Many in Silicon Valley woke up Wednesday morning to a harsh new reality: Donald Trump wins the presidency through the help of the social media. Despaired Silicon Valley luminaries blames it on complacency and the lack of engagement during the election period.
Across the tech industry the news of Donald Trump's victory was beyond grim, many voiced out their frustrations and fears. There was a sense that the people behind famous social media platforms missed something rudimentary about the fears and motivations of people who use their platforms, and that it would cost the Tech industry and the world.
New York Times writes that President Obama's tenure in the White House was seen as a more progressive avenue for the likes of Amazon, Apple, Facebook, Google and Microsoft to take over the world, as their presence was boosted by friendly economic programs.The rise of social media platforms that were accessible with smartphones meant the importance of having a working relationship with the technological community.
Mr. Obama rode many of these digital tools, his accommodative attitude towards the rise of the social media propelled him to the presidency and believed that the role that it played in society holds a very important role. The problem is, President-Elect Donald Trump does not believe in such claims. Mr. Trump's win promises to rip apart that relationship that took years to build. It was noted during the campaign period that the mercurial President-elect promised to initiate antitrust actions against Amazon. Mr. Trump even repeatedly vowed to force Apple to make its products in the United States - or face boycott.
For some, the relationship between the tech industry's relationship with the government, including the public, is bound to change in a fundamental way. Last year, Google's Chief Executive Sundar Pichai slammed Donald trump in his published rebuke of Mr. Trumps plan to ban muslims from immigrating to the United States. Mark Zuckerberg, the co-founder and chief executive of Facebook told an audience of developers to "help in building bridges instead of building up walls".
In a post on Buzzfeed, experts feared that President Trump might actually hold them by restricting data acess, this truly has been a said day according to many Americans that are still recovering from shock. Sharing the sentiment of much of Silicon Valley's community, Steward Butterfield, the co-founder of the corporate messaging platform Slack could only describe it in two words. "I'm heartbroken." Certainly, this election has rattled Silicon Valley to its core.