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> despite what Google has become, it absolutely defined tech culture. Real talk: What companies are filling this role now? I work at a FAANG, and it just does

> despite what Google has become, it absolutely defined tech culture. Real talk: What companies are filling this role now? I work at a FAANG, and it just does something to the soul. I can't describe what that thing is... but I routinely look at early-retirement calculators to cope with it.

vineyardmike 4y ago
Google is still loads better than eg Amazon but its days are numbered. I’ve heard msft wlb is improving a lot. I think the next gen of employee- first companies will be wfh centric (or something new and flexible) and 4 day work weeks. People realized slides and food wasn’t as good as free time and flexibility. I expect maxing their employees 401ks and generous cultural WLB. Companies that are advancing technology and gaining a rep as tech first? Look at blog posts that gain lots of traction here: Fly.io, Cloudflare, and many others. etc. Avoid anything too trendy ( AI, blockchain) because they might not last the hype cycles.
- md_ 4y ago
  Fifteen years ago at Microsoft, most people worked ~40 hour weeks, there were shuttles between Seattle and Redmond, a good gym on campus, and (mostly) private offices. You'd come into work at 9, wander off campus to a nearby restaurant with coworkers for a relaxing lunch at noon (granted, because the food in the cafeterias sucked and cost money), and after a bit of exercise or a nice game of racquetball at the gym, you'd go home at 6. Or if you were single and it was a weeknight, you might stay late in the office watching movies in a conference room and doing a bit of coding. Of course, fifteen years ago, Google paid more and had a reputation as a place where the really smart people came to grow their careers, whereas Microsoft was sleepier and more middle-aged. But it had "WLB" in spades.
  - fenesiistvan 4y ago
    Gym after lunch? :)
    - maximus-decimus 4y ago
      They clearly didn't follow the Hulk Hogan program https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pKkHQtmS01s&t=260s https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pKkHQtmS01s&t=260s
    - md_ 4y ago
      We were young, and stupid. ;)
anon223345 4y ago
I agree - to me it’s “let’s pretend to be a startup, and KIND OF all buy into it” But it’s not a startup, and you have very little ownership, and so little actually gets done The rah rah rah fake cheerleading and silly hats When you’re a consultant looking back at a FAANG everyone FAANG kinda comes off as an NPC it’s weird I can’t speak for Netflix, don’t know anyone there
afavour 4y ago
I don’t think any companies are. The industry is in a very stable, mature state right now and the culture is kind of defined. The last big disruption was probably the smartphone and App Store and that was what, 15 years ago now? Google managed to last that one out. We were told Web3 would be the next disruption. Now we’re told it’s AI. The mere suggestion of Google messing that up tanked its stock price, maybe it’ll be real this time and OpenAI will define tech culture? I’m sceptical but hey, maybe.
- sbierwagen 4y ago
  Once AI succeeds there won't be a tech culture, because tech companies will no longer employ humans.

vineyardmike 4y ago

Google is still loads better than eg Amazon but its days are numbered. I’ve heard msft wlb is improving a lot. I think the next gen of employee- first companies will be wfh centric (or something new and flexible) and 4 day work weeks. People realized slides and food wasn’t as good as free time and flexibility. I expect maxing their employees 401ks and generous cultural WLB. Companies that are advancing technology and gaining a rep as tech first? Look at blog posts that gain lots of traction here: Fly.io, Cloudflare, and many others. etc. Avoid anything too trendy ( AI, blockchain) because they might not last the hype cycles.

md_ 4y ago
Fifteen years ago at Microsoft, most people worked ~40 hour weeks, there were shuttles between Seattle and Redmond, a good gym on campus, and (mostly) private offices. You'd come into work at 9, wander off campus to a nearby restaurant with coworkers for a relaxing lunch at noon (granted, because the food in the cafeterias sucked and cost money), and after a bit of exercise or a nice game of racquetball at the gym, you'd go home at 6. Or if you were single and it was a weeknight, you might stay late in the office watching movies in a conference room and doing a bit of coding. Of course, fifteen years ago, Google paid more and had a reputation as a place where the really smart people came to grow their careers, whereas Microsoft was sleepier and more middle-aged. But it had "WLB" in spades.
- fenesiistvan 4y ago
  Gym after lunch? :)
  - maximus-decimus 4y ago
    They clearly didn't follow the Hulk Hogan program https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pKkHQtmS01s&t=260s https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pKkHQtmS01s&t=260s
  - md_ 4y ago
    We were young, and stupid. ;)

anon223345 4y ago

I agree - to me it’s “let’s pretend to be a startup, and KIND OF all buy into it” But it’s not a startup, and you have very little ownership, and so little actually gets done The rah rah rah fake cheerleading and silly hats When you’re a consultant looking back at a FAANG everyone FAANG kinda comes off as an NPC it’s weird I can’t speak for Netflix, don’t know anyone there

afavour 4y ago

I don’t think any companies are. The industry is in a very stable, mature state right now and the culture is kind of defined. The last big disruption was probably the smartphone and App Store and that was what, 15 years ago now? Google managed to last that one out. We were told Web3 would be the next disruption. Now we’re told it’s AI. The mere suggestion of Google messing that up tanked its stock price, maybe it’ll be real this time and OpenAI will define tech culture? I’m sceptical but hey, maybe.

sbierwagen 4y ago
Once AI succeeds there won't be a tech culture, because tech companies will no longer employ humans.