S
Steven
Everyone knows Google, the search engine. I had the privilege of
visiting the Googleplex for business today. It is a little strange.
The Lobby is filled with Lava lamps everywhere, and I do mean
"everywhere". There were at least 5 on the counter with about a half
dozen more sitting in front of the window (and yet even more sitting
behind the counter). There was a huge red exercise ball in the corner
of the room, and on the opposite side, a colorful red and yellow bean
bag. I sat on a cozy red couch as I waited for my partner to arrive.
There is a translucent screen hovering over a laptop PC. On this
translucent screen are the various search terms people are using on
Google listed in real time. I wasn't sure how realistic it was since
all I remember seeing were science terms and oddball phrases. In
reality there's tons of pornographic searches done all the time and I
didn't see any of those but I digress. The PC on the counter was for
people to put their name in. After you input your name and some other
info and input your "signature" into the digital pad, a small printer
spits out a name tag for you to put on. A do-it-yourself name
tag...neat! Never seen that before. Directly opposite my cozy
perspective appeared to be a dining hall. I meandered over to the
window and I saw an entire wall full of what appeared to be snacks.
Lots of snacks, and I do mean LOTS and LOTS of snacks. There were lots
of Power Bar/Energy Bar types of snacks as well as banana chips,
bagels, assorted chips, fruits...etc. They were all stored in small
plastic bins from which employees cheerfully opened the lid, removed
the snack of their choice, and continued on. There was a metal wire
display rack filled with cereal boxes such as Special K (complete with
bowls) that stood a few feet from "the snack wall". To give a
perspective on "the snack wall" imagine going into GNC and looking at
their energy bars display. There was a tall refrigerator next to my
lounge chair and I asked the receptionist about it. She told me I
could help myself to any of the drinks inside. Outside of the facade
wrote the words "Naked" in thin yellow lettering. The refrigerator was
filled with beverages by the "Naked" company which is something akin
to Odwalla. There were different fruit drinks such as a strawberry, a
soy-berry drink, blueberry drink, etc. I chose Pomaberry Blue (the
blueberry drink). I wanted to try the Soy badly, but I didn't want to
fall asleep during my meeting! As my partner escorted me through the
lobby and henceforth the dining hall I saw a long table filled with
large metal containers I assumed were filled with food. Not snacks
mind you but the kind of foodstuffs restaurants are made of such as
broiled chicken. There must have been at least 10 of these large
restaurant sized metal containers enough to feed a large banquet of at
least 100+ people (assuming all the metal containers were full).
Employees were queuing up with plates in hand. The only food I saw
being served was broiled chicken, hence the example given. My partner
offered me some snacks but didn't allow me to get in line for the main
course =(. I took an orange and when I got to the lobby I took a
bottle of water.
All this makes me feel a little bit uneasy when I think of the poor
homeless. These large successful companies should make effort to give
back to the community. It is nice to see companies being generous when
they profit though. I guess Google must be doing really well. I did
some research on the net and it says that their cook is the former
cook for the Greatful Dead. There are indeed cute little toys strewn
about the building. Surprisingly there were 2 Segways located just
inside the doorway to the dining hall (near the metal wire cereal
rack). I had never seen one of these in person. They looked dirty, as
if they had been used quite a bit. They were sitting amongst some
electrical cords as if their batteries were being recharged. I was
tempted to ask to stand on one, but being only a guest, I decided not
to.
visiting the Googleplex for business today. It is a little strange.
The Lobby is filled with Lava lamps everywhere, and I do mean
"everywhere". There were at least 5 on the counter with about a half
dozen more sitting in front of the window (and yet even more sitting
behind the counter). There was a huge red exercise ball in the corner
of the room, and on the opposite side, a colorful red and yellow bean
bag. I sat on a cozy red couch as I waited for my partner to arrive.
There is a translucent screen hovering over a laptop PC. On this
translucent screen are the various search terms people are using on
Google listed in real time. I wasn't sure how realistic it was since
all I remember seeing were science terms and oddball phrases. In
reality there's tons of pornographic searches done all the time and I
didn't see any of those but I digress. The PC on the counter was for
people to put their name in. After you input your name and some other
info and input your "signature" into the digital pad, a small printer
spits out a name tag for you to put on. A do-it-yourself name
tag...neat! Never seen that before. Directly opposite my cozy
perspective appeared to be a dining hall. I meandered over to the
window and I saw an entire wall full of what appeared to be snacks.
Lots of snacks, and I do mean LOTS and LOTS of snacks. There were lots
of Power Bar/Energy Bar types of snacks as well as banana chips,
bagels, assorted chips, fruits...etc. They were all stored in small
plastic bins from which employees cheerfully opened the lid, removed
the snack of their choice, and continued on. There was a metal wire
display rack filled with cereal boxes such as Special K (complete with
bowls) that stood a few feet from "the snack wall". To give a
perspective on "the snack wall" imagine going into GNC and looking at
their energy bars display. There was a tall refrigerator next to my
lounge chair and I asked the receptionist about it. She told me I
could help myself to any of the drinks inside. Outside of the facade
wrote the words "Naked" in thin yellow lettering. The refrigerator was
filled with beverages by the "Naked" company which is something akin
to Odwalla. There were different fruit drinks such as a strawberry, a
soy-berry drink, blueberry drink, etc. I chose Pomaberry Blue (the
blueberry drink). I wanted to try the Soy badly, but I didn't want to
fall asleep during my meeting! As my partner escorted me through the
lobby and henceforth the dining hall I saw a long table filled with
large metal containers I assumed were filled with food. Not snacks
mind you but the kind of foodstuffs restaurants are made of such as
broiled chicken. There must have been at least 10 of these large
restaurant sized metal containers enough to feed a large banquet of at
least 100+ people (assuming all the metal containers were full).
Employees were queuing up with plates in hand. The only food I saw
being served was broiled chicken, hence the example given. My partner
offered me some snacks but didn't allow me to get in line for the main
course =(. I took an orange and when I got to the lobby I took a
bottle of water.
All this makes me feel a little bit uneasy when I think of the poor
homeless. These large successful companies should make effort to give
back to the community. It is nice to see companies being generous when
they profit though. I guess Google must be doing really well. I did
some research on the net and it says that their cook is the former
cook for the Greatful Dead. There are indeed cute little toys strewn
about the building. Surprisingly there were 2 Segways located just
inside the doorway to the dining hall (near the metal wire cereal
rack). I had never seen one of these in person. They looked dirty, as
if they had been used quite a bit. They were sitting amongst some
electrical cords as if their batteries were being recharged. I was
tempted to ask to stand on one, but being only a guest, I decided not
to.
)