Like Obama, Goggle is another entity that has enjoyed quasi-religious coverage in the media, branded with a halo and ingrained in the global psyche as the place to work, hands down, full stop. There is no place left to go after arriving at Google, right?
Since this is a universally accepted truth, this rather devastating article from the front page of today’s NY Times really took me by surprise. I admit, I, too, had been mesmerized by the image of Google as Paradise Regained. Reading the article, however, we learn there is perhaps less to Google than meets the eye.
I never thought I would find an story about day care so fascinating. But then, it’s about a lot more than day care. I suggest you go take a look.
1
By Jon
It is really a fascinating piece.
July 5, 2008 @ 11:22 pm | Comment
2
By Raj
Interesting. I certainly wonder why the prices were increased – “need” or because the company felt it was giving too large a subsidy and wanted to claw money back to increase profits.
But I saw Google as “just another company” some time ago. Time for everyone else to as well.
July 6, 2008 @ 12:52 am | Comment
3
By Dan
Exactly.
I am always highly suspicious when the media deifies anyone or any company.
July 6, 2008 @ 2:34 am | Comment
4
By Nauseous
Echooooo, echoooo, echooo, echoo, echo…..
July 6, 2008 @ 4:28 am | Comment
5
By Richard
I remember when Enron was deified, big time. Not to make too much of a comparison – I love Google’s products and think they are an amazing if sometimes scary company.
July 6, 2008 @ 7:45 am | Comment
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By Serve the People
I never thought Google was anything but another company. When Google entered the Chinese market and ran their search engine inside China like every other company did, quite a few people felt betrayed. Some Dalai supporters held a Valentine’s Day event to break up with Google. I wonder what search engine they are using now.
July 6, 2008 @ 10:26 am | Comment
7
By Thomas
They need to outsource day care. Just send the kids overseas to India.
July 6, 2008 @ 12:53 pm | Comment
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By Shanghai Slim
I’ve always had a love-hate attitude towards Google.
As someone who has been involved in software development and interface design, I deeply admire Google’s exquisitely crafted (and FREE!) applications such as SketchUp, Google Earth and Streetview.
On the other hand, Google has become nearly useless for internet search through loaded results and the fostering of Google ad-fueled link farms.
It seems to me that more than anyone else, Google has been responsible for the commercialization of the internet – is there a site left in the entire www that is not plastered with worthless Google ads?
Perhaps most unsettling of all was Google’s idea to develop a Flash applet to turn on a surfer’s pc microphone, compress the results locally and stream them back to Google, where the data would be searched for keywords “heard” in the surfer’s home, and use those keywords to dish up targeted ads. The idea of using up someone’s bandwidth and local cpu time for advertising was as distasteful as the idea of snooping on sounds in someone’s home. Even if this was supposed to be voluntary (if you doubt the potential for abuse there, I have a FISA bill to sell you), the mindset behind such an idea is very unsettling.
July 6, 2008 @ 12:53 pm | Comment
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By chriswaugh_bj
I use google’s products, but I think they’re an amazingly scary company.
July 6, 2008 @ 12:53 pm | Comment
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By Thomas
If they outsource day care to Bangladesh, then they get high quality day care at affordable prices—Hannah Montana: The Best of Both Worlds
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UPfw7bHqQrY&feature=related
July 6, 2008 @ 1:02 pm | Comment