Where in the World Is Larry Page? • Hacker News Board

Re: Where in the World Is Larry Page?

#61

Post by meowface » Thu, Sep 13, 2018, 2:34 PM UTC

dec0dedab0de wrote: post #23

pwaivers wrote: post #3

It is interesting that Larry Page stays out of the spotlight so much. Everyone knows who Mark Zuckerberg is, but many probably couldn't tell you who the CEO of Google/Alphabet is.

I think part of that is our collective fascination of young self made *illionaires, as well as the more personal interactions a user has with Facebook vs Google. Heck, I bet more people are aware of Tom from Myspace, than they are of Larry Page or Sergey Brin.

Larry Page made his first million by 25. I can't find info about when Sergey Brin made his first million, but probably not far off from that. They definitely count as young self-made millionaires.

Re: Where in the World Is Larry Page?

#62

Post by deusofnull » Thu, Sep 13, 2018, 2:36 PM UTC

theDoug wrote: post #28

sidibe wrote: post #19

Earlier quoted context omitted.

They offered their legal guy who is also one of the main leaders at Google and is probably the right person to talk about this but Congress refused. They want figureheads.

This is correct, they rejected anyone but top officials. https://www.law.com/2018/09/04/after-senate-intelligence-com... (Disclosure: I work at Google)

Of course they only wanted the senior flesh.

I'm not trying to dunk on Congress too hard, but so much of their public hearings are about the spectacle of gov officials holding "someone" accountable.

And it's bipartisan too, the spectacle.

The Dems were looking to further the Russia election manipulation spectacle, and I'd guess Repubs were hoping to advance their narratives of "shadowbanning" and ideological search results bias.

Re: Where in the World Is Larry Page?

#63

Post by standon » Thu, Sep 13, 2018, 2:36 PM UTC

mediterrenean wrote: post #10

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?

Politicians reflect the masses, their level of knowledge, their morality, their greed.

The whole stick "people are fundamentally good but.. they vote for bad people" does not hold under scrutiny. They are sometimes good when it does not cost them anything to be god. But so are most politicians. If they would not lose votes or money if they did a good thing, they would be mostly good whenever they are not ignorant.

Larry Page is showing finger or irrelevancy towards American democracy and I think he does it not because he has antipathy, but because he thinks it's increasingly irrelevant. He can buy the Congress, he can even set up the public sentiment and opinion with Google when things turn serious.

Re: Where in the World Is Larry Page?

#64

Post by godzillabrennus » Thu, Sep 13, 2018, 2:41 PM UTC

agoodthrowaway wrote: post #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.

Google didn’t play as fast and loose with sharing data as Facebook did. That helps.

Re: Where in the World Is Larry Page?

#65

Post by gok » Thu, Sep 13, 2018, 2:43 PM UTC

> The vision was to stretch this tube system, arced hundreds of feet in the air, from a ground-level entry point on Google’s Mountain View campus to an exit 35 miles north, in San Francisco, so Google’s rainbow-colored beach cruisers might one day be seen flying over U.S. Highway 101. Yes, it sounds like a Hyperloop for bikes.

And you're telling me this ran into problems!?

Re: Where in the World Is Larry Page?

#66

Post by mcny » Thu, Sep 13, 2018, 2:44 PM UTC

close04 wrote: post #41

wjp3 wrote: post #29

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Which should tell folks what kind of hearing this was.

It makes sense to get the person at the top. They are ultimately responsible/accountable for things. They are well prepared in advance so why not go for them?

> It makes sense to get the person at the top. They are ultimately responsible/accountable for things. They are well prepared in advance so why not go for them?

What's the point? Is anyone actually responsible/accountable? Did anything change at Wells Fargo? Equifax?

Wells Fargo blackballed employees who make $35k a year. The CEO testified in Congress and took his golden parachute.

I am trying to understand what responsibility and accountability mean.

https://www.c-span.org/video/?415547-1/ceo-john-stumpf-testi...

Previously on HN: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=12696494

Re: Where in the World Is Larry Page?

#67

Post by wybiral » Thu, Sep 13, 2018, 2:45 PM UTC

Zelphyr wrote: post #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.

The Senate Intelligence Committee hearings are usually pretty facts-first unlike the other random hearings and sessions. I watch them on C-SPAN whenever they happen (which isn't that frequent).

Edit: I strongly recommend watching these directly from C-SPAN rather than the summarized spin-version from random news companies. You might be surprised how little of their time is wasted on grandstanding. Yeah, some politicians will throw in their jabs, but that's not the purpose of those committees and it's a fractionally tiny amount of the dialog. But that's what the news focuses on because it's the most sensational.

Re: Where in the World Is Larry Page?

#68

Post by GW150914 » Thu, Sep 13, 2018, 2:46 PM UTC

agoodthrowaway wrote: post #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.

Even if you don’t like what Google does vis a vis privacy (and I don’t) I think you’d have to completely agree with your assessment. Public congressional hearings are almost always political circuses, and you’re not going to “win” one of them. Congress needs to legislate the issue of privacy (something like GDPR would be nice) not do a piece of meaningless and self-serving theater.

Re: Where in the World Is Larry Page?

#69

Post by dibstern » Thu, Sep 13, 2018, 2:49 PM UTC

Zelphyr wrote: post #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.

Completely disagree. I don’t know how you could say that. Business leaders have to answer for their companies actions, and senate hearings is one way we have of them doing that. And as wybiral said, it was a Senate Intelligence Committee hearing.

Maybe I’m jaded, but your response reminds me of those from Theranos employees on this very forum when it was criticised.

Re: Where in the World Is Larry Page?

#70

Post by stevehawk » Thu, Sep 13, 2018, 2:49 PM UTC

In all seriousness he probably didn't show because he was offended they'd make him. He has been a large proponent of perfect data preventing crime and maintaining society and is very cooperative with the IC.