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Google's Decline Really Bugs Me

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Re: Google's Decline Really Bugs Me

#121

Post by css771 »

timr wrote: post #65

If you ask me, one of Google's biggest strategic successes was their ability to convince an entire generation of engineers that they were something other than a company. The way many (otherwise intelligent) people talk about it, you'd think it was a religion. What you're seeing here is not the shattering of a dream, but of an illusion -- Google hasn't been a scrappy, idealistic startup for many years. It's a fine com…

Well for me personally, it's been a long series of small stuff that convinced me that they were an engineering organization first and a for-profit company next.

I remember when Android 2.3 was released and at one of the Google dev conferences, a Google engineer answering a question about why "X feature doesn't exist in stock Anroid" answered that Google thought that was too confusing for the lay user and that one could look to the custom ROM community for adding that feature later. It was something that no large company would ever do it seemed to me, That's the first thing that comes to mind whenever I read something of this nature about Google. I'm sure I could pull up others. But that's the one that comes to mind.

But yeah, that was a more open Google undeniably. Before Larry Page took over. Maybe there were a few oases of ideality hiding the vast curtain of reality. But it gave them a soul and connected people to the company. But that's maybe gone now.

Re: Google's Decline Really Bugs Me

#122

Post by enraged_camel »

timr wrote: post #65

If you ask me, one of Google's biggest strategic successes was their ability to convince an entire generation of engineers that they were something other than a company. The way many (otherwise intelligent) people talk about it, you'd think it was a religion. What you're seeing here is not the shattering of a dream, but of an illusion -- Google hasn't been a scrappy, idealistic startup for many years. It's a fine com…

>>In other words: stop setting up false idols, and your reality won't be shattered when they disappoint you.

I'd say that it is Google that is setting up false idols with bullshit mantras like "Do no evil."

Re: Google's Decline Really Bugs Me

#123

Post by enraged_camel »

Fomite wrote: post #51
dmak wrote: post #48

Earlier quoted context omitted.

After reading the Steve Jobs book, the biggest emphasis was focus on making a great product. He was never in it for the money; He was making $1 a year at one point.

$1 a year and a massive pile of stock. That's a big show of faith in your abilities and your company, but that's hardly "Never in it for the money".

He really was not in it for the money though. He genuinely believed that if you make fantastic products, the rest (including money) falls into place.

Re: Google's Decline Really Bugs Me

#124

Post by philwelch »

na85 wrote: post #82
matthewmacleod wrote: post #38

What's with the sudden outpouring of Google-hate of late? I totally get that Google is changing, and has been doing so for a while. But I don't see that as "evil," and I'm struggling to see why anybody would. Google around maybe five or six years ago was a wasteland of shoddy, broken, unintegrated products, many with half-assed, confusing interfaces. That's been tightened up - many of their products are now substanti…

>What's with the sudden outpouring of Google-hate of late? It's because Google is now an established corporation and has run out of "startup cred." Now that they've become a stable, profitable, publicly-traded member of the corporate scene, they're the antithesis of the HipsterNews crowd who want to keep making webapps with no marketabilitiy over and over again. The Bay Area startup crowd are the definition of hipste…

Are you trolling?

Re: Google's Decline Really Bugs Me

#125

Post by r0h1n »

timr wrote: post #65

If you ask me, one of Google's biggest strategic successes was their ability to convince an entire generation of engineers that they were something other than a company. The way many (otherwise intelligent) people talk about it, you'd think it was a religion. What you're seeing here is not the shattering of a dream, but of an illusion -- Google hasn't been a scrappy, idealistic startup for many years. It's a fine com…

> one of Google's biggest strategic successes was their ability to convince an entire generation of engineers that they were something other than a company

Interesting. Would you statement hold if I replace Google with Apple, and engineers with consumers?

Re: Google's Decline Really Bugs Me

#126

Post by timr »

r0h1n wrote: post #125
timr wrote: post #65

If you ask me, one of Google's biggest strategic successes was their ability to convince an entire generation of engineers that they were something other than a company. The way many (otherwise intelligent) people talk about it, you'd think it was a religion. What you're seeing here is not the shattering of a dream, but of an illusion -- Google hasn't been a scrappy, idealistic startup for many years. It's a fine com…

> one of Google's biggest strategic successes was their ability to convince an entire generation of engineers that they were something other than a company Interesting. Would you statement hold if I replace Google with Apple, and engineers with consumers?

Yes. Apple is also a company. Next question.

Re: Google's Decline Really Bugs Me

#127

Post by kamaal »

birken wrote: post #6

Here are 3 pertinent facts related to your post: 1) When I worked there, long before Larry Page was CEO, 20% time barely existed and Google cared a heck of a lot about making money. 2) The share price going up makes employees, former employees, and all sorts of non-"wall street investors" very happy. 3) Your hacker news about section links to your Google+ page

>>20% time barely existed and Google

I wouldn't be surprised. And its not just 20% projects, I'd be surprised if any smart person would like to do hacknights, hackdays, weekend projects for the company.

Such initiatives have always been the execs/VP's of way of saying 'Please someone do my homework'. If you have a leader who is clueless about the direction the person wants to go or projects the person wants to chase. The easiest way is to call for such initiatives, choose a mediocre project from it(You don't want great projects to make the programmers more famous than the managers). Once such a project is chosen, you will be kept busy forced to hit the deadline working 100 hr weeks. While the VP will be pushing his days sleeping on the job.

What happens at the end of the year? Best case- You will get a passing mention at some event. Mediocre case- A congratulation email from a team. Worst case- Punished for making some mistakes.

At the same time the VP/manager/Director will likely get promoted, receive a fat bonus or raise for 'developing a culture that fosters innovation'.

If you are good enough to work on a great side project, do it at your home. And for yourself.

Re: Google's Decline Really Bugs Me

#128

Post by philwelch »

michaelochurch wrote: post #46

This is not worth getting "bugged" about. I say this as one who made that exact mistake. It's really traumatic to see those who are supposed to be leading fail, but it's an ahistorical truth not worth getting emotional about. I don't care to speak about Google, but more generally, here's something everyone needs to know. Regarding the way we assess companies, it's probably the truest thing in the world. Here it is: r…

Microsoft had a good reputation in 1997?

Re: Google's Decline Really Bugs Me

#129

Post by philwelch »

timr wrote: post #65

If you ask me, one of Google's biggest strategic successes was their ability to convince an entire generation of engineers that they were something other than a company. The way many (otherwise intelligent) people talk about it, you'd think it was a religion. What you're seeing here is not the shattering of a dream, but of an illusion -- Google hasn't been a scrappy, idealistic startup for many years. It's a fine com…

I was never illusioned about Google in the first place. This is not disillusionment. I just never expected them to turn into Microsoft.

Re: Google's Decline Really Bugs Me

#130

Post by Amadou »

chii wrote: post #96
alaskamiller wrote: post #88

Earlier quoted context omitted.

While eating my second dinner plate of something delicious on the campus I looked around and saw how many children and families were around. The company provides, so much, for you, for your family. You wouldn't to ever lose what you have now gotten used to, for yourself, for your family. So now you become a company man. What's good for the company must be good for you. What's good about knowing more people, how they…

tldr; the road to hell is paved with good intentions.

To add to the list of restatements:

"It is difficult to get a man to understand something, when his salary depends upon his not understanding it."

--Upton Sinclair

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