Google is going to start building infrastructure. Rail, fiber, cable, etc.
All the things the US Government should have been doing
Google Launches Sidewalk Labs
11–20 of 188 posts
Re: Google Launches Sidewalk Labs
#12Earlier quoted context omitted.
>> So they targeting companies like Siemens now? They do not make public transportation systems, they do not make energy systems, they do not build houses. Am I missing something? That first link you provided: http://i.imgur.com/URR2MJK.png The text I circled in red looks very similar to the 3 things you mentioned and looks like exactly like the kinds of issues sidewalkinc.com would be tackling.
> Am I missing something? "They" in that sentence might be referring to Google?
Oh, you are probably right. But Google is messing with self-driving cars, so they(Google) at least have the transportation angle covered. :p
Re: Google Launches Sidewalk Labs
#13At what point is Google going to officially become a consulting company? Right now, they seem to be playing arbitrage with engineering talent. They buy up engineers with large salaries and fancy perks. Those people, who now span almost every industry, are then used on projects like these. This has nothing to do with Google's core business or any branch of it at all. It seems like Google is designing all sorts of prod…
> Right now, they seem to be playing arbitrage with engineering talent.
I think the actual problem is that very few other companies know how to make appropriate use of engineers.
"Robert, you said this sprint that you would move the logo image 2 pixels to the left. Can you PLEASE come to the morning stand-up, listen to 26 people report their status, and then tell us if you have any roadblocks? kthx."
Re: Google Launches Sidewalk Labs
#14I wonder how much Google does this just to get positive PR to hire for their main businesses. It gives the impression that you'll be working on cool stuff like this when you join Google instead of the rest of the 99% that drives the ad hive (which is where you'll really end up).
It certainly didn't happen that way for me. I'm doing exactly the kind of work that I love to do. You're afforded quite a bit of mobility inside the company.
Re: Google Launches Sidewalk Labs
#15At what point is Google going to officially become a consulting company? Right now, they seem to be playing arbitrage with engineering talent. They buy up engineers with large salaries and fancy perks. Those people, who now span almost every industry, are then used on projects like these. This has nothing to do with Google's core business or any branch of it at all. It seems like Google is designing all sorts of prod…
My impression is that the fraction of Google that works in these types of ventures is tiny. I don't mean to suggest they won't produce anything of value. These small ventures that Google launches are all about having a big impact with a (relatively) small investment. In terms of headcount, though?
I don't think shareholders of Google should be concerned about this; they should stick to being interested in ARPU, CPC trends, etc.
Re: Google Launches Sidewalk Labs
#16Google is going to start building infrastructure. Rail, fiber, cable, etc. All the things the US Government should have been doing
Why should the government be doing it?
Re: Google Launches Sidewalk Labs
#17Google is going to start building infrastructure. Rail, fiber, cable, etc. All the things the US Government should have been doing
Why should the government be doing it?
There's no reason the government actually needs to build the infrastructure itself—but since infrastructure is a natural monopoly (only room for one set of roads, one EM spectrum, etc) the government needs to "regulate it into existence", setting laws to incentivize cooperative building of neutrally-owned infrastructure by interested players, rather than the natural monopoly leading to a real monopoly/oligopoly.
Re: Google Launches Sidewalk Labs
#18Re: Google Launches Sidewalk Labs
#19At what point is Google going to officially become a consulting company? Right now, they seem to be playing arbitrage with engineering talent. They buy up engineers with large salaries and fancy perks. Those people, who now span almost every industry, are then used on projects like these. This has nothing to do with Google's core business or any branch of it at all. It seems like Google is designing all sorts of prod…
I think Page and Brin can do lots of (relatively at Google scale) small-stakes things just because they want to, as long as the money keeps rolling in.
For example, the self-driving cars are a genuine passion of Page's as I understand it, and came about from his relationship with Thrun. They really do want to make the world a better place by preventing thousands of deaths and many more injuries a year, among other benefits.
I don't think that is hopelessly naive of me. These are youngish, bright billionaire geeks who have made a lot of people very good money. They can do things just because, at least while the gravy flows.
That doesn't mean that these projects are not good strategic business, just that they can be risky since the organization is prepared to tolerate a loss.
Re: Google Launches Sidewalk Labs
#20I don't understand the desire to do vague announcements. Why bother announcing at all until you have something more concrete?
What does "time to get to work" even mean here? Doing what?