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Google stopping coding competitions

developers.googleblog.com

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Re: Google stopping coding competitions

#11

Post by shaunsingh0207 »

Jun8 wrote: post #6

Is there any other, more gracious, way to interpret this as Google retiring for on being Google, if so I’d like to know. I think the direct impact of these competitions to hiring were minimal. The biggest impact was to have thousands perhaps millions of coders and researchers see Google as the place to be. As the place that gets it. The Mecca of coderdom, if you will. Now they are just another corporation. I hope the…

I hate how "normal" of a company google is becoming. Closing down services and products not because they aren't profitable, but because they aren't profitable enough. They've really lost their way the last few years.

In the late 2000's/early 2010's, google was pictured as the "fun" place to work. In part due to their coding competitions and the various other events they held for students throughout the year. Everyone I knew wanted to work for google. Now? everyone sees FAANG just the same as any other company.

Most of the people I know who wanted to work at google, and a few that worked at google, now have higher paying, more enjoyable, and more stable jobs elsewhere.

Re: Google stopping coding competitions

#13

Post by cmckn »

I attended a Google "coding day" event years ago in Boulder, CO, while in college. It wasn't "Code Jam," but I can't remember the name for the life of me. It was a sort of lab-format hackathon where I was placed on a team and we had to build something (after being given some vague prompt). Google employees would roam around and answer questions, give direction, etc,; and prizes were given at the end. I believe the year I attended was the last before this particular event was cancelled. I can't really argue for it to continue, I don't feel like I got much out of it besides a day off-campus and a free lunch; but it was kind of fun.

Re: Google stopping coding competitions

#14

Post by giraffe_lady »

gkoberger wrote: post #9

We could lament them shutting it down, but why not thank them for doing this for 20 years? That's a LONG time to do anything, and despite what Google has become, it absolutely defined tech culture. Now it's obvious and commonplace, but an employee-centric company was revolutionary at the time. Things like this changed the lives of every single person here, either directly or indirectly. And best yet, it's a chance fo…

[flagged]

Re: Google stopping coding competitions

#16

Post by VBprogrammer »

naillo wrote: post #8
Jun8 wrote: post #6

Is there any other, more gracious, way to interpret this as Google retiring for on being Google, if so I’d like to know. I think the direct impact of these competitions to hiring were minimal. The biggest impact was to have thousands perhaps millions of coders and researchers see Google as the place to be. As the place that gets it. The Mecca of coderdom, if you will. Now they are just another corporation. I hope the…

Google has never looked more tired and more prone to be overtaken.

Honestly I was searching for something the other day and between displaying an excessive number of YouTube links (was not in a position to watch a video) and the adverts it was less useful that Yahoo! Circa 2006.

Re: Google stopping coding competitions

#17

Post by pancrufty »

naillo wrote: post #8
Jun8 wrote: post #6

Is there any other, more gracious, way to interpret this as Google retiring for on being Google, if so I’d like to know. I think the direct impact of these competitions to hiring were minimal. The biggest impact was to have thousands perhaps millions of coders and researchers see Google as the place to be. As the place that gets it. The Mecca of coderdom, if you will. Now they are just another corporation. I hope the…

Google has never looked more tired and more prone to be overtaken.

Which Google are you referring to exactly? With its many successful products, I don’t see Google being overtaken anytime soon.

Ads are doing better than ever, Android is holding steady worldwide, Maps has a huge moat that Apple has yet to overcome (in over a decade), nobody really complains about Google Search except us nerds.

I see them just coasting, but an overtake is unlikely in this decade.

“The New Bing” sounds interesting but that’s not all that Google is about, it’s not 2002 anymore.

Re: Google stopping coding competitions

#18

Post by blindriver »

Thank you Sundar for getting rid of the frivolous, Silicon-Valley-esque things like coding competitions for kids, extricating all of the humanity and decency that made Google so inefficient with money, and for doubling down on your focus to turn Google into the next iteration of Cisco, Oracle and IBM. It's exactly what this world needs, so you are the perfect leader for this.

Re: Google stopping coding competitions

#19

Post by smoldesu »

naillo wrote: post #8
Jun8 wrote: post #6

Is there any other, more gracious, way to interpret this as Google retiring for on being Google, if so I’d like to know. I think the direct impact of these competitions to hiring were minimal. The biggest impact was to have thousands perhaps millions of coders and researchers see Google as the place to be. As the place that gets it. The Mecca of coderdom, if you will. Now they are just another corporation. I hope the…

Google has never looked more tired and more prone to be overtaken.

Google has been "just another company" for a while now, but I disagree with "prone to be overtaken". Yes, Google Search is a dead product. The moneymakers aren't, though: AdSense keeps on trucking, fuelled by billions of annual YouTube watch-minutes piling on top of each other.

For a company to effectively displace Google, they need a lot of really well-made services priced more attractively than 'free*'.

Re: Google stopping coding competitions

#20

Post by burnished »

giraffe_lady wrote: post #14
gkoberger wrote: post #9

We could lament them shutting it down, but why not thank them for doing this for 20 years? That's a LONG time to do anything, and despite what Google has become, it absolutely defined tech culture. Now it's obvious and commonplace, but an employee-centric company was revolutionary at the time. Things like this changed the lives of every single person here, either directly or indirectly. And best yet, it's a chance fo…

[flagged]

Tip outs are better in bougie joints frequented by tech workers.

This isnt a contradiction to your main point, maybe more of a damning with faint praise if anything.

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