• @drcobaltjedi
    link
    1110 days ago

    And on a more subjective note, a lot of people aren’t really into the way that Linus behaves on camera. I’m in this camp. I find that he often comes off pretty arrogant and belittling when he’s interacting with his staff on camera.

    I remember on the old site years ago saying that Linus came off as a bit of a douchebag and being downvoted to hell for it. Like, I get having relationships with friends where we’re always bullying each other a bit, but it never seemed to me like he was ever on the recieving end of that.

    • Jesus
      link
      fedilink
      1110 days ago

      Yeah, as someone who has been in people management for a long time, he has a way of interacting with people that makes my HR spidey sense tingle.

      It’s very subtle, but there some ways of collaborating and communicating with his employees that I’ve seen before, and are often associated with people who get shitty reviews from the ICs and peers.

        • Jesus
          link
          fedilink
          510 days ago

          After years on the job you have an eagle eye for the subtle hints that slip out. Talking over people, dismissing options that are different than yours, playfully teasing people that don’t reciprocate, etc.

          Maybe it’s nothing, but when I watch his videos I have flashbacks to problematic leaders who often get shit reviews when employees are allowed to submit feedback anonymously.

          • @[email protected]
            link
            fedilink
            19 days ago

            But can you really reciprocate against the literal CEO/owner? I wouldnt dare to tease back my boss should he poke fun at me. No matter how playful it was meant to be. I would joke with his comment but never shoot bavk or at least aim to do it.

            • Jesus
              link
              fedilink
              19 days ago

              Depends on the company. I’ve worked in places where it is totally cool to take the boss down a peg, in a sarcastic / light way. I’ve also worked in places where my employees have feel safe enough to do that to me.

              But the end of the day, he’s in a position of power and controls their pay check. Dude shouldn’t be playing around with his employees like that if they’re not reciprocating. That means they probably don’t feel safe.

              Every HR training video has at least one segment on this. Linus needs to be forced to watch some basic managerial training videos.

    • @glockenspiel
      link
      19 days ago

      Yeah, people defend Linus and other faces like MKBHD for one huge reason: Parasocial relationships.

      Just look at all the conversation happening in this thread with people defending the figure of Linus (and others). Influencers, even tech influencers, make money because they can monetize those people.

      And Linus appeals primarily to the folks who like thinking of themselves as the tech person in the family or at the office, but really they are no more technical than slotting a stick of RAM into a case on average.