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When I first started working at Google, I truly loved them as a user-facing company. And for the first few years, I thought I would work there forever and I cou

When I first started working at Google, I truly loved them as a user-facing company. And for the first few years, I thought I would work there forever and I could imagine no other place for me. But by the time I left, I was bitter and no longer in love. For various reasons, I felt like I had been betrayed by what I thought Google was at the beginning. It is my fault for having such idealistic expectations for what ultimately boils down to a money-driven company but I also think that there is a world in which I could have left Google loving it, or at least not so entirely disenchanted. I look back on my grade school and college with fond memories; I wish I could look back on Google the same way. Oh well, onwards and upwards.

NelsonMinar 15y ago
Hey Pamela! I fear you had a particularly rough time at Google. Bad project luck, also coming in later. I do look back at my time on Google as fondly as, say, graduate school. Particularly the early years, 2001–2004, it was a truly amazing place to be. That's why I wrote this post up, I just feel sad about where Google is now. Fortunately there's organizations like Y Combinator and places like Hacker News with a lot of startup passion and excitement.
- cdibona 15y ago
  You know, I miss both of you at Google. I'm clearly fine with where Google is (or I'd leave) but I wish that you both felt differently. (edit: I changed we to I, I mean, this is more a personal thing..)
  - fred_nada 15y ago
    @nelsonMinar @pamelafox @cidbona and any other googlers. Do you think it could actually ever go back to the way it was? Or is it too late? The beauty of Google in 2001-3 was that it gave you hope for what a company could be in the future. We all knew about the Jobs/Gates/Ellison shenanigans and some of us hoped for a better future. Better work environments for employees, innovating vs stealing, 100% focusing on the user, and not throwing integrity out the window for a couple of dollars per share. Can they get back there? or is it gone?
- andywood 15y ago
  I don't think it's any coincidence that I remember 1998-2004 as the era when "Little" Google consistently wowed me, as a user, with every product, every feature, even every verbal statement that you made. The specific feeling of trust that I had during that time, due to an impeccable track record - trust that they would always do what I intuitively perceived to be the right thing, is long gone. Whether it's the all-holy SERP, or the grand strategy, my highest hope is that further decline will be as slow as possible. I do not believe that it is possible for any company, under any circumstances, to grow that large without losing its way. It's simply the nature of human organizations.
- vibragiel 15y ago
  I also look back at your time on Google fondly, specifically for this 2004 email: Nelson Minar has invited you to open a free Google Gmail account. Thanks for that, man :-)
agravier 15y ago
> idealistic expectations for what ultimately boils down to a money-driven company Are there non-profit-driven companies counting more than 10 people?
- marshray 15y ago
  Just because a company is for-profit doesn't mean it has to be "money-driven" in the sense that the term is being used here. In fact, for a company like Google for which many of its users have relatively low switching costs it only makes economic sense to do whatever it takes to keep the users happy and enthusiastic, even at the expense of some short-term profit.
  - agravier 15y ago
    OK, I did not understand that the term was used here as driven by short-term profit at the expense of ethics.
    - marshray 15y ago
      Well that's just my interpretation too :-)

NelsonMinar 15y ago

Hey Pamela! I fear you had a particularly rough time at Google. Bad project luck, also coming in later. I do look back at my time on Google as fondly as, say, graduate school. Particularly the early years, 2001–2004, it was a truly amazing place to be. That's why I wrote this post up, I just feel sad about where Google is now. Fortunately there's organizations like Y Combinator and places like Hacker News with a lot of startup passion and excitement.

cdibona 15y ago
You know, I miss both of you at Google. I'm clearly fine with where Google is (or I'd leave) but I wish that you both felt differently. (edit: I changed we to I, I mean, this is more a personal thing..)
- fred_nada 15y ago
  @nelsonMinar @pamelafox @cidbona and any other googlers. Do you think it could actually ever go back to the way it was? Or is it too late? The beauty of Google in 2001-3 was that it gave you hope for what a company could be in the future. We all knew about the Jobs/Gates/Ellison shenanigans and some of us hoped for a better future. Better work environments for employees, innovating vs stealing, 100% focusing on the user, and not throwing integrity out the window for a couple of dollars per share. Can they get back there? or is it gone?
andywood 15y ago
I don't think it's any coincidence that I remember 1998-2004 as the era when "Little" Google consistently wowed me, as a user, with every product, every feature, even every verbal statement that you made. The specific feeling of trust that I had during that time, due to an impeccable track record - trust that they would always do what I intuitively perceived to be the right thing, is long gone. Whether it's the all-holy SERP, or the grand strategy, my highest hope is that further decline will be as slow as possible. I do not believe that it is possible for any company, under any circumstances, to grow that large without losing its way. It's simply the nature of human organizations.
vibragiel 15y ago
I also look back at your time on Google fondly, specifically for this 2004 email: Nelson Minar has invited you to open a free Google Gmail account. Thanks for that, man :-)

agravier 15y ago

> idealistic expectations for what ultimately boils down to a money-driven company Are there non-profit-driven companies counting more than 10 people?

marshray 15y ago
Just because a company is for-profit doesn't mean it has to be "money-driven" in the sense that the term is being used here. In fact, for a company like Google for which many of its users have relatively low switching costs it only makes economic sense to do whatever it takes to keep the users happy and enthusiastic, even at the expense of some short-term profit.
- agravier 15y ago
  OK, I did not understand that the term was used here as driven by short-term profit at the expense of ethics.
  - marshray 15y ago
    Well that's just my interpretation too :-)