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Why I won’t work for Google

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Re: Why I won’t work for Google

#181

Post by Nemcue »

VikingCoder wrote: post #144
hitchhiker999 wrote: post #40

Perhaps a few people don't understand why OP takes this so seriously. This is the 'long game', the game for the betterment of human existence. (Cliche? yes, true enough? - probably) If you still feel these huge corporations have our best interests at heart, you are being a touch naive. They are not 'evil' ofc, but they're probably not the best idea for the future.

We live in a capitalist world. Corporations are the natural extension. So, your choices are: go Amish, go Entrepreneur, or pick the least bad Corporations.

In typical american fashion you paint the world black or white, when it is not so.

Re: Why I won’t work for Google

#182

Post by quaunaut »

john61 wrote: post #179
quaunaut wrote: post #19

I'm still waiting on proof from Snowden as to Apple/Google/Facebook's direct, illegal cooperation with the NSA. So far, all I've seen proof of is compliance with warrants(which admittedly are questionable, but Google has a direct financial gain in fighting them, not helping them), claims that they've fought them, and evidence that the NSA is both tapping the trunk as well as decrypting SSL'd communications.

It does not matter for the OP if Google's behavior is illegal or not. Ethic is independent from law.

I suppose, but his arguments are primarily couched in the notion of 'what nefarious thing can be used with your private data', of which Google's committed a grand number of... zero, bad things with. And as far as any evidence whatsoever has shown, they've actually fought FOR your privacy from the government.

Are you trusting them with it? Most definitely. But you're using their services, that trust is implicit. The same way that it's implicit that your bank has your money, or that your phone carrier holds your calls. To ask them to absolve themselves of any ability to snoop is literally to cancel out their reason for existence.

Re: Why I won’t work for Google

#183

Post by varelse »

If you want Google to leave you alone for the rest of eternity, all you have to do is go work there and enjoy the perks for a few months (the food is excellent and they pay quite well) and then try to find work more suitable to your skill set than what the Hogwarts Hat of blind allocation has assigned you to for the next 2 years of your life(1).

Since you will most likely have been assigned to a team no one wants to work on (hence the openings), the mere act of questioning the almighty G will enrage the inept mid-level management chain and they will in turn blacklist you with HR. Once you are blacklisted, you will be cordially invited to not let the portal barrier impact your posterior on the way out. And beyond occasional accidental profile views on linkedin, no more Google recruitment spam.

It worked for me. It can work for you.

1. Exceptions to this rule are when you are hand-picked for a moonshot, an acquihire, or for your specific skills, at which point, Google is an excellent place to work. Ignore everything I'm saying in these cases, you've hit the jackpot.

Re: Why I won’t work for Google

#184

Post by panarky »

john61 wrote: post #179
quaunaut wrote: post #19

I'm still waiting on proof from Snowden as to Apple/Google/Facebook's direct, illegal cooperation with the NSA. So far, all I've seen proof of is compliance with warrants(which admittedly are questionable, but Google has a direct financial gain in fighting them, not helping them), claims that they've fought them, and evidence that the NSA is both tapping the trunk as well as decrypting SSL'd communications.

It does not matter for the OP if Google's behavior is illegal or not. Ethic is independent from law.

OP says "we never saw Google shut down its service in protest"

Do you remember this headline? "Google Shuts China Site in Dispute Over Censorship" [1]

Google withdrew from the largest, fastest-growing gold-rush market because censorship violated their principles.

Show me one other large company in any industry that has taken a stand like this. Not Microsoft. Not Cisco. Not Bloomberg.

[0] http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/23/technology/23google.html

Re: Why I won’t work for Google

#185

Post by john61 »

quaunaut wrote: post #182
john61 wrote: post #179

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It does not matter for the OP if Google's behavior is illegal or not. Ethic is independent from law.

I suppose, but his arguments are primarily couched in the notion of 'what nefarious thing can be used with your private data', of which Google's committed a grand number of... zero, bad things with. And as far as any evidence whatsoever has shown, they've actually fought FOR your privacy from the government. Are you trusting them with it? Most definitely. But you're using their services, that trust is implicit. The s…

For targeted advertising a real name policy is not necessary.

Re: Why I won’t work for Google

#186

Post by mgkimsal »

desipenguin wrote: post #170
mgkimsal wrote: post #126

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I had a Google recruiter call me after "finding my resume". They then asked me to send them my resume. I told them to Bing my name to get the latest copy of my resume. Not heard back from them since. :/

nasty :)

Not just google, though. I routinely use the word 'bing' instead of 'google' when I tell people to search for stuff, mostly just to see the reactions. It's quite odd - some people laugh, some people actually get hostile. Someone asked me if Bing would work their Yahoo. I told them to just keep doing what they were doing and not worry about it.

Re: Why I won’t work for Google

#188

Post by leoc »

quaunaut wrote: post #180
leoc wrote: post #87

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Snowden never made a claim of illegal cooperation. Glen Greenwald more or less did, but he was wrong.

Yes he has. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rB9L1PD7Cpo Go to 4 minutes into that video. It's his first interview post-reveal, in Hong Kong. "Beyond that we've got Prism, which is a demonstration of how the US Government co-opts US corporate power to its own ends. Companies like Google, Facebook, Apple, Microsoft, they all get together with the NSA, and provide the NSA with direct access to the back ends of all of th…

Thank you, I stand corrected. That's the first time I've seen Snowden make the direct-access claim. Disappointing to see that it wasn't only Greenwald who didn't read the PRISM document carefully.

Re: Why I won’t work for Google

#189

Post by krazen »

raverbashing wrote: post #138
ktran03 wrote: post #136

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I believe you are misinformed. Google wipes your slate clean, and you can try again in 6-12 months.

Did you actually experience that or you just heard about it?

I was interviewed by Google in 2008, rejected. They contacted me again in 2010. I told them I wasn't interested at that time for personal reasons. They contacted me again in 2012. I interviewed again, I was given an offer.

Re: Why I won’t work for Google

#190

Post by honksillet »

Nemcue wrote: post #181
VikingCoder wrote: post #144

Earlier quoted context omitted.

We live in a capitalist world. Corporations are the natural extension. So, your choices are: go Amish, go Entrepreneur, or pick the least bad Corporations.

In typical american fashion you paint the world black or white, when it is not so.

There is nothing intrinsically american about this statement. If you think it is black and white, then fine, argue that point. By adding the phrase "In typical american fashion" you transform your post from a potentially valid point into a pointless petulant insult.
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