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Why I left Google (HN search results)

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Re: Why I left Google (HN search results)

#21

Post by freehunter »

reificator wrote: post #9
corobo wrote: post #8

If you do the same for Facebook it's all users no longer using Facebook rather than employees no longer working there

That's because Facebook is a network and you leave networks. Google is a set of services and you quit services.

Yeah, when you leave Facebook, you're leaving a lot. You're not just stopping using a piece of software, it's more like you're giving up relationships, you're giving up a piece of your social life. For better or worse, you're probably going to miss something when you stop using Facebook, so there is a tradeoff that needs to be made. You're changing your social contract. It's a big deal.

Meanwhile when you stop using Google products... no one notices. No one cares. It's a completely personal decision. I stopped using Google products one by one when I found competitors I liked better and absolutely no one knows and no one asks because no one cares. I can still email Gmail users and they'll never know. I can send someone an address that I got from Apple Maps and they can open it in Google Maps just fine. If they send me a Google Maps link, I can open it in Google Maps because I don't need an account and a profile and a friends list first. I can use Bing or DDG and no one notices.

It's a really big deal to stop using Facebook. It's a really big deal to stop working at Google. In both cases you're losing some part of your social identity. Not the case when you're stopping using Google products.

Re: Why I left Google (HN search results)

#23

Post by lunorian »

Sir_Cmpwn wrote: post #2

I'm curious to see what kind of discussion this generates before the HN mods inevitably kick it off the front page. Most of these links seem to be of employees who quit, but I'll add my article as a user who quit: https://drewdevault.com/2016/11/16/Getting-on-without-Google...

But I love Google - I trade them my privacy and they give me tools that let me be lazy.

Re: Why I left Google (HN search results)

#24

Post by utellme »

y3sh wrote: post #6

Tldr politics, glass ceilings, re-orgs, purposeless/abandoned projects. As a former Googler, I can see why people post these: internally Google is hyper-evangelized as the best place to work ever (why would you work anywhere else). When leaving, its a necessary step to form a good argument for yourself as to why you've decided to go against the culture. The personal spin makes it an interesting read.

I think such situation exists in almost all high-salary sectors. Financial - why I left Golman/Merrill Lynch/Wall Street stories, etc. People will try to explain everything from moral side. It's permanent dilemma.

Re: Why I left Google (HN search results)

#25

Post by freehunter »

romanovcode wrote: post #20
Sir_Cmpwn wrote: post #2

I'm curious to see what kind of discussion this generates before the HN mods inevitably kick it off the front page. Most of these links seem to be of employees who quit, but I'll add my article as a user who quit: https://drewdevault.com/2016/11/16/Getting-on-without-Google...

Not using google is much simpler then it sounds. - iPhone - DDG - Firefox/Safari - Some other email then google That's pretty much all you need.

Yup. The only Google product that I've found hard to replace as someone who frequently needs to semi-coherently communicate in a foreign language is Google Translate. Google Translate still is far from perfect, but it's a decent enough check on my spelling and grammar, but it's lightyears ahead of any competition I've found so far.

Re: Why I left Google (HN search results)

#29

Post by stochastic_monk »

y3sh wrote: post #6

Tldr politics, glass ceilings, re-orgs, purposeless/abandoned projects. As a former Googler, I can see why people post these: internally Google is hyper-evangelized as the best place to work ever (why would you work anywhere else). When leaving, its a necessary step to form a good argument for yourself as to why you've decided to go against the culture. The personal spin makes it an interesting read.

Yes, one needs a reason for leaving a company. But at the same time, one leaves a company or a religion or a relationship for a reason. The argument and reasoning necessitate the departure; they're not developed post hoc.

Of course, additional supporting reasons become clear as one looks for and finds the door, and the understanding for why a person or institution is wrong for you evolves as you separate.

I'd be interested in hearing more about how that understanding/perspective changes over time.

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