
 Life at Google - wglb
http://www.tbray.org/ongoing/When/201x/2010/04/12/Google-Vignettes
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yellowbkpk
It's important to note that in any sufficiently-long "Google Diary" post one
must see at least 2 mentions of Google's food. I've visited Google's campus 3
times: each time more impressed than last with the food and amount of people
that stuck around and had a healthy meal. Based on my completely anecdotal and
limited evidence, I would argue that one of Google's strongest points is the
food.

~~~
enneff
The food is great. Better, though, are the people. :-)

~~~
megamark16
Jealous of both.

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RyanMcGreal
>[M]y flatmate was a taciturn Czech who worked on "data security". Tim,
curious: "What sort of data security work?" Heavy Czech accent: "Every sort of
data security."

The man takes his job seriously.

~~~
gaius
Probably ex-Czech Navy. You don't fsck with those guys.

~~~
mseebach
There's something about navy-guys from landlocked nations.

~~~
praptak
That's what the Czech _want you to think_. They are really, really good at
protecting data. I am not allowed to reveal more.

~~~
gaius
See you back at the Hexagon.

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eplanit
Ah, more self-infatuation with his new Rock Star job. Note the reference to
mere mortals "Normal People don't live like this". Yes, happily I don't sleep
in Company beds, eat Company meals, congregate in designated company areas,
..., do they issue Scrip like the old mining towns?

Glad you're enjoying your new career....(but pssst: your life isn't really
very interesting).

~~~
alexandros
You are aware that this is somebody's personal blog, yeah? And that it's only
here because people other than the author submitted and voted it up, right?

In other words, you're not the intended audience. If you can find value, so be
it. If not, it's not the author's fault or problem.

By the way, I think you missed a healthy dose of sarcasm in the post, but
nevermind.

~~~
eplanit
It's on the web...the author deemed his story to be compelling enough for the
world. If he wants to avoid unintended audiences, he should seek a more
private forum. Otherwise, opinions will follow.

And, I'm not saying the author has committed any fault. I am pointing out a
problem he has: his ego.

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davidw
The only thing missing was putting on a Google Jumpsuit in the morning - other
than that, they're feeding him and housing him. Kind of creepy, but sounds
like fun in some ways too.

~~~
smokinn
I'm pretty sure it's standard operating procedure for large companies to have
company housing. I know that if you get hired at Apple or Microsoft they'll
put you up in company housing for up to a month while you look around for a
place on your own. It's a great perk when a lot of your employees aren't local
since they won't have to scramble on the week/weekend before the start to find
an apartment and be stuck with the first place they could find that was
available immediately.

~~~
davidw
Of course they do, and I've stayed in company housing myself when working on
remote projects. But this goes well beyond that: shuttles, cars, food at
breakfast, lunch and dinner. Also the way it's the Google this, Google that
sounds kind of funny after a while.

~~~
jimbokun
Didn't Microsoft also offer much of this? Back in the day, they were the
poster child corporation for bringing kids out of college into a college-like
atmosphere, in order to keep everyone on "campus" and thus more likely to keep
working. Google has just upgraded the formula slightly for the 21st century.

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khill
I wonder if the level of Google isolation could be damaging to the company in
the long-term. They seem to provide everything their employees need which
allows the employees to spend more time on campus and interact with their co-
workers.

However, I find that some of my best ideas and inspiration come from talking
to people outside the technology field. I would be concerned that there's an
echo chamber effect that could slant their ideas toward people like themselves
instead of people outside Google.

Based on the last couple of sentences, I guess my reaction might just be based
on Tim's hyperbole, though.

~~~
benofsky
I definitely agree. That's what happened with the Buzz + GMail contacts
fiasco. They were testing it internally where everyone knew everyone so had no
idea why anyone wouldn't want to have all their email contacts added as
friends.

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jimfl
"...employees can use these nifty Google plug-in Priuses at no charge..."

Pun intended?

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trickjarrett
In many ways, Google is becoming a modern marvel. For its breadth, depth,
innovation, and ability to keep highly intelligent employees happy and engaged
in their job.

~~~
omouse
Except then you realize that they're doing this only to benefit their primary
business, advertising.

~~~
snth
You make that sound like a bad thing. Sounds like capitalism working
excellently.

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wglb
And with Tim you can often count on a nice turn of phrase such as _weird Java
introspection hairball_.

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zackattack
Living the dream

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T_S_
Wow, no politics. Just java, buses and cafeterias.

