating the negatives that arise in a modern age they helped create (ie. Fake news). This is something that I will look for in the future: how Facebook grapples with their own influence. This company has changed the world. What was once a simple social network has now proved a ground for the spread of fake news and propaganda. Facebook's new task is not to reach customers as a start-up, no, that part is completed. It's task now is to curb the negative effects their product is inducing in society.
Key Takeaways
- There were no offices to distinguish rank
- Failure is encouraged, as long as you fail fast
- Facebook is currently struggling to stop the spread of fake news on their platform