Facebook Building a Company Town

cold fjord writes "The Wall Street Journal reports, 'Facebook Inc.'s sprawling campus in Menlo Park, Calif., is so full of cushy perks that some employees may never want to go home. ... The social network said this week it is working with a local developer to build a $120 million, 394-unit housing community within walking distance of its offices. ... the 630,000 square-foot rental property will include everything from a sports bar to a doggy day care. Even in Silicon Valley, where tech companies compete to lure coveted engineers with over-the-top perks and offices that resemble adult playgrounds, Facebook's plan breaks new ground. A Facebook spokeswoman said employee retention wasn't a major factor in the real estate push. "We're certainly excited to have more housing options closer to campus, but we believe that people work at Facebook because what they do is rewarding and they believe in our mission," she said. Some employees had inquired about places to live near the corporate campus, she said ... The development conjures up memories of so-called "company towns" at the turn of the 20th century, where American factory workers lived in communities owned by their employer and were provided housing, health care, law enforcement, church and just about every other service necessary.'"

Not really

[timeOday]

Key quote:

The apartments will go for market rates, and a handful will be set aside for low income residents. All but 15 of the units will be open to non-Facebook employees.

So, it's a new 394-unit development in Menlo Park, which is near Facebook (and lots of other things).

Circles

[Amorymeltzer]

For those who haven't read it yet, the NYT Magazine has an excerpt from a new Dave Eggers book named Circles [nytimes.com]. It captures this sort of thing eerily well.

Ad Revenue

[maz2331]

They make a boatload of cash on ad revenues, plus charging commercial entities for "reach" - ie, a "friend" of Coca Cola may not see many posts unless Coke ponies up the cash to reach X-number of eyes.

Re:The mission?

[uvajed_ekil]

I like to hire smart employees: the ones who are loyal first to themselves, and their paychecks. We work in "Corporate America" to make money and fund the rest of our lives, not for some vague corporate "mission" that has no intrinsic value of its own. Yes, my employees better do their jobs and do them well, and they know that. They also know they will continue to be paid fairly well as long as they do their jobs. I don't screw them, they mostly don't try to screw me, and we skip all the superficial BS. If they find jobs that pay them more than I can, I wish them well. I've never had anyone leave for a company with a fancy mission statement - just money I can't compete with.

Re:And how do these guys make $$$ again?

[Dahamma]

Yep. That's exactly how it works.

Re:accidental lie by omission.

[chihowa]

We had debtor's prisons in the US until the mid 1800s [wikipedia.org].