The Voice of Google • Hacker News Board

Re: The Voice of Google

#101

Post by BobbyTables2 » Tue, Jul 21, 2026, 2:59 AM UTC

WarmWash wrote: post #16

Google figured out how to create a classless suite of internet services for anyone on Earth with an internet connection to use. I struggle to see how this didn't meet their original goals, what people celebrated about Google, and what made Google such an attractive place for people like the author to work. What's fascinating is that Google gets virtually zero recognition for this (Google services are largely taken fo…

What’s also fascinating is that such a company has zero provision for human-involved tech support…

If you can’t login, you’re screwed.

My library is free (to me), but I can still get someone to help me if the card doesn’t work…

Re: The Voice of Google

#102

Post by frollogaston » Tue, Jul 21, 2026, 3:06 AM UTC

regularization wrote: post #64

WarmWash wrote: post #16

Google figured out how to create a classless suite of internet services for anyone on Earth with an internet connection to use. I struggle to see how this didn't meet their original goals, what people celebrated about Google, and what made Google such an attractive place for people like the author to work. What's fascinating is that Google gets virtually zero recognition for this (Google services are largely taken fo…

> So if we use Google as a case study for "progressive business", having mostly succeeded at giving the poorest people one Earth an equal product to the richest people on Earth, what is the takeaway? How should the people of Gaza thank Google for Google's Project Nimbus etc. targeting them for blockade starvation and bombings? As Anatole France said - they have to work before the laws' majestic equality, which forbid…

Google refused to do contracts with the US military but was then fine doing them with Israel. Some of the original employees were pretty clear about their personal reasons for this.

Re: The Voice of Google

#103

Post by dismalaf » Tue, Jul 21, 2026, 3:08 AM UTC

godelski wrote: post #86

dismalaf wrote: post #50

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> The hate it's about what they did with the power they gained. Which is??? Serve ads without selling data? I'm not sure if y'all are aware, but CC companies sell your data. Your telecom provider sells your data. Banks sell your data. Google figured out a system to sell access while keeping your privacy. And somehow they're more hated than people who just straight up give your data away. If most people hate Google al…

> Serve ads without selling data? They sell data. Why do you think they don't? > CC companies sell your data. Your telecom provider sells your data. Banks sell your data. You're over simplifying. WHAT data being sold is a critical variable. Same with HOW MUCH . Not all data is created equally. Last I checked, my bank doesn't have real time access to my location. My bank doesn't know everyone I communicate with. Not e…

> They sell data

Show me where I can buy it then?

Because I know where to buy CC data, for example...

> Not even my telecom operator knows that!

Lol: https://thingspace.verizon.com/services/hyper-precise-locati...

Re: The Voice of Google

#104

Post by [deleted] » Tue, Jul 21, 2026, 3:11 AM UTC

WarmWash wrote: post #16

Google figured out how to create a classless suite of internet services for anyone on Earth with an internet connection to use. I struggle to see how this didn't meet their original goals, what people celebrated about Google, and what made Google such an attractive place for people like the author to work. What's fascinating is that Google gets virtually zero recognition for this (Google services are largely taken fo…

[deleted]

Re: The Voice of Google

#105

Post by what » Tue, Jul 21, 2026, 3:14 AM UTC

godelski wrote: post #86

dismalaf wrote: post #50

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> The hate it's about what they did with the power they gained. Which is??? Serve ads without selling data? I'm not sure if y'all are aware, but CC companies sell your data. Your telecom provider sells your data. Banks sell your data. Google figured out a system to sell access while keeping your privacy. And somehow they're more hated than people who just straight up give your data away. If most people hate Google al…

> Serve ads without selling data? They sell data. Why do you think they don't? > CC companies sell your data. Your telecom provider sells your data. Banks sell your data. You're over simplifying. WHAT data being sold is a critical variable. Same with HOW MUCH . Not all data is created equally. Last I checked, my bank doesn't have real time access to my location. My bank doesn't know everyone I communicate with. Not e…

> Not even my telecom operator knows that!

They sure do and certainly know who is within 100ft of you at any given time.

Re: The Voice of Google

#106

Post by VirusNewbie » Tue, Jul 21, 2026, 3:17 AM UTC

glimshe wrote: post #8

PessimalDecimal wrote: post #5

I actually enjoyed the first hand experience of an early-ish Google described at the beginning. For those with enough tenure in tech, was this ethos unique (at the time)? Or was it typical of successful, tech-heavy startups? I could believe an early Sun might've felt similar but I don't know.

Most of the top names had unique, great cultures at some point. Early Microsoft was awesome, as well, I hear, early Apple.

Early Microsoft (well, and current micorsoft) did not/does not shower their employees with massive stock grants.

Google was one of the first tech companies to pay so well that people switched industries to get into tech both to work alongside brilliant people from various backgrounds and to make a lot of money.

Before Google, it was very rare for an independent contributor/software engineer in tech to retire early if you didn't hit the startup lottery. Sure, people who joined Microsoft pre-IPO did well, but it's not the same as now where a good 10-15 year run at a FAANG allows many to retire early (if they choose).

Re: The Voice of Google

#107

Post by VirusNewbie » Tue, Jul 21, 2026, 3:20 AM UTC

brcmthrowaway wrote: post #58

Google, Apple, Amazon, MS etc don't seem to be the default place for top EECS grads anymore. Maybe middling candidates and H1b prisoners but 4.0 GPA grads with personal projects end up at NVIDIA, OpenAI, Anthropic, etc. And Meta, because they still pay insane.

Amazon and MS were never really in the same league as Google and Apple.

I don't really believe NVIDIA pays near as well as the latter two companies either (per level, not accounting stock appreciation), though obviously if you joined in 2022 you're doing fantastic. But if you joined two years ago? You'd make less than you would have made at Apple or Google.

OpenAI and Anthropic are obviously standout companies that are top tier bar none, but they also hire a lot less, and even more sparringly from new grads.

So I don't really believe the premise that 'middling grads' just go get jobs at Apple like it's a consolation prize, making 220k a year starting or whatever it is.

Re: The Voice of Google

#108

Post by frollogaston » Tue, Jul 21, 2026, 3:28 AM UTC

JKCalhoun wrote: post #81

scottyah wrote: post #24

I can't help but see most of this as Claire using her gift of elegant prose and crafting narratives to retell a story of a prodigy that had a great product-market fit in the beginning then was unable to maintain relevancy while becoming bitter at the people around her. It must be so difficult to start out as a shining star then watch something you helped shape grow away from you. It looks like some powerful people at…

Not sure it's still virtue signaling when you sacrifice your job. That might actually be virtue. I wonder though, what counts as actual virtue for some people.

She didn't think it was a sacrifice, she tried to keep the job.

Re: The Voice of Google

#109

Post by frollogaston » Tue, Jul 21, 2026, 3:30 AM UTC

advisedwang wrote: post #11

This story naturally ends after Claire's departure, but "that the era of sanctioned dissent was over" did not mean that dissent was over. The lesson for many was that "asking nicely" wasn't working. I believe that realization that real power was needed to in order to make change was a big part of why the Alphabet Workers Union was able to get off the ground. Of course it hasn't gotten the numbers to actually build mu…

It wasn't over at that time. The real shift was after those people broke into Thomas Kurian's office. Right after, they permanently cracked down hard on various forms of employee expression, including posting flyers.

Re: The Voice of Google

#110

Post by atomicUpdate » Tue, Jul 21, 2026, 3:39 AM UTC

JKCalhoun wrote: post #81

scottyah wrote: post #24

I can't help but see most of this as Claire using her gift of elegant prose and crafting narratives to retell a story of a prodigy that had a great product-market fit in the beginning then was unable to maintain relevancy while becoming bitter at the people around her. It must be so difficult to start out as a shining star then watch something you helped shape grow away from you. It looks like some powerful people at…

Not sure it's still virtue signaling when you sacrifice your job. That might actually be virtue. I wonder though, what counts as actual virtue for some people.

It was sanctioned by the CEO. How much was their job actually at risk?