Earlier quoted context omitted.
The real Best Coder was the friends we made along the way.
The real Best Coder was inside us all along.
Speak for yourself
Google stopping coding competitions
181–190 of 335 posts
Re: Google stopping coding competitions
#182Google, Apple, and perhaps 2-3 other companies, have the weird characteristic that they are unimaginably enormous, AND the vast majority of their value is actually goodwill. It's true that Apple makes good devices and Google does good search, but their competitors are good enough. What distinguishes Apple and Google from their competitors is that we like them more. Not "we" the technical literati, but "we" billions o…
What a weird premise. You really think anyone is buying iPhones because of the personal goodwill they feel about Apple or Tim or whatever?
Re: Google stopping coding competitions
#183Earlier quoted context omitted.
I think I'd prefer Google to care about their users more than their employees. (And every time there's a story about Google employees rebelling, it's to make things even better for the employees and continue ignoring the users.)
This doesn't benefit users. Quite the opposite. This is all about Google placating the activist hedge fund investors. I think employees typically want users to have better user experiences.
I think employees generally want to get good performance reviews, which comes from demonstrating impact and good numbers on charts. Satisfying users doesn't do that because it doesn't scale.
Re: Google stopping coding competitions
#184Earlier quoted context omitted.
Because they don’t buy 30 vacation homes, they buy companies. Where the extra 100m goes a long way. I’m sure he is quite comfortable on 100m though.
Again - what difference does it make to your life, aside from empire-building, to have an extra $100m? Nothing. It's just greed.
It's ability to do things and have an impact on the world. You can afford to try out crazy projects that require enormous amounts of capital. Obviously no one needs this, but there are plenty of things to spend your money on that isn't buying 30 of the same thing.
Re: Google stopping coding competitions
#185Earlier quoted context omitted.
As a nerdy kid growing up, Google always felt like Willy Wonka's chocolate factory to me. There was somewhat of a feeling of mystery about the things they were working on, and when things like Gmail were unveiled it felt like such a wonder. Now they just seem like a worse version of Microsoft to me, at least Microsoft knows how to deal with enterprises.
> at least Microsoft knows how to deal with enterprises. For what it's worth, this was a big part of why I had a positive image of Google. Enterprises are boring, especially when it comes to technology. They make boring decisions about technology because they are almost always made based on bullet lists of half-truths, rather than by the people who actually have to use it. Google seemed to make things for the users.…
Agreed on all points. Once I hit the real world (working for a large soulless enterprise like a lot of people end up in), and trying to deal with Google for G-suite was a terrible experience. So IMO, they’re not great at either thing anymore.
Re: Google stopping coding competitions
#186Earlier quoted context omitted.
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. Everyon…
> 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 Honest question (this is really not a challenge), care to share where? I always thought of the FAANGs (collectively) giving the best compensation in the business. Which companies are paying more than Google but with more stability?
I've been really happy at Zipline. My salary is comparable to when I was at Google, and my equity has way more potential. As far as stability goes, I can't imagine a company being more supportive of its employees.
Re: Google stopping coding competitions
#187Earlier quoted context omitted.
[flagged]
> line cooks I agree with you. However it is interesting that Charlie Ayers (employee #53 as a cook at Google), made millions when his stocks vested.
I'm not surprised that google has cooks as employees — but it's surprising to know they were hiring a cook when they had at most 52 other employees!
Re: Google stopping coding competitions
#188Earlier quoted context omitted.
As a nerdy kid growing up, Google always felt like Willy Wonka's chocolate factory to me. There was somewhat of a feeling of mystery about the things they were working on, and when things like Gmail were unveiled it felt like such a wonder. Now they just seem like a worse version of Microsoft to me, at least Microsoft knows how to deal with enterprises.
> at least Microsoft knows how to deal with enterprises. For what it's worth, this was a big part of why I had a positive image of Google. Enterprises are boring, especially when it comes to technology. They make boring decisions about technology because they are almost always made based on bullet lists of half-truths, rather than by the people who actually have to use it. Google seemed to make things for the users.…
> Enterprises are boring
Boring is good, sometimes. Especially when boring means "reliable" and "gets things done without being the center of attention".
Scott Hanselman's old analogy here is that enterprise software is something like the "dark matter" of the software universe. It's obviously boring, and mostly kind of hidden, but yet still so heavily influences the gravity all around it.
On the other side, if you live by the "exciting" technologies, you sometimes die by the "flash-in-the-pan" effect. It's unfortunate for Google that they seem determined to prove that in the ways that they support and maintain products.
Re: Google stopping coding competitions
#189Google, Apple, and perhaps 2-3 other companies, have the weird characteristic that they are unimaginably enormous, AND the vast majority of their value is actually goodwill. It's true that Apple makes good devices and Google does good search, but their competitors are good enough. What distinguishes Apple and Google from their competitors is that we like them more. Not "we" the technical literati, but "we" billions o…
What a weird premise. You really think anyone is buying iPhones because of the personal goodwill they feel about Apple or Tim or whatever?
Absolutely. It might not be so difficult to migrate to Android. I don't though.
Re: Google stopping coding competitions
#190Earlier quoted context omitted.
> 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 Honest question (this is really not a challenge), care to share where? I always thought of the FAANGs (collectively) giving the best compensation in the business. Which companies are paying more than Google but with more stability?
I've been really happy at Zipline. My salary is comparable to when I was at Google, and my equity has way more potential. As far as stability goes, I can't imagine a company being more supportive of its employees.
It's not that I don't believe you, it's just that this triggers my fight or flight response https://getzipline.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/rainbow-zo...
