Gorgeous Google Photo Essay

I love this photo essay
Time did on life at Google. Makes your mouth water, no? And I’m a big
Google fan – or at least was, at one point. I find my support wavering
of late.

It can’t be easy juggling the demands of two masters, nor is it
sustainable for any length of time. You have this work life utopia on
one hand, and now you have John Q. Public’s investment interests on the
other. As shortsighted as it might be, public companies have a primary
obligation to increase shareholder value, at nearly all costs.
Although Google’s CEO was quoted as saying “The company isn’t run for the long-term value of our shareholders but for the long-term value of our end users.” Eeek, wise move, that one. Something’s got to give, and it almost certainly will be some of the
culture and amenities enjoyed by the good folks at the Googleplex. Not
in one fell swoop, but bit by bit, a little snip here, a little
concession there.

Maybe the chinks in the armor are already starting to show. I’m not
jumping on the Google-bashing bandwagon, but I will admit that I’m
underwhelmed with Google Analytics from a few months back, I’ll reserve judgment on Google Base, but I can’t fathom the concept behind the new Google Pages.

Google Pages is just difficult
enough to put creating a visually appealing page out of reach for most
new page builders, but I can’t see experienced page builders using the
service due to the overwhelming number of viable and free / inexpensive
solutions already out there.

The feeling I get with all of these recent releases is that Google has
too many projects, too much investment capital, and they need to focus
their efforts a bit more tightly. Maybe they think a bit too highly of
themselves now. Sheesh, a 3.5 undergraduate GPA and an MBA for certain
entry level positions?

Anyhoo, I’m a bit off track here. That photo essay really is spectacular, though, so give it a click!