Google

[Plutonic Panda]

Do you think they're a good company? I personally think they are and believe they care about their customers who are not their products as another poster said in another thread.

Google is a legendary employer. With its high pay, smorgasbord of perks, valuable stock options, and amazing tech projects, it is constantly No. 1 on the various "best places to work" surveys.

Working there was even the subject of a 2013 Hollywood comedy, the "Internship."

So someone posed a question on Quora recently that asked if working at Google really was like a recruitment video, where one person described it "like a big playground."

Or was working at Google was "over-rated"?

Answer: Uhm. No. The actual experience of working at Google actually gets better as time goes by, says Edgar Duenez-Guzman, a software engineer who has worked for Google for about a year, according to his LinkedIn profile. He writes on Quora:

Before I joined Google, I researched the culture, the values and the perks. I kind if hoped it would be awesome, but imagined that it realistically was going to be good, but probably not great.

During my first couple of weeks I felt like in the video you posted ... they told us all about the impact we could have, all the great things we would have, and the perks we should use. I figured this was good PR. ...

Over a few months I realized that the honeymoon period was not quite ending as I thought. I got to know more about the real culture and the real values of Google. And they were, if anything, even better than what I had hoped.

Google gives me amazing freedom to do what I think is important. ...

But better yet, one would think that such freedom would cause chaos. ... Yet Google surprised me even more. ... If somebody thinks what I am doing should not be done, they can see it and raise an issue immediately.

Now, clearly not everything is perfect. There are issues with Google. It is a large company and growing. It has issues of any large organization. But by and large it is the best place I have ever experienced, and better than I thought it would be.

Googlers say those issues are things like: the company is so filled with geniuses, it can be hard to distinguish yourself; there's a lot of pressure to work all the time and spend what remains of your free time on campus, too; it has a big company feel and you can end up feeling like a cog.

Still, it's hard to deny how happy many Googlers are overall.

Read more: Why Working At Google Is So Great - Business Insider

[Plutonic Panda]

Google exec sets a new record for highest-altitude jump (video)

[Plutonic Panda]

Google is giving non-profits its latest satellite maps

[Swake]

You sure about that?

4 ways Google is destroying privacy and collecting your data - Salon.com

Google snoops your email and uses private details to sell adverts, Microsoft claims | Daily Mail Online

Google: Let Us Opt Out of Your Data Mining Machine | WIRED

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/12/19/op...vate-life.html

How much do Google and Facebook profit from your data? | Ars Technica

6 kinds of your information Google openly admits to collecting

[Swake]

And I'm sure Google cares about their customers, but just who is that?

You're Not Google's Customer -- You're the Product: Antitrust in a Web 2.0 World | Nathan Newman

Who is Google's real customer? - On Demand Web Technology Resources

[kelroy55]

And I'm sure Google cares about their customers, but just who is that?

I've wondered that when items I've Googled amazingly show up as ad's in my browser later on.

[Oh GAWD the Smell!]

Here's an easy way to figure out what the product is.

Are you being provided a service, that has astronomical back-end costs and constant upkeep, for free?

Then it's a pretty safe bet that you're the product.

Google, Hotmail, Facebook, and all the other big players rely on advertising to pay their bills. The more targeted, the more $$$ they get because advertisers can specify YOU for their ads.

[BBatesokc]

I really like Google's innovative product line and use many of them - downloaded Google's InBox over the weekend and have been playing with it for a few days now.

That said, I 100% realize I am the product and I keep that in mind when I'm using their 'free' services.

[kelroy55]

I really like Google's innovative product line and use many of them - downloaded Google's InBox over the weekend and have been playing with it for a few days now.

That said, I 100% realize I am the product and I keep that in mind when I'm using their 'free' services.

I've been looking at the inbox, how do you like it?

[gopokes88]

Can I have a meh option?

[BBatesokc]

I've been looking at the inbox, how do you like it?

Can't give a full review yet -- I'm finding it has a bit of a learning curve and no manual or video tutorials. Fortunately, its an app independent of your Gmail so you can always switch back and forth.

[trousers]

It's not just the browsers sharing (selling) your data...it's the apps & games. Rovio and King make a lot of money off of you having Angry Birds and Candy Crush on your phone.

[White Peacock]

I love Google products, but I have to agree that we are the actual product. Trends in our behavior are tracked and used to sell advertising opportunities to companies that want to sell us stuff. Do I care? Not really. I don't have to click an advert. It's simple metadata at play, too. LL Bean doesn't know that I, by name or by web moniker, have an interest in flannels and boots. They just know they're paying Google to show people like me their ads. That said, the OKC Talk forum does the same thing. Right after I typed the above, before even submitting this post, I opened the forum in another tab and there was an LL Bean ad waiting for me. It's not evil; it's commerce.

[Plutonic Panda]

I just don't agree that we are the product. If we stopped using Google, what would happen? Could the same not be said for the advertising companies? Without them, Google couldn't make money, and without us, Google couldn't make money, right?

[BBatesokc]

I just don't agree that we are the product. If we stopped using Google, what would happen? Could the same not be said for the advertising companies? Without them, Google couldn't make money, and without us, Google couldn't make money, right?

There really is no debate...... We ARE Google's product. Their profits (96% in 2012) come primarily from ads (AdWords and AdSense) and the reason their ads are so popular to retailers is because they are highly targeted (for the most part).

Google has their techo hands in all kinds of arenas - that said, virtually all of them exist to support the primary business model (ad revenue).

If we didn't globally use their products as intimately as we do, then Google would not be the business (let alone the verb) it is today. That simple. We are their product, not their customer.

[Plutonic Panda]

There really is no debate...... We ARE Google's product. Their profits (96% in 2012) come primarily from ads (AdWords and AdSense) and the reason their ads are so popular to retailers is because they are highly targeted (for the most part).

Google has their techo hands in all kinds of arenas - that said, virtually all of them exist to support the primary business model (ad revenue).

If we didn't globally use their products as intimately as we do, then Google would not be the business (let alone the verb) it is today. That simple. We are their product, not their customer.

Yes, I understand ads are a huuuuuuge part of Google's business. They wouldn't be in business if it weren't for the adds. But to me, that is like like saying you aren't Target's customer, the companies that supply Target with their inventory are their customers. I'm not getting this.

Without 'you', Google wouldn't advertise anything because there wouldn't be anyone to see it. So you are their customer, just not in the sense that you're giving them money. You're making them money.

[Stew]

Yeah, Google is a marketing company posing as a tech company. That's pretty crafty. Are they a good company? I don't know but they are hella successful admen.

[BBatesokc]

Yes, I understand ads are a huuuuuuge part of Google's business. They wouldn't be in business if it weren't for the adds. But to me, that is like like saying you aren't Target's customer, the companies that supply Target with their inventory are their customers. I'm not getting this.

Without 'you', Google wouldn't advertise anything because there wouldn't be anyone to see it. So you are their customer, just not in the sense that you're giving them money. You're making them money.

That comparison makes no sense.

Think locally. When a radio company tries to sell ad space to a retailer, they promote how their listeners fit into X, Y, Z category (males, 35-45, with college degrees who make $100,000/yr+). If that's a good fit for whom the retailer is trying to influence then they buy ad space. The product they (the retailer) were buying was the demographic of that listening audience (the people). Now, take that times a billion and you have Google.

[White Peacock]

We're the product because Google is selling us (as potential buyers) to advertisers, and they're able to do this by giving us lots of really cool free stuff that we'll use and make targeting us for pointed adverts that much more effective. The tech services are free, so they're not the product; they're the bait. From a purely objective business standpoint, the consumer is Google's product, and advertisers are their customers. I don't think that's a negative thing necessarily; it gives the average person access to a lot of great services that they might not be able to afford to otherwise pay for.

I don't think they're an ad company masquerading as a tech company. I think they're an ad company first and a tech company second, and the latter's success is what fuels the former, which is the profitable half.

[kevinpate]

Plu, if you can look at Google and think you are not part of the product Google offers to advertisers to make their nut, all I can say is I know a few folks who would really enjoy it if you would agree to sit down at a poker table with them.

[Swake]

This is similar to what people misunderstand about Apple too. They aren't a software company either, they are a high tech equipment manufacturer. Apple's software is used to get you into the Apple ecosystem buying Apple equipment. That's why it's so rare to see Apple software on non Apple devices and why that won't change. It's also why Apple keeps suing Samsung. Samsung is Apple's direct competitor, not Google.

Google produces the Android operating system to further bind you into their ecosystem of search/email/text/calendar so they can sell ads and marketing data.

[White Peacock]

Samsung is Apple's direct competitor, not Google.

Not quite true. They can't sue Google because Google gives Android away for free. Samsung is the one profiting off of Android, which Steve Jobs declared was a 'stolen product' and attacking the most successful seller of devices carrying Android is the best way to roundabout jab at Google. One of the stated reasons Google bought Motorola was to have a massive patent portfolio at hand to assist Android OEMs in their lawsuit battles against, usually, Apple.

The thing about Apple is that it's not just hardware sales that garner them profits; sales from within the iTunes Store and App Store are hugely profitable. Selling you an iPhone means that unless you jailbreak it, you're ONLY installing apps from the App Store, and Apple gets a cut of ever paid app that's sold, just like they get a cut of every movie, TV episode, song, or album sold in the iTunes Store. Nowadays, Apple's hardware products are closely knit and tied in with their software and media stores, creating a locked ecosystem that just piles in profits for the company.

Google gives Android for free and doesn't make a dime off of copies of Android being used. However, the use of Android generally requires you to be tied into the Google ecosystem to an extent. It's easy to install non-market apps, which is one reason Android is so preferable to iOS for a lot of people, but to use the Google signed Android apps (Gmail, Play Store, Play Music, etc.) you need an identity within Google, and it's through this identity that they are able to track your behavior, which results in intuitive advertising.

That said, it's perfectly possible to use Android without Google knowing who you are, you just can't use the Google apps. Android without Google apps does indeed work, you just need an alternate method of obtaining apps since you're ruled out of the Play Store. The most popular alternative is the Amazon App Store, which is what some of the super-cheap Chinese tablets ship with pre-installed, since they're not technically approved by Google to have GApps installed.

[tfvc.org]

I am in a love hate relationship with them. I used to be a big fan boy but a few months ago they decided to disable my adsence account for no reason, wouldn't tell me why, and wouldn't reinable it. Because of it I killed my adwords account, uninstalled Chrome, sold my chromecast, and broke ties with other programs. I am trying to go elsewhere, but I am so tied into them right now with gmail, android, docs, and other apps, and am having a hard time finding good alternatives to everything I am using with them. I want to try to completly rid of them, but I don't see it possible, especially since I will not have an iphone (bigger issues with Apple and their tight grip on hardware and software) and Blackberry is so 90s.

[Plutonic Panda]

I am in a love hate relationship with them. I used to be a big fan boy but a few months ago they decided to disable my adsence account for no reason, wouldn't tell me why, and wouldn't reinable it. Because of it I killed my adwords account, uninstalled Chrome, sold my chromecast, and broke ties with other programs. I am trying to go elsewhere, but I am so tied into them right now with gmail, android, docs, and other apps, and am having a hard time finding good alternatives to everything I am using with them. I want to try to completly rid of them, but I don't see it possible, especially since I will not have an iphone (bigger issues with Apple and their tight grip on hardware and software) and Blackberry is so 90s.

Windows phone isn't that bad.

[Plutonic Panda]

Zuckerberg calls Apple's stance on ads 'ridiculous' - CNET