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The New Face of Corporate America: Punks, Hackers and Gamers
chris-hooley.com — There is a growing trend in the Fortune 1000. Former "losers"--often in their late 20s--are forming a brash new breed of executive management. "Anybody can grab a skateboard, get some tats and a mohawk or die their hair black and pretend they are a rebel, but this takes balls. It’s the ultimate middle finger."
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- organdonersteve, on 10/12/2007, -15/+42simply not true.
- tsunamisteve, on 10/12/2007, -8/+18dinosaur.
- ABadInAlbany, on 10/12/2007, -3/+52digg up @organdonersteve (even if he can't spell): corporate America is still corporate America. key phrase: corporate. Sure, in certain sectors, certain fields, there's more leeway to be more of an individualist than others, but the majority of corporate America, and the majority of corporate America's money, continues to be in the hands of staunch, often conservative, almost always over-40 folk. I've worked for small businesses, I've worked for major multinational corporations, I've done my own freelancing, I've hacked, I've partied, I'm 27, been gaming since I was 7 years old, I've been all over the spectrum, and I can assure you, the "corporate punk" is far from establishing any meaningful foothold in American business.
- Ascendant, on 10/12/2007, -10/+32im in ur corporation stealin ur promotions
- quine, on 10/12/2007, -12/+7@organdonersteve
I would tend to disagree.
I'm not yet 30, spent most've my teens to early 20's mired in punk-ethos -- now I work for one of the top 5 federal contractors as an enterprise web developer. I love to rock the dichotomy of man on 'casual Fridays' by sporting the corporate polo with a full sleeve on my left, and work-in-progress half on my right. Did I mentioned that you can get away with tongue piercings and lucite ear plugs? There is something to be said for taking the system down from the inside. - Dumbledorito, on 10/12/2007, -3/+19By "taking the system down," you're just making your so-called rebellion mainstream. Hell, even the late Ed Bradley of 60 Minutes fame had an earring. Tattoos are becoming acceptable (unless you get, say, iron crosses tattooed over your eyelids like a domino mask or something), hair dye is commonplace, and as long as you don't smell bad or have holes in your clothes displaying naughty bits, most places without direct customer interaction don't give much of a rip what you look like so long as you do your job.
As for ascending the corporate ladder... better get a tie. The gears of the business world are still turned mostly run by pasty clueless people wearing ties. - twitchster, on 10/12/2007, -5/+4@ quine
SLC Punk reference.
Nice - zttrx, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3Alright. I'm in corporate America, currently I run a software/services company. I've been in corporate America since about 1997. The entire time I've been in corporate America, I've had a growingly large number of tattoos, and now I can fairly say that I'm pretty well covered. I've had easily visible piercings as well, though not at the moment.
A large number of my peers also have heavy tattoo work, and are from the old punk scene, as I am. Of course none of us will whip our shirts off during a board meeting and say "check out my sweet backpiece"...because that's not professional. In fact, there are few outside our numbers who would believe it, and to be honest it seems we kind of like it that way. Of course it's pretty easy to see with me, since my work extends to my knuckles---even so, its never *once* been a detriment to my career - Tyr7BE, on 10/12/2007, -1/+6"The gears of the business world are still turned mostly run by pasty clueless people wearing ties."
Dugg you up for that alone (plus an otherwise solid comment). This is bang on with what I've observed. Most of marketing and sales and other "business" oriented departments I've seen are full of well-dressed people who smell nice and don't really understand the subject matter they're selling/marketing. - konamicode, on 10/12/2007, -1/+5Maybe it's not the norm yet, and maybe it won't ever be, but it's quickly becoming accepted. At 25, I've worked in "Corporate America" for 4 years now. I've dealt with wearing long sleeve shirts in the middle of a Chicago summer in order to cover up my tattoos. I've dodged the question of "So, what'd you do this weekend?" about a thousand times. But now, I've got a great job that allows me to wear short sleeves whenever I want. Why? Because I sit in an office all day. I'm not the face of the company. I'm more or less a drone who has a few talents that make me valuable. What I look like and what I do in my free time takes a back seat to my professional abilities.
It doesn't cost a thing to relax a dress code, but will increase morale / productivity noticeably - solemnraven, on 10/12/2007, -2/+5"mired in punk-ethos"?
That sounds all kinds of nasty, Mr. pseudo intellectual. - ABadInAlbany, on 10/12/2007, -0/+6@konamicode: precisely, you are a drone. you are not an executive. it doesn't sound like you're even in management. sure, you can be a punk and have a job -- it's called equal opportunity employment. there are large governmental organizations with lots of lawyers who protect your right to have a job. but I guarantee you a punk-like appearance is detrimental to longer term aspirations. sure, some slim margin of free thinking people are lucky enough to start their own company and make millions while sporting crazy hair or piercings, but they're a slim percentage of a slim percentage. most of the world is stuck working for the man, and you will continue to be working FOR the man, and not BE the man, in large part thanks to your choices in appearance and lifestyle, whether it's fair or not.
- TheUngod, on 10/12/2007, -1/+6This is bull. No decent corporation would hire someone who is that much of a liability. Whether it be a data integrity issue or just having someone who can't deal with clients well, punk kids don't give off the appearance of a worker who cares about their job. I myself am a goth kid who works in the corporate world...but if you think I wear vinyl clothes and makeup and crap to work, you don't know how the world works.
- dcbebop, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2Will someone please ban Diggmirror?
- mrmcbastard, on 10/12/2007, -0/+5In a related story: "Corporate grunge" movement revitalized after ten-year slump. "People just love a good oxymoron," says Dave Grohl.
Up next: Emo-kid entrepreneurs. Whining, crying, and cutting yourself for fun and profit! - OBKenobi, on 10/12/2007, -1/+4Sounds a lot like a new generation of yuppies to me. Instead of the faggy pony-tails they used to wear to show they "used to" be hippies, now they'll have dyed hair and some tats or an earring. Yet they'll sit at a cubicle all day just like the guy from Wharton business school next to them that thinks they're posers.
Why even bother? Going to work for an internet "marketing" firm is in no way punk. Marketing is not punk. Working for frickin' Symantec or the FBI is not punk! ROFL. It doesn't matter if now you'll be rich and think you have some "power" too; people will still think you're an *****. Like that dick from Australia that made his fortune from spam. Real nice "exploit." - gardnert1, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1that is the most pathetically backwards article i've ever read. To assert that selling out is the new punk is a contradiction of the highest magnitudes. The only punks out there are the ones who DONT consume mainstreme media and media product. This of course means that punk is all but dead and what remains is a fragment of pop cultures with an edgy, dark look.
- BoneyB, on 10/12/2007, -4/+11I think it's actually pretty accurate. More and more net security firms are hiring the young kids---some of which have done some 'light hacking'. And it's been suggested that the problem-solving and communication skills (all l33t speak jokes aside) that gamers develop make them more effective project leaders in the workplace.
- armbar, on 10/12/2007, -4/+13Although it strokes the ego pretty well, I have a hard time believing that. From my experience, people around my age are still getting wasted at parties and can barely form complete sentences.
I'm 21, and have been working in corp. America since 17; the only times I've seen the hacker/gamer profile at work is when we get one of the exec's kids working as an intern. Unfailingly, they have no work ethic, regardless of how good their skills might be.
I give the middle finger the good old-fashioned way: by being smarter and solving problems better than my peers and managers, even though they are often 15-25 years older than me. - wild, on 10/12/2007, -4/+7Are you a gamer? Maybe that attributes to your being smarter. I know I give credit to gaming when it comes to looking at what you have been given and finding a creative way to use it. I have a rep at work for being a problem solver and a hard worker who never stops looking for answers. I believe that comes from video games, where I leave no treasure chest unopened or terrain unexplored. Thats either my nature, or it was nutured by Final Fantasy games and Zeldas.
- armbar, on 10/12/2007, -1/+7I'm a casual gamer, but I was thinking the story was talking more about the stereotypical hacker/gamer--the one that lives in his mom's basement, etc. I suppose that's what I get for paying too much attention to the pretty pictures.
Thing is, people around my age (and yours?) are going to get hired eventually--it's just symptomatic of the next generation growing up. The same article was probably written 40 years ago talking about how hippies are the new face of corporate America, and how they're taking over. What do we have now? Former hippies with their stomachs overlapping their belts.
It won't be long before our generation is the same. - NICU, on 10/12/2007, -0/+5That's actually a pretty cool article. I especially like "Approaching life and business like a video game, Generation XY was programmed to collect coins." with a picture of Mario collecting coins. I think its a great way to look at things as a member of that generation, but these kids need to realize there aren't multiple lives and resets.
- Ascendant, on 10/12/2007, -2/+4While we were stoned an in college, my buddy and I debated the subject of if playing games as a kid made you smarter; we agreed that it did.
When you were a kid playing Zelda, the first time you pushed a little block and it made that "doo-doo-doo-doo-doo-doo-doo-doo" sound and a secret passageway opened up, your brain was instantly changed in a way that prepared you for 21st century life in ways you can't imagine. - ufia, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4I tried running my business by constantly hitting the ceiling with my head and throwing turtles at people. Didn't work that well. Damn you, Mario!
- armbar, on 10/12/2007, -4/+13Although it strokes the ego pretty well, I have a hard time believing that. From my experience, people around my age are still getting wasted at parties and can barely form complete sentences.
- petroK, on 10/12/2007, -1/+35this just in...
yet another generation is trying desperately to cling to their identity as they are assimilated into the establishment.
More updates in 2011.- Ascendant, on 10/12/2007, -3/+16My generation can beat your generation at WoW.
- Hermitwise, on 10/12/2007, -6/+4How do you beat someone at WoW?
- CorpT, on 10/12/2007, -1/+3Clearly you've never camped someone until they log. That's a win in my book.
- Ascendant, on 10/12/2007, -2/+5I think a lot of us in our 20s right now are early in our careers and kicking ass... if you grew up with technology, it's just not fair- for everyone else that is. It's just way too easy to do really well.
- petroK, on 10/12/2007, -2/+15unfortunately, we 20-somethings are often faced with the cold hard fact that just because we complete something in one keystroke that the rest of the department takes a whole afternoon to do, for some reason, spending the rest of that afternoon on Digg is still likely a breach of corporate internet use policy.
WTF. - Ascendant, on 10/12/2007, -1/+9>for some reason, spending the rest of that afternoon on Digg is still likely a breach of corporate internet use policy.
That's the beauty of Digg though: Every 10 days, like clockwork, a tutorial on SSH tunneling to anonymize web surfing at work will make it to the front page! - sunchild, on 10/12/2007, -1/+2Efficiency is only a meaningful measure if your job is basically a commodity. It takes experience, intelligence and balls to make strategic decisions.
- petroK, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2>It takes experience, intelligence and balls to make strategic decisions.
We do that with one keystroke too.
- petroK, on 10/12/2007, -2/+15unfortunately, we 20-somethings are often faced with the cold hard fact that just because we complete something in one keystroke that the rest of the department takes a whole afternoon to do, for some reason, spending the rest of that afternoon on Digg is still likely a breach of corporate internet use policy.
- a1lostnomad, on 10/12/2007, -1/+9http://duggmirror.com
- JJsays, on 10/12/2007, -9/+8Get the baby-boomers out of the way. That is the most ***** up generation, we will be lucky if they even leave a country for us to have.
Sorry *****!- seandaly, on 10/12/2007, -6/+21I agree completely...
I just turned 30 this year and while my generation isn't a bright shining star, the Baby Boomers are ***** pathetic!
I have a little message for Baby Boomers below... I'm sure I'll get dugg down for at least 3 reasons.
#1. Baby Boomers will digg me down
#2. My post is WAY too long
#3. My post sucks
Times were good in the 50's, so they had a fairly privileged upbringing... Mom at home, dad working 40 hours a week, 3 kids, big house, 2 car garage, vacations and a retirement package. Not rich, but doing better than most generations have as a whole.
Then comes the late sixties (where many in their generation hit their teen/adolescent years) when they decide they don't want to go to war, don't want to go to school, don't want to work, don't want to shower anymore, ***** whomever they want, wear stupid clothes while dancing barefoot in the mud and smoke pounds of pot whenever and wherever they choose... They call it freedom, I call it lazy!
Usher in the 70's... They've spent the last 5 - 8 years doping themselves into a coma and by now they are burned out and smell like *****, so they decide to start taking showers again (weekly) and drop pot/acid in exchange for Meth and other worthless amphetamines (one extreme to the other)... No wonder we ended up with Disco, leisure suits and ***** platform shoes!!! They're still doing whatever they want living partially or completely off of their parents.
Up comes the 80's... They're so ***** up now after burning out in the sixties and fried from speed in the 70's that what little common sense they had is gone... Some realize that they have to get jobs, so they ask for a nice comfy position at Daddy's firm. Cocaine is now the drug of choice as it is expensive enough that only the elite can afford to be addicted to it. The music was ***** up and "media everything" was in... The industries did all they could to keep these yuppie ***** entertained with ever-more interesting, expensive and worthless ***** such as CD players, computers, Ikea, MTV (among hundreds of other mindless cable stations). Some of these assholes had the balls to have kids in the 70's (all that "free love" came with a price) , so the new babysitter of choice became the TV and Transformers while Mommy and Daddy were busy shoving Coke up their asses at a club desperately trying to hang on to their fading youth.
The 90's.... What the *****?!?! Now these pricks only remaining hunger is power and wealth... How ironic that the same ULTRA-liberal generation of the 60's and 70's are now so Uber-conservative when it comes to the thought of anyone taking a few of the precious dollars that they've either stolen, manipulated, inherited or otherwise milked out of the hard working lower and middle classes pockets. They support war in the Middle East in part because the mere thought of not having enough oil to power their gas-guzzling SUV's or yacht makes them want to cry.
And here we are now... They're are now in their 50's, losing hair, gaining weight and pouring billions of dollars into liposuction, tummy tucks, boob-jobs, ass-lifts, gastric bypass, laser resurfacing, facelifts and hundreds of other procedures and miracle cures to help them feel better about the fact that they're getting FAT and OLD! They support yet another war (now they own 3 SUV's and 2 boats), ***** the average person out of whatever $$$ they can, outsource jobs to poor nations, recklessly destroy the environment, bitch about having to pay taxes, cry fowl when some shows some tit during the superbowl, attack free thinkers/speakers and pretty much do whatever they can to ensure that there is literally NOTHING left for us or our kids... "***** it, let them deal with it"...
I say ***** YOU! - VAXcat, on 10/12/2007, -10/+5 My generation invented rock & roll, went to the moon, hounded a scoundrel out of the white house, and ended an unjust war...your generation...invented rap music....case closed.
- seandaly, on 10/12/2007, -3/+5@VAXcat
"My generation invented rock & roll, went to the moon, hounded a scoundrel out of the white house, and ended an unjust war...your generation...invented rap music....case closed."
I hope that when you say "your generation", you don't mean the baby boomer generation... Baby boomers were born between 1943 and 1960... It's fair to say that the Boomers experienced these events as kids, but they didn't "do" them.
The Baby Boomer generation did NOT INVENT rock and roll, they were just the kids who enjoyed a new music created by the previous generation. Rock and Roll did not become popular until the early 50's, in which Boomers were just kids...
The baby boomers didn't "go to the moon". The Apollo project started in the early 60's and the landing happened in 1969. That would make the average Boomer somewhere around 18... I doubt many people @ NASA on the Apollo project were fresh out of high school.
I"ll give you the facts that your generation was paramount in ending the Vietnam war and ousting Nixon; although given your generation's track record and history, one might speculate that protesting and ending the war had more to do with not wanting to go die for ***** reasons rather than your generation's empathy.
Nixon was a Dick though, good job there...
Other than that, your generation is a plague... - seandaly, on 10/12/2007, -3/+2@VAXcat
"My generation invented rock & roll, went to the moon, hounded a scoundrel out of the white house, and ended an unjust war...your generation...invented rap music....case closed."
Also, as for you accusing the next generations of creating rap...
We didn't create Rap music, Boomers did... The Sugar Hill Gang came hit the charts with what is recognized as the first rap / Hip Hop hit, "Rappers Delight" in 1979... The first Gen-X's were born in 1965. I seriously doubt that any of the members of the Sugar Hill Gang were 14 when they recorded that album!
Assclown! - triad203, on 10/12/2007, -3/+2@seandaly
No, actually I didn't read it at all. I did, however digg you down for whining right at the beginning. - seandaly, on 10/12/2007, -3/+1@ triad203
Ouch man.... Ouch... - mdshoreboy, on 10/12/2007, -1/+3@seandaly
I'm part of generation Y, my parents were generation X, the ME generation. The generation where parents left the cities to all buy up all the farm-land to form zillions of overgrown subburbs. They bought all the european overpriced cars and put 80 and 90s pop music on the charts.
GenXers were also well known for their binge drinking frat partying college years and came out all fat and lazy giving dieting the ultimate business money making strategy of the 80s.
Each generation has their *****, so need I go on... - DatDamWuf, on 10/12/2007, -1/+1jjsays & seandaly, baby boomers raised you and it's obvious they sucked at it. Unfortunately all those drugs caused them to believe you should have your self esteem pumped up for no other reason than that you existed. Now you feel like you aren't making it because of outside forces rather than your own internal issues. Poor things. Too bad you lump everyone born in a certain timeframe together, and no doubt you get pissed when someone does it to your generation. Dugg down because your post does suck...
- seandaly, on 10/12/2007, -6/+21I agree completely...
- behn1220, on 10/12/2007, -2/+27How many of you reading this are in your 20s, work for a corporate IT department, hold a relatively high level position, said "***** You" to getting stupid certifications in your field, make more than your parents and do way less work than most people?
I'll start. ME!- rysar, on 10/12/2007, -2/+9Just turned 25, no certs (going for my OS X 10.4 Help Desk cert beginning of March though on route to my Apple SysAdmin cert), and make more than my parents.
The "Senior" in my title is nice too.
College? Who needed College? :) - northerncomfort, on 10/12/2007, -5/+3I'm lead web designer at a growing arts publication in New York City. I currently make more than my father. I'm 19 years old and support myself without issue. All of my tech skills are self-taught, and I don't have a college credit to my name.
I'm happy with my life, and grateful that I'm able to pursue my passions without having to follow society's set path. - sunchild, on 10/12/2007, -7/+11Hahahaha, "relatively high position" = lead web designer. That ***** cracks me up. Try CIO at a Fortune 50, idiots. You'd never be able to cut it.
- ABadInAlbany, on 10/12/2007, -0/+8@sunchild: exactly.
when the multimillionaire executives at a majority of Fortune 100 companies are sporting piercings, mohawks and visible tats, then I'll be a believer in the "corporate punk"'s ascendancy.
sure, with no degree, as a software engineer, I make more than my mom, who's a Nurse Practitioner with a Master's, and 30 years experience in her field. my dad, a fairly conservative guy, is worth a couple mill as the majority shareholder of a medical manufacturing company he started a few years ago. you might saw he makes just a few bucks more than I do.
she was no punk. he was no punk. I am no punk. I am failing to draw a correlation between a punk attitude and income. - northerncomfort, on 10/12/2007, -0/+5Not saying I'm some sort of corporate hotshot, sunchild. I'm just illustrating how it's possible for young people without credentials to find nice positions.
Keep in mind that you're trying to taunt a 19 year-old about how he wouldn't last as CIO at a Fortune 500. Need I say more? - thetanbark, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1How many people have ever COMPLAINED to you that they work on their feet all day, are tired when they get home at night, and bitch to you because you get to sit down at work all day AND (yes, AND!) get paid more than they do?
- sunchild, on 10/12/2007, -1/+9Oh, I'm not trying to put down your accomplishments at 19 years of age. You're doing very well. But you (meaning 'you' in the general sense) can't go around overstating your conquest of corporate culture unless you understand what corporate culture really is.
A very rough estimate of the total deal value that I've been personally responsible for is in the low trillions (not an exaggeration). I'm 33 years old. I live in a million+ dollar apartment a few blocks from the New York Stock Exchange. I haven't worried (or even thought) about money for the past five years.
What I'm saying is that I know ALL about corporate culture in America--I live, breath and sleep in it--and there sure as ***** aren't any punk 20 year olds at any meetings I'm in unless they're lowly 'subject matter experts' whose boss dragged them in off the raised floor to provide some detailed information about whatever niche topic they 'own'.
This whole article makes it sound like 'punks' are taking over the corporate world, which is just stupid in any number of ways. Sure, there are mavericks in business--people who sucked it up through the hazing and the ***** jobs until they earned the right to dress and live their lives however they want. But those people had to play the game just like the tools in their suits. The rest of the world is assimilated, chewed up, spit out and picked apart, whether they know it or not.
What you wear, how you pierce your body, and what music you listen to doesn't mean a damn thing when the stakes are truly high. What matters is whether you can understand complex situations with the quickness, react with confidence, gather consensus to support your cause, and drive the bitch home without losing your momentum.
If you can do that--nobody's going to care what you look like. - ABadInAlbany, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1sunchild just made my friend's list. very well put, one of the most well written replies I've ever seen on digg. typically I prefer slashdot, where you're more likely to find well-formed thoughts and sentences with meaning than typical digg drivel. thanks for letting me feel that there is hope for digg yet.
- willistg, on 10/12/2007, -2/+2In my 30's and work more, but I'm self employed and make way more than my parents...and I'm listening to NOFX right now. PUNK AS *****
- rmoy, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2@behn1220
i'll second that!
- rysar, on 10/12/2007, -2/+9Just turned 25, no certs (going for my OS X 10.4 Help Desk cert beginning of March though on route to my Apple SysAdmin cert), and make more than my parents.
- psbpv3o, on 10/12/2007, -0/+10Kevin Rose has tattoos and got shot at. And look how far he's gotten!!
/sorry - rysar, on 10/12/2007, -0/+5Dugg for an interesting take on Corporate America, and this might be true in some of the marketing areas, but for most purposes, Corporate America still has a clings to the IBM of the 60s and 70s (suit, tie, everything business-like, and formal).
I work in accounting software, and the median age of employees here are probably at least 45, maybe 50. I havent seen a "punk" anywhere in our organization.
Like most corporate america, it will suck the rebel out of you.... paychecks will do that :)- Scyth3, on 10/12/2007, -0/+5I'm one of the 'rebels' of the government contracting firm I work for. However, the reason that I'm labeled as such is that I can accomplish things faster than anyone else within my programming team. I've converted layouts from tables to tableless [css based], implemented ajax, made everything validate, optimized the Java routines, rewritten the JavaScript to be as fast as possible, and all that faster then others on the team can complete a CR (let alone this project is 2 years over due). I've basically rewritten the product to be far superior to anything that the 'dinosaurs' which are still sitting around are able to do. The web designers and developers are still trying to catch up with the changes I've made, and the QA team has made notes saying how much faster everything works, etc.
That's not to say I haven't learned from the older members of the team, it's just that certain individuals do not embrace changing technology. That's my main issue. -- AJAX...what is that?! - osbjmg, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2I make change from the inside, but it usually ends up with me cussing out co-workers and such :)
- Scyth3, on 10/12/2007, -0/+5I'm one of the 'rebels' of the government contracting firm I work for. However, the reason that I'm labeled as such is that I can accomplish things faster than anyone else within my programming team. I've converted layouts from tables to tableless [css based], implemented ajax, made everything validate, optimized the Java routines, rewritten the JavaScript to be as fast as possible, and all that faster then others on the team can complete a CR (let alone this project is 2 years over due). I've basically rewritten the product to be far superior to anything that the 'dinosaurs' which are still sitting around are able to do. The web designers and developers are still trying to catch up with the changes I've made, and the QA team has made notes saying how much faster everything works, etc.
- BoneyB, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3All of the above apply to me--except I work for myself :-)
- northerncomfort, on 10/12/2007, -0/+6I think that this article is the daydreaming of a corporate-punk wannabe. Corporate "punks" are few and far between and nonexistent outside of the tech industry. I would love to be a rebel CEO, tearing down the image of corporate America... but I just don't see it happening yet.
- erikf, on 10/12/2007, -2/+4As anti-establishment as punks claims to be, punk is still just another mainstream image produced by the establishment. It always has been. That's why its so easy for these mass produced, unoriginal rebels to change their lifestyle clothes. Its no different than turning a Mickey Mouse Club kid into a teenage slut pop star or a white kid from the suburbs becoming a rapper.
- arcva, on 10/12/2007, -2/+2I am a pretty hardcore FPS gamer. Why just the other day my boss denied my raise so I waited outside of his office, around the corner, and as soon as I saw him: HEADSHOT. Totally accurate article!
- armbar, on 10/12/2007, -1/+19"so I waited outside of his office"
Bastard camper.
- armbar, on 10/12/2007, -1/+19"so I waited outside of his office"
- JJsays, on 10/12/2007, -1/+2Remember when the Anarchist were organizing their protest??? LOL We live in such a stupid country.
Cause like war protesting is like cool and all. - KiaserLies, on 10/12/2007, -2/+1WHICH ONE IS FAKE THEN WTF
- squeevey, on 10/12/2007, -1/+2Is it just me or is the ultimate middle finger to corporate america to not working for them? Go do something that you are passionate about instead of being a drone.
/still workin my 9-5. - fortressgame, on 10/12/2007, -0/+5“Anybody can grab a skateboard, get some tats and a mohawk or die their hair black and pretend they are a rebel, but this takes balls. It’s the ultimate middle finger.”
First of all, all these 'rebels' are conforming to their own peer group whether its a suit or tats. Sorry guys. Yeah I was there, had the mohawk and everything. I was an individual, just like everyone else.
Secondly, the sentence above makes no sense. Why is wearing a suit the ultimate middle finger?
Building your own company and selling it for millions, maybe that's the ultimate middle finger, but wearing a suit? Wow, quite an achievement!
- d0ppler, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2I work for a group that does infosec consulting as part of a larger, stodgy company. We wear suits to work, carry brief cases, and look generally impressive. On the weekends, we hang out at rock shows, wear earrings and show our ink, visit old arcades, devour PBR, and generally scare our peers who don't recognize us. Many of us are skaters. Some of us were punks. All of us are hackers.
This post rings true. If it doesn't, get a new job with cooler coworkers. - psyanyde, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2Appearance still matters in the business world. I make sure I look my best before I have a client meeting. That said, on general workdays my leather jacket is draped over the back of my chair, my tattoos are visible, and my assistant cringes when I listen to Minor Threat. I have coworkers that skateboard to work when it's nice out, and it's not uncommon for someone to pick up a case of beer on a Friday afternoon, or slip off for a 4:20 break. Our lead designer plays Gears of War every night, and our head of customer support keeps having problems with his hacked PSP.
- DavidDigg, on 10/12/2007, -4/+5This is probably the worst article I've seen Digg link to. And I've seen some bad pages on Digg.
1. Thesis: author doesn't have a clear point. Who is "corporate America"? Who is a "punk"? Last time I checked, corporate America was Wal-Mart and AOL. A computer security firm is about as far away form a "corporate" environment as you can get inside the private sector.
2. Evidence: one "Internet marketing consultant" - a guy whose job is to tweak ***** - and one anonymous source.
3. Organization: author does not understand topic sentences.
4. Coherence: some of the sentences do not make sense, for example: "It’s no wonder why this new type of executive has their middle finger up while creating the next neologisms." I have no idea what this means.
5. Gratuitous linking: why do we link to a Wikipedia page on neologisms? And why do we need 9 links in one paragraph? This guy is linking like its 1995.- petroK, on 10/12/2007, -1/+1You'll notice some of those links are to very off-the-wall yet very specific sites (the ones that aren't wikipedia)... this guy is an "SEO guru" this is linkbait. I bit, but I didn't click his links....
This article was designed specifically to get on the front page of Digg and get some folks to click through to those other pages. - SearchStudent, on 10/12/2007, -1/+1Hey DavidDugg,
I wrote this article, and I put more time into this than any post I've ever written. I am a marketing executive, and this idea was spawned from that anonymous quote, which IS NOT fake. I was in San Diego closing a deal and we're all mid to late 20s dudes, some wearing suits to cover up their tats.
Because I am in marketing, I have a little insight on the corporate punk. I work with them. And I did spend more time on this article BECAUSE I was hoping people would read it. I am not trying to make money on ads here or spam anybody. I honestly busted my ass trying to write something that was interesting enough that people would dig it. (note, single G there)
The reason I linked out to Rae, is because she is a perfect example. Vocal and brash and making loot in the corporate world. The reason I linked out to WikiPedia a bunch is because that's where I got most of my research from. Those links are not SEO BS, they are supporting the idea that drove me to write this. - petroK, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2My Apologies to Mr. Hooley.
At least you aren't one of "THOSE" SEO types (you know, the really spammy linkbaiters). you actually create real, sometimes interesting, content... thanks for that at least. - zeejay, on 10/12/2007, -1/+2Not only is this article very poorly written, it's a load of crap. An anecdotal hypothesis, with backing evidence of one "anonymous" source and one independent internet consultant. Dugg down for being asinine.
"As a teenager, they were called a slacker. In today’s technology ruled world, they’re called your boss." They're not called your boss, they're called "level 3 help desk stooge" or "guy working the PC section at Best Buy who still lives with his mom."
- petroK, on 10/12/2007, -1/+1You'll notice some of those links are to very off-the-wall yet very specific sites (the ones that aren't wikipedia)... this guy is an "SEO guru" this is linkbait. I bit, but I didn't click his links....
- kenwestin, on 10/12/2007, -3/+1http://www.duggmirror.com
- Urusai, on 10/12/2007, -0/+6So does senior management now Do the Dew while skateboarding off a cliff? Radical. Do they ever take it out for any sweet jumps?
- SearchStudent, on 10/12/2007, -1/+1lmfao!
- turkeyssr, on 10/12/2007, -1/+1Very few of you here actually get it. Good luck working in 'Corporate America'. You're all the same as a Harley rider that thinks they're different by riding a Harley.
- osbjmg, on 10/12/2007, -1/+1Different doesn't matter, make money, that's all that matters. In the end, that's all you are good for, so be good at that.
- OmegaNine, on 10/12/2007, -3/+1http://www.duggmirror.com
- osbjmg, on 10/12/2007, -1/+2SEO assholes are the new spammers, they are pretty shiesty if you ask me.
- dznqbit, on 10/12/2007, -1/+1masturbatory sod
- ratbear, on 10/12/2007, -1/+4How the eff did this unintentionally hilarious op-ed make the front page?
BTW I can blast grindcore in my earphones while wearing a band tee in my office, that doesn't make me any less of a corporate drone than my 55 yr old boss.- OBKenobi, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2Dugg up for mentioning grindcore.
- thebeyond, on 10/12/2007, -1/+2This article is complete fluff with no hard data, statictics, or even anecdotal evedience to back it up. My boss doesn't have a mohawk. He is a middle aged man with grey hair.
- yakoff, on 10/12/2007, -1/+3 "Anybody can grab a skateboard, get some tats and a mohawk or die their hair black and pretend they are a rebel, but this takes balls. It’s the ultimate middle finger."
I cannot do this because I am 57 and going bald. I am pissed. - superfuxxorr, on 10/12/2007, -5/+0amazingly gay story mate!
- voyetra8, on 10/12/2007, -1/+2The real question here is: how did a story this ***** lame make it to the front page?
- OBKenobi, on 10/12/2007, -2/+2People don't RTFA.
Also, this is basically blogspam.
Nice start for a blog though, keep working at it.
- OBKenobi, on 10/12/2007, -2/+2People don't RTFA.
- fetus54, on 10/12/2007, -1/+4This article made me laugh. I fail to see how bringing hot-topic fashion into the workplace means that somehow corporate America is going punk. The person living in a squat begging for money on the street is a "punk." These people are not rebels, they are fashion *****. These executives do not have their middle finger pointed up at the man. THEY ARE THE MAN.
- SearchStudent, on 10/12/2007, -1/+1I think you are missing the point. Punk used to be different. By wearing a suit, his middle finger is up to posers with mohawks, not guys cutting him fat checks.
- lemonkey, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Punk = DIY
- TwiNCannoN, on 10/12/2007, -1/+0I love articles that try to profile "our generation" and then go on to talk about spending 10 hours trying to beat Bowser.
- mrmcbastard, on 10/12/2007, -1/+1slow news day
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