EDIT: I've posted this - that will clarify even more things: https://my-notes.dragas.net/2025/10/10/when-bigger-stops-being-better/
I’ve received many reactions to my latest blog post. Some constructive, others critical, but all useful to better understand different perspectives.
However, two recurring dynamics emerged in the comments (mostly outside the Fediverse).
First: I didn’t mention any names. I understand the disappointment, but naming them wouldn’t have helped anyone. Before publishing, I did my homework - that draft had been ready for over a year - and I even asked some of the people involved.
They took action privately to warn friends and colleagues, with good results, but they didn’t want public exposure. Many years have passed, and that company no longer has the same relevance anyway.
Some understood my choice (naming them could have meant serious legal trouble for me), but others started quoting US laws and amendments to "prove" that I could have safely done it. What many don’t realize is that the world isn’t the United States - not everyone plays by the same legal rules. And even if I won such a case, it would still mean wasted time, energy, and peace of mind. Cui prodest?
Second: "Stories like that can only happen in Italy because there are so many small, family-run businesses".
That one annoyed me more - especially because it often came from Italians themselves.
First of all, I’ve worked in several countries, and I never said the story was about an Italian company.
Second, small businesses are not a problem - they’re a strength. My experience taught me that large corporations tend to turn employees into replaceable parts of a giant machine. Customers become faceless numbers, almost subjects rather than clients. At some point, a company’s need for endless growth becomes a trap - not a service that enriches people’s lives, but a "necessary evil".
And that, to me, is the real danger: believing that bigger automatically means better - in tech, and in life.
I wrote about this a few months ago, and I still believe it even more strongly today: https://my-notes.dragas.net/2025/06/09/macbook-pro-vs-car-why-small-businesses-still-win/
#ITNotes #BlogPost #TechCulture #SmallBusiness #Writing #Reflections #PersonalThoughts
