opensocial

Climbing Mount Everest, Ballooning around the world, getting a Google employee to leave….They’re all pretty similar in my mind….While being a BINC Research Associate surely has its perks, nothing truly puts a smile on my face like the “call as many Google people as you can” days. Ah yes, the true love of getting hung up on, yelled at, ignored, given fake emails, given times to call back and getting flaked on or even the good ol’ fashioned “I’ll call you back later” – yes definitely nothing beats Google calls days. Of course there are always the couple nice guys (or gals) that hear me out, and I’ve even got a couple to consider leaving but for the most part it’s a rough day. But all of this got me thinking… why is Google so special?? And even more importantly, why should employees leave now before it’s too late??

Listen, don’t get me wrong I love Google, I use it all the time and they have hired some of the most brilliant minds in the industry, but hey, people are leaving and I’m here to make sure you know why. First off – Why is Google so special??

5 reasons that I’ve compiled from talking to current as well as former Google employees.

5. Great perks – Amazing free gourmet lunches and dinners, swimming spas, child daycare centers, laundry machines?!?, and the list just keeps on going

4. Brilliant minds at work – Not only are some of the smartest guys on the world employees of Google (Vint Cerf), but they have regular guest speakers (Hans Rosling, Barack Obama) and regular tutorial classes that help employees continue in their education, even when in the work world.

3. Innovative, creative, “paradigm-shifting” – Google Maps, Gmail, Google Docs, Google Images, and off course – Google Search. Each one of these services and the many others that Google offers to its users are all very cutting-edge, forward-thinking services that have literally shifted and changed the world that we live in… Wow, ok, let’s not get too carried away here, but they are definitely “front of the line” services.

2. Its fun, exciting, and energetic – Google employees love being around individuals as smart, or smarter, then they are. They feel that they can thrive in an environment and feel that they are truly changing the world. Plus, employees get 20 % time off to work on their own personal projects – letting them truly enjoy being at work.

We offer our engineers “20-percent time”so that they’re free to work on what they’re really passionate about. Google News, Google Suggest, AdSense for Content and Orkut are among the many products of this perk.

1. It’s the top search company in the world – and who doesn’t wanna work for #1.

That’s all great and exciting, but let’s be lets be honest, there’s always the “but…”

5 reasons why Google employees are slowly (but surely) starting to leave.

5. Commuting – When Google was doing great people had no problem commuting down south from San Francisco City or up north from San Jose. Now that Google isn’t as explosive as it once was, people aren’t as willing to commute as they once were. O ya, I guess the fact that gas is over $4 dollars a gallon could have something to do with it…

4. Stock troubles – Minus the bump that they recently saw due to their above-expected earnings report, the stock went from a high of 747.24 in November to a low of 412.11 only 5 months later in March. Their stock has received tremendous growth over the years (if only I bought their IPO at $85…), but we all know that tremendous stock growth doesn’t last forever (YHOO – 108 in 2000 to 4.67 in 2002, Sun – 253.88 in 2000 to 10.36 in 2002, etc. etc.)

3. Although Google is exciting, many Google employees that joined post-IPO missed out on their big hit - Many employees are leaving to either jump on board of a “hot” start-up before its too late, while others are creating their own. A few are listed in line below.

1. Facebook/MySpace – Social Networking has taken over the Internet and these two are at the forefront.
2. Ooyala – Founded by ex-Google employees – Bismarck Lepe, Sean Knapp, Belsasar Lepe. They provide a distribution of high quality video content and they have currently raised 8.5 million in funding
3. FriendFeed – Wow! A whole company comprised of ex-Googlers!
4. PowerSet – Natural Language Search – This is just one of the many next-generation Semantic web companies that are starting to emerge. Web 3.0 anyone??
5. Rentbits – Founded by ex-Google employee Dan Daugherty. It is a vertical search engine for real estate rental information.

2. Dare I say, Corporate Culture – Google has constantly prided themselves on their open, social environment but many people feel that Google has turned increasingly “corporate”. The environment in which engineers were able to create their own products and services is decreasing since it has to go through a full review process that can take months before the product is released to market. Although engineers enjoy being creative, they might as well create a product/service that they can monetize on their own.

Erick Schonfeld, writer at TechCrunch – “Is it me, or is innovation at Google slowing down?”

Some examples of Google lacking process can be seen with Opensocial, Android, or just take a look at this list and see how many you’ve ever actually heard of.

1. Google not a dream job anymore – A couple years back people used to dream of working for Google. And sorry to say guys, but it’s just not like that anymore. There are so many great opportunities for people to get involved with that Google doesn’t have to be an option. When Google was the revolution, it was the most amazing thing on the market, but it’s not that anymore. It’s still good but the critics are slowly starting to come out in full force and the employees are listening. With such a plethora of options available, and issues around Google increasing –the flow of employees leaving Google that has been seen recently will continue to pick up.

Server Issues, Political Issues, Copyright Issues, Personal Privacy Issues, Online Storage Issues.

This is a list that continues to grow and employees are ready for something new, something exciting, and for many – Google just isn’t it anymore.