oops!
hi everyone, sorry my site has been down for the past day or so. i goofed and put some stuff up on my blog that's not supposed to be there. nothing serious and they didn't ask me to take anything down (even the stuff where i'm critical about the company). i'm learning that google is understandably careful about disclosing sensitive information, even vague financial-related things. the quickest way for me to fix the situation at the time was to take it all down. now i'm back up. just so you know, google was pretty cool about all this. thanks for and sorry for the frenzy of speculation.
posted by markjen at 1/26/2005 11:56:00 AM
32 Comments:
Google blah!
geeklife.com was wondering if you got the ax.
Is this what they asked you to take down?
"Look at all these other fringe "benefits": on-site doctor, on-site dentist, on-site car washes... the list goes on and on with one similarity: every "benefit" is on-site so you never leave work. (...)
Google definitely has a program that is on par with other companies in the industry; but since when does a company like Google settle for being on par? Microsoft's health care benefits shame Google's relatively meager offering. (...)
Lastly, Google demands employees that are 90th percentile material, so what's with the 50th percentile compensation? The packages would've been decent when the company was pre-IPO, but let's be honest here... a stock option with a strike price of $188 just doesn't have the same value as the ones of yesteryear."
Nice stuff..
Kuddos to Google on dealing with it..
I can vouch he just took out a few lines.
They did torture you in the Googleplex dungeon, didn't they? It all started when the Wachowski brothers visited Google and introduced Brin and Page to the fine art of SM. Later that day Google's motto "don't be evil" left the building. ;-)
I say Mark should become Google's Scoble.
think you got sandboxed. Life is so cruel...
renaud
Do you know if Google Employees plan to respect people rights and privacy ?
Don't forget to boycott Google ads .
This is kewl... You could just become Scoble's counterpart !!
if "google was pretty cool about all this" - then why did they want you take the goofy stuff off eh ??
http://peterdawson.typepad.com
This blog is just a recruitment method from their HR department. I read somewhere they were having problems finding people. From what I heard, they turned away too many in the past. Now they have stockholders to answer to!
I thought you'd quit. Glad to see you're back.
Hey, I miss the original post. Can I see it in google's 8B index cache?
Got to be in that NINETYNINEZEROS somewhere, right?
Here is what is missing "they started off the day with a financials presentation, which was actually quite interesting. of course, i understand that they obviously will put a positive spin on everything, but the weight of the raw numbers is undeniable. both google's profits and revenue are growing at an unprecedented rate even while they are increasing their expenditures on capital and human resources. not to mention that google has been primarily focused on the u.s. market and is now turning their full attention to the global marketplace.
so after the interesting financials, the products team gave presentations reviewing product performance in 2004 and giving sneak peeks of the products we'll unveil in 2005. if you guys thought g**il and google groups were cool, you ain't seen nothing yet!" via Google Blogoscoped Forum.
Nine days as a googler and you made it to the front page of Moma. Congratulations.
Somehow this has "no such thing as bad press" written all over it. Google is just a microbubble about to microburst, just another aftershock in the annals of overhype. Standing by the theory that people will only throw their money away for a decade or so. Google's aftershock value is just a fraction of a decade so "reel in what you can and keep your eyes open for something more stable" (USA tech workers' motto). Why would anyone leave Microwhore?!?!?
man...you made cnn and cnet...must be having a tough time i guess. but now everybody knows that you posted some not so good stuff about Google, and then you were obviously told by Google to take it off. David vs Goliath, big company bullying a new employee, you got the public's support on this. all this has Google with egg on its face.
20 year old leaves Seattle for Mt View. Looses milk money - bites the hand that feeds him...The look on Marky Mark's face in the unemployment line - PRICELESS!!!
Was it really worth the drama kid? Not even a week into a new job and you’re hated by the company? Your clothes are still in boxes and you have just labeled yourself as a liability in the Valley? Good luck finding a new job...MSoft won't take you back and Yahoo! won't even bother.
Now if you were a distinguished engineer with a vast professional background to speak of, MAYBE then you have the right to blog against your company. Since you're a snot nosed kid just out of college - SHUT YOUR PIEHOLE! There are thousands of qualified people that are unemployed who would love to be in your shoes and you have the audacity to bitch about relocation?
Googol is 100 zero's and since you're missing a few screws, 99 zero's is an appropriate name for your blog.
Go ahead and delete post now…Remember, Don’t Be Evil!!!
OH IT'S REALLY SUCKS TO BE YOU!
i agree with the priceless guy. we wouldn't want you here at yahoo!
"everything here is my personal opinion and is not read or approved by google before it is posted."
Time to change the disclaimer!
A lot of folks are coming down on you too hard. You've been completely honest and you took almost nothing out. Every company has problems--that's no secret. The best companies are the ones that let people talk about them. And I notice that the part you took out had nothing to do with problems at or criticism of Google.
So keep on blogging the truth about life on the inside.
the "shut yer piehole" dude's comments are really a bit much. everyone is entitled to post their opinions -- not just PhDs and oldtimers. the blogosphere is all about everyone being equally empowered to speak their mind.
the only thing that probably was a bit inappropiate (for a public company employee anyway) was posting some speculative stuff about growth rates / financials. given Google's previous run-ins with the SEC, i'm sure they'd prefer employees to be a bit more cautious re: 'forward-looking stmts' and such.
but really, piehole is being a bit of an overly-harsh prick... and if you're going to be that critical, at least have the gumption to not comment anonymously.
- dave mcclure / 500hats.com
Google sucks my ass. I'm unimpressed with their technical staff!
The working 14 hrs days at google are not justified anymore.. If I wanted to work 14 hr days I would go to a startup with a chance of getting paid on IPO.. Now that a new employee on Google would have a strike price of around 180s, why would I work so hard for? I ain't seeing the payoff. Unless you care for free lunch.
I wonder if any of those who works at Google remember their previous company's $100+ stock price and didn't cash out back in 1999. I bet they won't do the same mistake twice. Good luck with those soon to be underwater $180+ stock options for those people who are still trying so hard go get into Google.
I don't know why anyone would want to work for Google given the current stock price is $190. The only rational is they're young, naive, and feel the need to spruce up their resume with the name "google"...but then again, look at the people who used to think working at "netscape" was cool...not!
Jesus what a depressing thread of comments to read.
Google's got a lot more going for it than a $190 stock price. Some people choose their job for reasons other than money; they actually want to spend their time doing something worthwhile.
Cheers Mark.
I agree with Piehole. Sure it's fine to have an opinion about your employer, culture, and people BUT if I had a fall out with my manager is it wise to post it on a blog? Is it wise to start out in such a manner?
So obviously he got caught up in the blog movement (so he can write a book about it post employment (which will be real soon - may I suggest a coloring book)).
I believe that eveyone should have an opinion and everyone has a right to use a blog as a venue but the risk/reward in this case seems unbalanced.
Can his manager and team members trust that he is a devoted team player? He may have been better off telling his mom and girlfriend how he feels and not risk having it headline on cNet.
re: medium-range salary and high strike price
Well, you're in Sales, Mark. People in other (one is tempted to posit: essential, but that may be unfair) areas at Google are paid much better, and get much fairer strike prices.
But they too are virtual prisoners of the googleplex.
While I can clearly see how Google was a better choice than Redmond, my advise is to look at this as a stepping stone. You're in a better place now. There are much more human organizations to work for.
Hey, maybe you'll get lucky and they'll fire you, and you can be the next-most-famous individual. You ought to be able to spin that into enough PR to get a cool job somewhere better.
i meant to say (and link) "dooced" individual.
see: http://www.dooce.com
blogger continues to find new ways to suck -- the link was previewed fine, but mangled upon submission.
I respect this guy's honesty...it's commendable. But how smart are the people that Google is hiring? Not smart to publicly post scathing comments about an employer you WANT to work for. Thanks for the heads up to anyone even considering applying with Google. Microsoft, Yahoo, et al thank you too.
That being said, I think Google is pretty lame to ask you to take anything down. Anyone who has read anything about Google lately knows that their revenue is growing and that they're spending more on sophomoric folks like Mini Me (he's quasi-evil) here.
Please stop slapping me on the butt
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