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I think “company values” only makes sense if there’s a solid rationale behind it for how it helps you make money. For example, “don’t cut corners” by itself is
by mikeash 8y ago
I think “company values” only makes sense if there’s a solid rationale behind it for how it helps you make money.
For example, “don’t cut corners” by itself is easily lost. “Our reputation for high quality products creates loyal customers and allows us to set higher prices” will be more durable. It’s not perfect by any means, but it helps.
I don’t recall Google ever having a rationale for how “don't be evil” helped them make money, either explicitly or implicitly. It was just a fun little thing they had.
- jdc 8y agoI think “company values” only makes sense if there’s a solid rationale behind it for how it helps you make paperclips.
- munificent 8y ago> I don’t recall Google ever having a rationale for how “don't be evil” helped them make money, either explicitly or implicitly. Google's success depends entirely on user trust. If users aren't comfortable having Google accounts, having Google host their email, typing their deepest desires into the search box, taking private photos on their Android phone and uploading them to Google's cloud, then there is no Google. "Don't be evil" is about being a good enough company that users trust you.
- mikeash 8y agoRight, but is there any indication that they understand this? Keep in mind that "don't be evil" originated well before people entrusted Google with their e-mails and photos and all that. (I don't think search is considered invasive enough for most people to care about that one.)
- gaius 8y agoI don't think search is considered invasive enough for most people to care about that one A person's search history is a window into their very soul, it is possibly the most sensitive thing Google has on you.
- rhizome 8y agoRight, but is there any indication that they understand this? This seems like a hard question for a discussion thread, what kind of answer are you looking for?
- mikeash 8y agoThere could be some leaked transcripts where they discuss it. Or other internal documents, or a pattern of behavior where they give up easy wins in favor of keeping the trust of their users.
- munificent 8y agoTrust is one of those things that is asymmetrically visible. It's very easy to not notice the many many times a person or organization is trustworthy and only see the instances where they are not.
- glenrivard 8y agoTheir search share continues to increase and now over 92%. Does that represent them being more trusted? http://gs.statcounter.com/search-engine-market-share http://gs.statcounter.com/search-engine-market-share Search Engine Market Share Worldwide ...
- nradov 8y agoThat search engine share chart is becoming increasingly irrelevant because it doesn't count searches performed on Facebook or other walled gardens. More and more content is being locked away, invisible to Google.