

Ask HN Googlers: would you invite a fellow geek to visit the Googleplex? - phaser

i am a self taught programmer from chile who founded a few startups and needs nothing but a friendly googler who can vouch for me so i can visit the googleplex. since i was growing up in santiago i used to read about silicon valley in magazines and one of my dreams has always been to visit and see the real atmosphere.<p>i hope a friendly googler read this message and i promise to show up at time, be cool and not cause trouble.
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andyking
Isn't it just an office block?

I'm in radio and people frequently want to visit radio stations - they have
this image of a fun, glamorous, star-studded workplace where anything goes.

They're usually pretty disappointed when they see the sales office, the
programming office, a tatty kitchen and a tiny, basic studio in a broom
cupboard.

Surely Google is the same - it's acquired a legendary status, but it's just...
well, an office, like you go to work in every day. I'm sure there are more
interesting places to visit in California.

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jamesaguilar
As a Googler, yeah, basically this. I mean it's a better office complex than
where ninety percent or more of people work, and I am thankful for that and
suitably appreciative. But, it's not a theme park. The only genuinely fun
thing for me there is the free arcade, and I suppose some people would say the
sports fields.

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daave
Interesting. I've never been to MTV, but as a Googler who frequently
volunteers to give tours for school/university groups in the NYC office, I'm
thrilled by how wowed the visitors are at our office space.

Perhaps we Googlers start to take for granted some of the things that really
are quite extraordinary - like the 150ft to food policy, the pieces of
historical computing machinery that are kept around, the guest chefs that
visit, the artworks that have been commissioned, the fact that we hold regular
'espresso office hours' and occasional mixology classes, and even the
corporate essentials that Google really pulls off, like the Tech Stops, phone
rooms, visitor badging system and video conferencing setup. Even though it's
'just an office space', it isn't like any other, and getting to see it as a
potential future employee can be pretty motivational.

~~~
jamesaguilar
True. Also, I'm more wowed by offices that aren't MTV. The density of cool is
a lot higher at e.g. Santa Monica or SF (and NYC, I presume, though I've never
been).

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beambot
Can't help with that (not a Googler), but you should at least put your contact
info in your profile...

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stevenbrianhall
I'm a Googler and would be glad to show you around one afternoon. Shoot me an
e-mail (address is in my profile) and tell me a little more about yourself and
we can work out the details.

(Edit: También hablo Español si te hace sentir más cómodo.)

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erre
Well, you can always apply for a job there, study for your phone interviews,
and get invited, plane ticket and all. Heck, you might even get a job out of
it ;)

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jefflinwood
You could always just show up and walk around the outside of the campus, take
a picture of the colorful Google bikes and the Android mascots for the various
releases.

There are usually lots of Google employees getting some sunlight in the
surrounding park.

I'm not sure what you'd see inside the buildings. I worked as a consultant for
the previous owner, Silicon Graphics/SGI, during the first dot-com boom, and
they were neat architecture, but still just office buildings.

I think if you plan a whole trip out to Silicon Valley for the atmosphere, you
might be kind of disappointed.

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g123g
I had the same expectation that you had. But when I went there, it was an
anti-climax. Maybe something cool is happening behind the closed doors there.
But just walking around is nothing special.

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ilija139
What happen with the capital letters?

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Cthulhu_
Well, I for one never knew I was spelled with a capital I until someone
pointed it out, ;).

As for style, it depends. When I'm chatting on irc, I tend to forgo
capitalisation out of laziness. On more formal communications, like commenting
here and emails, things are better.

As for why the OP doesn't use it, I don't know. Broken shift-key perhaps?

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charleslmunger
When?

