The issue with "incredible teams" at companies like Facebook is that they subscribe to ideological frameworks that lead them to make decisions that make sense internally, but not so much externally. You see evidence of this in their overuse of keywords like "disruptive", "delight", "intuitive", "natural", "flat", and "gets out of the way", all of which no longer mean anything specific. As if this is not bad enough, because they have a total monopoly on attention, their ideologies then go on to condition the expectations of their users, who are pretty much everybody. Only the trolls, cranks, geeks, and stubborn intellectuals who are by nature suspicious of externally imposed ideology perceive this, which is why you – and employees of Facebook – should listen to them, albeit with a grain of salt.
That said, I agree that the expert skill evident in the design of Paper and other Facebook mobile products is something to behold and worth appreciating for what it is on it's own terms. Just don't drink the Koolaid.
"The issue with "incredible teams" at companies like Facebook is that they are indoctrinated into ideological frameworks that lead them to make decisions that make sense internally, but not so much externally."
To be fair, this sounds pretty Koolaid-esque as well. But you know what? Sometimes Koolaid is just a refreshing, sugary drink.
You're right – I changed the wording to sound less like a conspiracy theory. Indeed nobody is exempt from ideology, but it is important to be aware of it. Interacting with people outside "the system" is one way to do that.
That said, I agree that the expert skill evident in the design of Paper and other Facebook mobile products is something to behold and worth appreciating for what it is on it's own terms. Just don't drink the Koolaid.