Whiplash at Google
Whiplash at Google
A friend of mine who works at Google invited me over to have lunch last week. It was fun to see their NY office -- it had a similar fun vibe to their main campus in Mountain View. But it was a study in contrast in terms of how they treat guests.
First, I had to sign a one-sided NDA in order to enter the premises. Totally offputting as the first point of contact and a requirement to even have lunch. I know other companies do that was well but was surprised given the whole "do no evil" thing to see it at GOOG.
But then of course, there was the free super gourmet cafeteria: hazelnut-encrusted wild halibut, braised fennel and leeks, lavash, and seared scallop and seaweed with a ponzu vinaigrette. I'm not even sure what ponzu vinaigrette is, but I can attest that it is yummy.
Mostly, it was just interesting to see what the Google machine has built in Manhattan -- 1,200 people (including 300+ engineers, which is truly astounding) and growing!
The NDA thing is rather annoying. Did they have a fax machine available so you could send it to your lawyers for review? Guess they use a lawyer at the receptionist desk to review any comments or redlines provided by your attorney...
Posted by: Alexander Muse | February 06, 2007 at 11:12 AM
Matt, interesting recent article (2/17) on Google NYC:
http://www.informationweek.com/story/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=197006843
Posted by: Brian | February 20, 2007 at 06:58 PM
>>there was the free super gourmet cafeteria: hazelnut-encrusted wild halibut, braised fennel and leeks, lavash, and seared scallop and seaweed with a ponzu vinaigrette.
Sounds great :)
Posted by: Heinrich | February 23, 2007 at 07:39 AM