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Where in the World Is Larry Page?

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Re: Where in the World Is Larry Page?

#51

I like him giving the the middle finger. Why does he have to satisfy a bunch of egomaniac corrupt politician who has been net negative for the society. Why we have to watch in awe of their complete disconnect from current affairs of the society due to their total ignorance?

Because as a voter and citizen, I want my politicians keeping Google and other tech companies in check, and regulate them if necessary.

Are you sure they are your politicians and have any of your interests in mind?

Re: Where in the World Is Larry Page?

#52

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Because as a voter and citizen, I want my politicians keeping Google and other tech companies in check, and regulate them if necessary.

Are you sure they are your politicians and have any of your interests in mind?

They're closer to my interests then those running large tech companies.

I care about my privacy more than free Facebook and Gmail, and continue to evangelize GDPR style legislation with US legislators.

Re: Where in the World Is Larry Page?

#53
post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Idealism goes away once a company has reached a certain size and has to reach for big growth like Google. They all have to turn into big faceless corporations. That's why we shouldn't celebrate things like trillion dollar companies or the richest man in the world but we should celebrate small companies. That's where ethics and also innovation can happen .

Big companies are just successful small companies. IBM, Bell Labs etc. did far more innovation than any Mom and Pop shop.

> Big companies are just successful small companies.

That would imply either that big companies all started as small companies which became successful and grew large, which is false (some big companies start big). Or that big companies operate the same way as small companies, just at a larger scale, which is unequivocally false.

Re: Where in the World Is Larry Page?

#54
post #8

I would feel much better about being a google user if they were standing up strongly for the original "do no evil" ethos. Where is Page indeed? It really seems like the ethical stance has faded away.

It was never “do no evil”. It was “don’t be evil”. There is a rather important semantic difference. Regardless, that ethical stance still exists and informs decisions.

Re: Where in the World Is Larry Page?

#55
post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Idealism goes away once a company has reached a certain size and has to reach for big growth like Google. They all have to turn into big faceless corporations. That's why we shouldn't celebrate things like trillion dollar companies or the richest man in the world but we should celebrate small companies. That's where ethics and also innovation can happen .

Big companies are just successful small companies. IBM, Bell Labs etc. did far more innovation than any Mom and Pop shop.

Successful at what? "Mom and Pop" shops are totally different and provide for their small communities in ways no big company ever could. Individuals like Alexandra Elbakyan, Bram Moolenaar, and Guido van Rossum have done great things on their own without the help of corporations.

Re: Where in the World Is Larry Page?

#56
From a PR point of view Google has handled this whole privacy debacle very well. By keeping a very low profile on privacy, they’ve made sure Facebook takes the heat. Facebook’s horrendous management of the issue has also allowed Google to slide under the radar on the topic. Generally I think Page is doing the right thing by keeping a low public profile.

Re: Where in the World Is Larry Page?

#57

I might be missing something here but my thinking is that Google Inc/Alphabet is bigger than Larry Page. If for whatever reason he was not able to attend he could have sent a representative chosen from among the senior executives. It seems that neither his attendance nor Google's participation in the whole thing was not mandatory

I'd refuse to attend any meeting where the sole reason for my presence was for others to play politics. It's like the senators are wheeling out their prized horses for others to gawk at. It's ridiculous.

Re: Where in the World Is Larry Page?

#58
I don't know, if I were a billionaire with a private island in the Caribbean, had paralyzed vocal cords and knew damn well what would happen at the hearing (see Zuckerberg), I'd also agree with my colleagues that showing up would do no good and that staying on the sidelines would be the best course of action. Why indulge a bunch of bloodthirsty politicians when you can do pretty much anything else please like working on things you love. Bonus: stock won't tank if you slip up and say the wrong word.

Re: Where in the World Is Larry Page?

#59

I might be missing something here but my thinking is that Google Inc/Alphabet is bigger than Larry Page. If for whatever reason he was not able to attend he could have sent a representative chosen from among the senior executives. It seems that neither his attendance nor Google's participation in the whole thing was not mandatory

Agreed. It feels like this is two separate stories really.

Maybe Larry Page is a recluse, an eccentric, a technical thinker, a background figure, or however you want to describe him. I can understand why someone who started out writing a search engine in their garage might not be the type who feels comfortable doing public speaking in front of the Senate.

But we should disconnect the man from the company. Google certainly does need to be held to account, and does need to answer these questions, both to the public and to governments. At best, it's an organizational failure of Google to not allocate someone from upper management on this - it should really be Pichai, who is really the day-to-day boss at Google. At worst it's a deliberate act of the company to avoid questioning.

The attention shouldn't be directed at one man not showing up to answer questions, but the huge company who doesn't feel that it's necessary to send any of it's senior management to answer these questions.

Edit: Seems that Google did offer to send a senior legal executive, and the senate refused them. Point still stands that we need to separate the company from the man, but perhaps the senate is just as focused on the "big names" as the media.

Re: Where in the World Is Larry Page?

#60
It's kind-of Congress' own fault here. They so often have these... events, that are mostly for show and for the politicians to grandstand making them seem tough to voters but really have very little substance. I doubt any meaningful policy ever comes of them. Doesn't everybody know by now that they're grilling these CEO's in front of the cameras and begging them for money behind the cameras?

"outrage" indeed.

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