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Google is a fascinating test case for Elizabeth Warren's plan to create board representation for workers. Googlers have a very distinct culture that would advoc

by nrook 8y ago

Google is a fascinating test case for Elizabeth Warren's plan to create board representation for workers. Googlers have a very distinct culture that would advocate for very different positions from the ones Google is making right now. If Google employees had 40% of the board, they'd be able to do a lot more to stop decisions like this one.

jchw 8y ago
Disclaimer: I myself am an employee of Google, but my opinions and views do not represent those of Google in any way. Just to be completely fair, there's a balance to be had. I think Googlers are a very passionate group about many issues. That doesn't mean they know what's best for the company or the world. If Googlers lead Google's business decisions, I think it would be a worse place. Firstly, developers are often very blind to privacy issues left on their own. Well-intentioned developers can cause a lot of trouble, as you can see from countless startups. Secondly, I think the realities of running a business are much more difficult than people want to believe, and sometimes you make tough decisions nobody wants but are truly in the best interest of the company. To be fair I still do not agree with everything I've heard Google doing in the news, but those are outliers. The narrative given by blogs and media sometimes (maybe even unintentionally) makes everything feel like a giant scheme, but I'd advise you to apply Occam's razor as much as possible. The people making the decision you don't like could legitimately just not understand what the "big deal" is. We don't always have the necessary context to really judge something, and our inclination when filling in gaps rarely likes to be kind. The Chrome login fiasco is a great example of good intentions that went over poorly with people. I try to stay neutral as much as possible when looking at issues, be they from Google or other entities. People make mistakes and misjudgements all the time, and people assume malice far too often it feels.
- tracker1 8y ago
  I think, personally that Product Owners at google should be empassioned, benevolent dictators that dictate some usage in their applications. As it stands, so many applications and areas are either incomplete, confusing or unusable. Groups in particular is one of the worst things I've had to use... yet the only way to get an internal email list allowing external contact for GSuite. Really? I can do single address forwards from domains, but not group. Not to mention the crapstorm happening with YouTube, censorship in docs, drive and who knows what else. In the end, I'm not sure it won't collapse, leaving MS and Apple to reign the way things are going. It seems Google's leadership has taken a "show me the money" shift in focus.

by nrook 8y ago

jchw 8y ago

Disclaimer: I myself am an employee of Google, but my opinions and views do not represent those of Google in any way. Just to be completely fair, there's a balance to be had. I think Googlers are a very passionate group about many issues. That doesn't mean they know what's best for the company or the world. If Googlers lead Google's business decisions, I think it would be a worse place. Firstly, developers are often very blind to privacy issues left on their own. Well-intentioned developers can cause a lot of trouble, as you can see from countless startups. Secondly, I think the realities of running a business are much more difficult than people want to believe, and sometimes you make tough decisions nobody wants but are truly in the best interest of the company. To be fair I still do not agree with everything I've heard Google doing in the news, but those are outliers. The narrative given by blogs and media sometimes (maybe even unintentionally) makes everything feel like a giant scheme, but I'd advise you to apply Occam's razor as much as possible. The people making the decision you don't like could legitimately just not understand what the "big deal" is. We don't always have the necessary context to really judge something, and our inclination when filling in gaps rarely likes to be kind. The Chrome login fiasco is a great example of good intentions that went over poorly with people. I try to stay neutral as much as possible when looking at issues, be they from Google or other entities. People make mistakes and misjudgements all the time, and people assume malice far too often it feels.

tracker1 8y ago
I think, personally that Product Owners at google should be empassioned, benevolent dictators that dictate some usage in their applications. As it stands, so many applications and areas are either incomplete, confusing or unusable. Groups in particular is one of the worst things I've had to use... yet the only way to get an internal email list allowing external contact for GSuite. Really? I can do single address forwards from domains, but not group. Not to mention the crapstorm happening with YouTube, censorship in docs, drive and who knows what else. In the end, I'm not sure it won't collapse, leaving MS and Apple to reign the way things are going. It seems Google's leadership has taken a "show me the money" shift in focus.