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Why I left Google (2012)

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Re: Why I left Google (2012)

#11

Post by knome »

wslh wrote: post #2

Are Google's driverless car just a way to show more ads? Instead of driving a car you could be watching an ad.

Automated cabs would be a great place to advertise for nearby businesses and things. "Google, what restaurants are nearby?" which gives a list sorted by relevance ( X of Y users returned to restaurant Z more than twice ), with a few purchased restaurant advertisements proceeding them

Re: Why I left Google (2012)

#13

Post by jrockway »

This is from March of last year, BTW, and has been discussed numerous other times on HN.

(Ironically, there have been so many other articles titled "Why I left Google" on HN that I can't actually find this one in the archives. But it's there :)

Re: Why I left Google (2012)

#15

Post by niggler »

numbsafari wrote: post #5

The way these things read... I wonder if people are getting paid an extra bonus to have PR write up a "why I left the other guy" post and put their name on it as way to just bundle up a bunch of FUD in one place. I'm not a big fan of either Google or Microsoft, so I don't really care about what they say. It's just that these "why I quit" letters have become boilerplate PR pieces that don't really offer anything new o…

I look at it as a more public exit interview. I don't doubt that his expressed concerns were part of why he did leave (I also don't doubt that there are other factors)), and by making those concerns public there's a chance that more people may see it and try to rectify the problems.

Re: Why I left Google (2012)

#17

Post by numbsafari »

niggler wrote: post #15
numbsafari wrote: post #5

The way these things read... I wonder if people are getting paid an extra bonus to have PR write up a "why I left the other guy" post and put their name on it as way to just bundle up a bunch of FUD in one place. I'm not a big fan of either Google or Microsoft, so I don't really care about what they say. It's just that these "why I quit" letters have become boilerplate PR pieces that don't really offer anything new o…

I look at it as a more public exit interview. I don't doubt that his expressed concerns were part of why he did leave (I also don't doubt that there are other factors)), and by making those concerns public there's a chance that more people may see it and try to rectify the problems.

Yeah, but in the entire history of people quitting and writing "letters to the editor", has any manager ever actually read it and thought anything other than "whatever, dude wasn't on board, glad he left"?

Do you really think Sergey Brin or Larry Page or Eric Schmidt are going to read this and think "oh man, we better change what we're doing".

Nope.

People who are fans of MS are going to read it and say "yeah, see, I told you google is evil. Even his 15 year old daughter had a poignant critique of Google+ that shows she's not only wise beyond her years, but that Google+ sucks just like I always thought already."

It just doesn't sound genuine.

Re: Why I left Google (2012)

#18

Post by James_Duval »

numbsafari wrote: post #5

The way these things read... I wonder if people are getting paid an extra bonus to have PR write up a "why I left the other guy" post and put their name on it as way to just bundle up a bunch of FUD in one place. I'm not a big fan of either Google or Microsoft, so I don't really care about what they say. It's just that these "why I quit" letters have become boilerplate PR pieces that don't really offer anything new o…

Given how transparent Microsoft's "Scroogled" campaign is and how closely the reasons given here skew to the Scroogled message, I'd wager you're pretty close if not bang on.

They probably genuinely believe what they write though, at least on some level. You'd have to, or go mad.

EDIT: I also feel mild antipathy towards both parties.

Re: Why I left Google (2012)

#20

Post by VLM »

knome wrote: post #11
wslh wrote: post #2

Are Google's driverless car just a way to show more ads? Instead of driving a car you could be watching an ad.

Automated cabs would be a great place to advertise for nearby businesses and things. "Google, what restaurants are nearby?" which gives a list sorted by relevance ( X of Y users returned to restaurant Z more than twice ), with a few purchased restaurant advertisements proceeding them

Unfortunately, as per the article, the response would most likely be:

"sponsored suggestion to “Buy a restaurants are nearby at Wal-Mart.”"

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