In times of mass layoffs and company takeovers by confused billionaires, employees need a platform to exchange ideas. Blind offers exactly that – and is public.
“Twitter was great until Elon came along”, “Do you still have your job at Meta?” or “As an Amazon developer, do I need a lawyer now?” – the tech industry is in turmoil and the formerly glittering facade of Silicon Valley is crumbling. The topic of the hour is mass layoffs. Tens of thousands are losing their jobs, regardless of whether you previously had a high-paying job at Twitter, Meta or Amazon.
Blind is a virtual coffee kitchen
In such a situation, it helps to talk to those affected. But how? Others listen in the hallway, company chat is monitored and you can be easily found on social networks. Blind, Silicon Valley’s sewing box, fills this gap. At least since Elon Musk caused chaos on Twitter every day, this platform has gained in importance worldwide, even if blindness is already widespread in the USA. The app is available for iOS and Android, and a website is often enough for the essentials.
Because Blind is nothing new – the Korean start-up was founded in 2013 and last caused a stir in 2017 when allegations of sexual harassment and discrimination at the US transport service Uber were discussed and the company blocked access to the app in the company’s WiFi for all employees .
However, this did not detract from the user base – on the contrary. Business Insider reports that there are over 60,000 Meta employees on board — more than 70 percent. The exchange between users is correspondingly lively, even if you, as an outsider, do not see everything. Because Blind is divided into several areas.
There is a public area where you can exchange ideas with the entire community. Then there are group channels where only employees of certain companies are allowed to discuss, and from 30 employees from a company there is also a separate channel where colleagues can exchange ideas with each other.
There are also group chats, reviews for the companies you work for and direct conversations between individuals. Another feature that undermines the ban on talking about salary, which is often imposed in the USA, is also part of Blind. There, people from specific companies can talk openly about what they earn and see what others have in their pay check.
Access for members only
The users on Blind are all anonymous, and a meaningless pseudonym is suggested when registering. Despite this, the operators ensure that nobody sails blind under false flags. In order to register with Blind for a specific company, one must register with the company email. You will then receive a code that you can use to unlock access. Only then do you get a note on the profile name on the page, which confirms that you belong to a group.
The affiliation is checked irregularly by sending further e-mail codes. Blind promises that even in the event of a data leak, it will not be revealed which address is behind which account. For outsiders who create an account, there are at least the public forums, where you can also get an idea of the situation in a company. Unfortunately, the really hot information is only available to people with a corresponding email address.
