Valleywag
Wired.com editor Leander Kahney writes up received Google fictions peddled by the search engine's PR division as fact in this month's Wired magazine. Google's employee perks are a common topic in the press, but our readers tell us the reality is far from the earthly paradise Google sells to gullible journalists. Leander makes working at Google seem like heaven:
And today, if Google hasn't made itself a Greenleaf-esque slave to its employees, it's at least a cruise director:
Kahney goes on:
The Mountain View campus is famous for its perks, including in-house masseuses, roller-hockey games, and a cafeteria where employees gobble gourmet vittles for free. What's more, Google's engineers have unprecedented autonomy; they choose which projects they work on and whom they work with. And they are encouraged to allot 20 percent of their work week to pursuing their own software ideas. The result? Products like Gmail and Google News, which began as personal endeavors.The reality is that only engineers get 20 percent time, and many are pressured by managers not to use it. The result? Gmail and Google News came out years ago, and 20 percent time hasn't resulted in anything meaningful enough to flog to the press since. (Photo by AP/Paul Sakuma)
Comments
Wired will be on Google's nuts for a while longer. Magazines have a three-month lag time from the time an article is written until publication.
Heck, until relatively recently, V-Wag bought into the Google lies.
So cut the MSM some slack: They ride on the short bus to recognizing trends.
Like Soviet Union, Google is Worker's Paradise!
[www.google.com]
Well, I'm not in love with Google, but only giving the 20 percent time to engineers makes sense.
@Dweezil: because a good way to run a company is to tell the majority of their employees they aren't valued enough to be allowed to innovate? The classic example of the flaw in this thinking is the street sweepers at Disney World. They are the people that make the difference between a great and awful customer experience. Google's Engineers are like the people who play Mickey Mouse at Disney World, they're needed, but they're already top-notch. You don't get that much benefit from further empowering them.
How about this: Google should just be honest with its recruits. "Unless you're an engineer, you ain't getting 20%." And, "Even if you're an engineer, we're going to discourage you from using your 20%."
Fair enough, right?
All anyone is asking for is honesty.
@cowsandmilk: What the fuck is an Adwords CSR in another complex going to do with 20% time off? They're a technology company, PR personnel don't need free time to develop new technology. I hate most engineers, but it doesn't make sense to give the entire staff project time.
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