
Google Bought Me: The First Two Days - keyist
http://blog.falconindy.com/articles/google-bought-me-the-first-two-days.html
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cletus
You're up at Columbus Circle?

I really have no idea what's happening with this and the news was just as a
surprise to me as it seems to be to everybody else (I say this as a Googler).

I have to wonder if you'll stay where you are or you'll move to our Chelsea
office at some point (which is very nice btw). That depends on if you'll be
integrated into local or run as a subsidiary.

If you're integrated into local you may want to give some thought to what
career path you want to transfer into. SREs (Site Reliability Engineers;
basically a sysadmin/programmer hybrid) are what keep sites up here. Software
engineers are the more typical programming route. I _believe_ there is some
interviewing that goes on to find the right fit for everyone but I really
don't know how this works with acquisitions.

Anyway, welcome aboard.

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dotBen
_If you're integrated into local you may want to give some thought to what
career path you want to transfer into._

Why wouldn't you assume he'd just want to stay with Zagat?

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kelnos
If Zagat gets integrated into Google Local, then there effectively won't be a
Zagat to stay with.

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falconindy
The physical office stays for the forseeable future, and the name is
definitely not going away -- that was part of what Google wanted, and paid
for.

~~~
kelnos
I know, but the parent was talking about something specific (regardless of the
likelihood of it happening): Zagat getting integrated into the Local team.

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donohoe
One line at the end stands out:

    
    
      "Google is of course interested in new our vehicle for survey dissemination"
    

There is something there. Surveys are worth a hell of a lot more than a
targeted ad and right now not managed by just a few companies (rather badly
too).

I know Google have looked into surveys before (think CAPTHCA or paywall
alternatives), maybe this is it?

~~~
p_monk
Yea, that sentence made me wonder -- what is so special about their "5.0 ...
redesign" that makes it so interesting to google?

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suyash
Are you having to go thru software eng interview as well? I've heard Google
interviews every one including employees who join via acquisition?

~~~
dangrossman
Interviewing for your current job sounds insulting.

~~~
spullara
You can think of it as insulting or that you and all your coworkers are now
being held to a higher standard. Generally, I think it is better than the
alternative.

~~~
JoeAltmaier
The alternative? Keeping your self-respect, and getting another job? Google
doesn't hire slackers and fakes; this guy can get another job in a heartbeat.

I've refused this 'offer' - Dell wanted to drug-test and interview us when we
were acquired - I simply refused. Didn't lose my job.

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thurn
Surprised they're doing the food thing. Pretty sure Motorola employees aren't
going to be getting that.

~~~
zach
It does seem like there could be a breaking point.

Are they really going to stick to treating everyone to the same perks? The
ones they use to compete for engineering talent in Palo Alto?

I would keep it up if it up to me, knowing that the cost is a long-term
investment in internal corporate identity. Once you cut back on these things
(such as Microsoft's formerly-gold-plated health plan) you've permanently
become a more ordinary company.

Here's someone who did the math on providing meals to Motorolans:
[http://www.businessinsider.com/it-will-cost-
google-95-millio...](http://www.businessinsider.com/it-will-cost-
google-95-million-per-year-to-feed-motorola-employees-2011-8)

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elliottkember
$20 per employee per day doesn't seem like such a huge expense, especially
compared with salary and office space. If it makes employees happy to stay at
the office longer, it's not a bad plan.

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lallysingh
.. or stay with the company longer. Consistently high-quality food, available
that conveniently, is a primal attraction.

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paganel
> Consistently high-quality food, available that conveniently, is a primal
> attraction.

It also ensures that the employees won't leave the office premises for the
lunch break. That could be a good thing (for the employer) or a bad thing (for
some of the employees).

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joeyh
So, being aquired by google seems to involve being kept in the dark and fed,
well, free food.

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Havoc
>the 5.0 website we redesigned

Someone please clarify this for me. Is the mention of v5.0 web meant seriously
or is the author making fun of the whole web v2.0/3.0 etc thing?

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ghurlman
Version 5 of their website.

