4 ms·

What culture could Google bring to Berlin?

tzakrajs 8y ago
There are tons of books written about Google's culture, but my favorite is ”How Google Works” by Eric Schmidt and Jonathan Rosenberg.
- aw3c2 8y ago
  > Jonathan Rosenberg is the former Senior Vice President of Products at Google and current advisor to Alphabet Inc. CEO Larry Page. > Eric Emerson Schmidt is an American businessman and software engineer. He is known for being the Executive Chairman of Google from 2001 to 2017 and Alphabet Inc. from 2015 to 2017. That book surely will paint a fair and objective view.
  - tzakrajs 8y ago
    It is a subjective account by people who were and are very close to Google. Thank you for pointing out the bias for people who may have missed it.
- knuththetruth 8y ago
  So we’ve reached the point where hagiography of corporations is now the same thing as culture? In that case, I hope Google doesn’t bring its “culture” of colluding with competitors to fix wages to Berlin.
  - tzakrajs 8y ago
    The book has a detailed accounting of the type of culture the founders and executives were intentioning. It is not an unbiased source of information and should be read with discretion.
    - musage 8y ago
      https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Culture https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Culture https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Culture_(disambiguation) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Culture_(disambiguation) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Organizational_culture https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Organizational_culture Might as well bring up the Jamaican reggae group or the Canadian rapper named "Culture", too.
  - bitL 8y ago
    Wages in Berlin are extremely bad (unless contracting). But I doubt Google is going to pay 250k overall comp like they do in Zurich... They already pay much less in Munich.
- netsharc 8y ago
  Geez, "culture" on how to be a corporation. How relevant to the residents of a community. I can't complain, I'm also just a yuppie whom Kreuzberger would probably hate, but if their claim about the tax regime is correct, then what's the point of attracting a cancer that would just make everything in your area more expensive... I'm reminded of John Oliver's segment about tax incentives: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8bl19RoR7lc https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8bl19RoR7lc
expertentipp 8y ago
As a person from post-Communist country where this argument ("offices of big corporations in your area will bring culture, resources, and set you free") is used all the time by everyone from media, politicians, to employees, I find this hilarious. Obey.
- tzakrajs 8y ago
  The argument being made is that Google will impart value onto Berlin while receiving value from the people of Berlin. I never claimed them to be a panacea.
moogly 8y ago
Frogurt
mseebach 8y ago
The kind of culture that comes with being a place where young, highly educated, liberal, high earning people come to work and live. It seems like that final bit is the problem for these campaigners, they seem pretty enamoured with the idea of their city staying poor (but sexy).
- pas 8y ago
  It's not poor. It's just sort of cheap, quite affordable compared to other places. But if locals want to keep it that way, then they need to show that they are the majority in that municipal area, or they should have bought the buildings a long time ago. Or at least strategically important flats (the cheap ones on the ground floor next to the hallway, or just simply the cheapest ones, maybe just a lot in the basement, that grants private property rights) - though it depends on the co-owned property rights in Berlin/Germany, but I hope a condo cannot be sold without all the owners agreeing.
xmalloc 8y ago
Discrimination against white or asian men.

There are tons of books written about Google's culture, but my favorite is ”How Google Works” by Eric Schmidt and Jonathan Rosenberg.

aw3c2 8y ago
> Jonathan Rosenberg is the former Senior Vice President of Products at Google and current advisor to Alphabet Inc. CEO Larry Page. > Eric Emerson Schmidt is an American businessman and software engineer. He is known for being the Executive Chairman of Google from 2001 to 2017 and Alphabet Inc. from 2015 to 2017. That book surely will paint a fair and objective view.
- tzakrajs 8y ago
  It is a subjective account by people who were and are very close to Google. Thank you for pointing out the bias for people who may have missed it.
knuththetruth 8y ago
So we’ve reached the point where hagiography of corporations is now the same thing as culture? In that case, I hope Google doesn’t bring its “culture” of colluding with competitors to fix wages to Berlin.
- tzakrajs 8y ago
  The book has a detailed accounting of the type of culture the founders and executives were intentioning. It is not an unbiased source of information and should be read with discretion.
  - musage 8y ago
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Culture https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Culture https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Culture_(disambiguation) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Culture_(disambiguation) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Organizational_culture https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Organizational_culture Might as well bring up the Jamaican reggae group or the Canadian rapper named "Culture", too.
- bitL 8y ago
  Wages in Berlin are extremely bad (unless contracting). But I doubt Google is going to pay 250k overall comp like they do in Zurich... They already pay much less in Munich.
netsharc 8y ago
Geez, "culture" on how to be a corporation. How relevant to the residents of a community. I can't complain, I'm also just a yuppie whom Kreuzberger would probably hate, but if their claim about the tax regime is correct, then what's the point of attracting a cancer that would just make everything in your area more expensive... I'm reminded of John Oliver's segment about tax incentives: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8bl19RoR7lc https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8bl19RoR7lc

expertentipp 8y ago

As a person from post-Communist country where this argument ("offices of big corporations in your area will bring culture, resources, and set you free") is used all the time by everyone from media, politicians, to employees, I find this hilarious. Obey.

tzakrajs 8y ago
The argument being made is that Google will impart value onto Berlin while receiving value from the people of Berlin. I never claimed them to be a panacea.

moogly 8y ago

Frogurt

mseebach 8y ago

The kind of culture that comes with being a place where young, highly educated, liberal, high earning people come to work and live. It seems like that final bit is the problem for these campaigners, they seem pretty enamoured with the idea of their city staying poor (but sexy).

pas 8y ago
It's not poor. It's just sort of cheap, quite affordable compared to other places. But if locals want to keep it that way, then they need to show that they are the majority in that municipal area, or they should have bought the buildings a long time ago. Or at least strategically important flats (the cheap ones on the ground floor next to the hallway, or just simply the cheapest ones, maybe just a lot in the basement, that grants private property rights) - though it depends on the co-owned property rights in Berlin/Germany, but I hope a condo cannot be sold without all the owners agreeing.

xmalloc 8y ago

Discrimination against white or asian men.