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The Voice of Google

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Re: The Voice of Google

#41

Post by hn_throwaway_99 »

WarmWash wrote: post #16

Google figured out how to create a classless suite of internet services for anyone on Earth with an internet connection to use. I struggle to see how this didn't meet their original goals, what people celebrated about Google, and what made Google such an attractive place for people like the author to work. What's fascinating is that Google gets virtually zero recognition for this (Google services are largely taken fo…

> What's fascinating is that Google gets virtually zero recognition for this (Google services are largely taken for granted), and beyond that, Google is one of the most hated corporations for it.

I feel like this is some majorly false revisionist history. At least in my circles, Google was revered and lauded up until 2010-2012 or so, whenever enshittification started in earnest. And this isn't just some outsider opinion. Look at some of the original early Google communication where they highlighted how their ads were always separate and easily identifiable from organic results, and how that eroded over the years. Heck, there was a front page article today on NYTimes, https://www.nytimes.com/2026/07/20/technology/google-ai-open..., talking about how Google used to be an "open Internet champion" and is now an "AI gatekeeper". Google's corporate ethos from their early years is basically unrecognizable today, and that's why people hate them.

The hate towards Google only started picking up steam as they snowballed into deciding (like pretty much all corporate enterprises) that growth at all costs is the only purpose of corporations, and when they became the poster child (rightfully so IMO) for surveillance capitalism.

Re: The Voice of Google

#42

Post by gghackernewsgg »

mannanj wrote: post #25
WarmWash wrote: post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It should be read as the same product from google, not the same product across the market of products. We can snag on technicalities like Pixel phones, yt premium, and gemini quotas, but by and large, a kid in the Indian slums is using the same Google suite as a house wife in the Hamptons.

OK sure, Google deserves credit for that. On the other hand, they also directly contribute to the technical addiction and attention economy that has created more depression and a lower quality of life for most people on earth. Maybe google taking responsibility for that can help improve their reputation. is the correct answer what you are saying though, to pretend this other bad thing hasn't happened and only say goo…

> that has created more depression and a lower quality of life for most people on earth.

Very strong claim. Any sources for the "most people on Earth" part?

Re: The Voice of Google

#43

Post by jackb4040 »

advisedwang wrote: post #11

This story naturally ends after Claire's departure, but "that the era of sanctioned dissent was over" did not mean that dissent was over. The lesson for many was that "asking nicely" wasn't working. I believe that realization that real power was needed to in order to make change was a big part of why the Alphabet Workers Union was able to get off the ground. Of course it hasn't gotten the numbers to actually build mu…

Hasn't yet. No need to be defeatist about organizing. All of the other things tech workers have to be defeatist about (pointless hype cycles, layoffs, etc.) show no signs of stopping and will effectuate more organizing over time.

Re: The Voice of Google

#44

Post by asdewqqwer »

WarmWash wrote: post #16

Google figured out how to create a classless suite of internet services for anyone on Earth with an internet connection to use. I struggle to see how this didn't meet their original goals, what people celebrated about Google, and what made Google such an attractive place for people like the author to work. What's fascinating is that Google gets virtually zero recognition for this (Google services are largely taken fo…

Well, maybe because of the two ungrateful college students who dared to write in their essay the following notorious statement:

> We expect that advertising funded search engines will be inherently biased towards the advertisers and away from the needs of the consumers.

I highly recommend you to blame these two guys for their lack of recognition of how great Google is, here is their name: Sergey Brin and Lawrence Page.

You do realize

> having mostly succeeded at giving the poorest people one Earth an equal product to the richest people on Earth

is equivalent in this scenario of saying:

> having mostly succeeded at exploiting the poorest people one Earth an equal amount to the richest people on Earth.

While the poorest people have less already, right?

Re: The Voice of Google

#45

Post by jackb4040 »

easton wrote: post #4

> One recounted a tragicomic anecdote from a T.G.I.F. meeting on International Women’s Day, when a Googler had asked Larry and Sergey to name some of their personal female heroes. ..and they couldn’t just say “Grace Hopper”? These people have used computers before, right?

Go find the drunkest pledge in a Stanford frat house, give him media training a stylist and a personal trainer, and ten years to craft a corporate ideolect through twitter threads and founders' retreats. That's how you get the archetypal tech CEO.

As a class they are overwhelmingly incurious people, and would barely notice if you swapped their industry out for Big Tobacco or bombs. They care exactly as much about tech as Jeffrey Epstein did about finance.

Re: The Voice of Google

#46

Post by kccqzy »

hn_throwaway_99 wrote: post #41
WarmWash wrote: post #16

Google figured out how to create a classless suite of internet services for anyone on Earth with an internet connection to use. I struggle to see how this didn't meet their original goals, what people celebrated about Google, and what made Google such an attractive place for people like the author to work. What's fascinating is that Google gets virtually zero recognition for this (Google services are largely taken fo…

> What's fascinating is that Google gets virtually zero recognition for this (Google services are largely taken for granted), and beyond that, Google is one of the most hated corporations for it. I feel like this is some majorly false revisionist history. At least in my circles, Google was revered and lauded up until 2010-2012 or so, whenever enshittification started in earnest. And this isn't just some outsider opin…

The New York Times is actually part of the reason why Google’s reputation went downhill. Somewhere around 2010–2015, the NYT and other traditional newspapers finally woke up and realized that their traditional job of disseminating information to the masses had been supplanted by a new generation of tech companies including Google and Meta. So the NYT and other newspapers soured their opinions around the time. If you read the NYT, just like many intellectuals do for priding themselves for reading a serious publication, your opinions of Google would have drastically changed around that timeframe too.

However among my circle of friends (who are in general not readers of the NYT), the main reason Google became hated was shutting down products (starting from Reader, culminating in Inbox) and launching duplicative products (how many chat apps did Google have). The hate had absolutely nothing to do with surveillance capitalism. If anything people hated Meta for that; Google’s role in surveillance capitalism was basically nil compared to Meta.

Re: The Voice of Google

#47

Post by ChadNauseam »

easton wrote: post #4

> One recounted a tragicomic anecdote from a T.G.I.F. meeting on International Women’s Day, when a Googler had asked Larry and Sergey to name some of their personal female heroes. ..and they couldn’t just say “Grace Hopper”? These people have used computers before, right?

Grace Hopper is the goat but I'm not sure she would have immediately come to mind for me. Actually, if someone asked me to name any hero of mine, irrespective of sex, I don't know if I could quickly name someone. Is it really a huge indictment?

Re: The Voice of Google

#48

Post by jjtheblunt »

shevy-java wrote: post #35
WarmWash wrote: post #16

Google figured out how to create a classless suite of internet services for anyone on Earth with an internet connection to use. I struggle to see how this didn't meet their original goals, what people celebrated about Google, and what made Google such an attractive place for people like the author to work. What's fascinating is that Google gets virtually zero recognition for this (Google services are largely taken fo…

They de-facto created a monopoly. You can reason that its services are useful, but without also pointing out that they established a de-facto monopoly, this "analysis" is very incomplete. > what people celebrated about Google When exactly? Google initially was not anywhere near as problematic as it is today. I don't see many celebrate Google these days. > what made Google such an attractive place for people like the…

what monopoly did they create? it seems they have competitors in everything they do.

Re: The Voice of Google

#49

Post by losvedir »

smalltorch wrote: post #22
WarmWash wrote: post #16

Google figured out how to create a classless suite of internet services for anyone on Earth with an internet connection to use. I struggle to see how this didn't meet their original goals, what people celebrated about Google, and what made Google such an attractive place for people like the author to work. What's fascinating is that Google gets virtually zero recognition for this (Google services are largely taken fo…

Well, they aren't hated for the tech they built, that is cool and easily appreciated. People don't like google because they turned it into a way to sell people to others for a profit in essence. Over time more and more intrusive to the point where they are no longer worth any of the services they offer. Like a creepy stalker following you every where you go, at some point you need a restraining order. Most people don…

> sell people to others for a profit in essence .... restraining order

If you have to make your point by exaggerated comparisons to slavery or analogies to safety concerns and scary crimes, then you should probably step back and re-evaluate.

Try to write true words in your comment and see where it leaves you. Google tracks you and sells ad-space to companies that are looking for profiles like your own.

Re: The Voice of Google

#50

Post by dismalaf »

godelski wrote: post #40
WarmWash wrote: post #16

Google figured out how to create a classless suite of internet services for anyone on Earth with an internet connection to use. I struggle to see how this didn't meet their original goals, what people celebrated about Google, and what made Google such an attractive place for people like the author to work. What's fascinating is that Google gets virtually zero recognition for this (Google services are largely taken fo…

> What's fascinating is that Google gets virtually zero recognition for this, and beyond that, Google is one of the most hated corporations for it. The hate it's about what they did with the power they gained. You can both love and hate something at the same time. Humans have complexity and nuance, don't dismiss that. It's also worth noting that complaints are more vocal than complements. If things are working well t…

> The hate it's about what they did with the power they gained.

Which is???

Serve ads without selling data?

I'm not sure if y'all are aware, but CC companies sell your data. Your telecom provider sells your data. Banks sell your data.

Google figured out a system to sell access while keeping your privacy. And somehow they're more hated than people who just straight up give your data away.

If most people hate Google all this proves is that most people are retarded.

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