What happened to Google?

Jun 20, 2020 185 Comments

Google was a pioneer in so many cutting age technologies. Starting with web search, it came out with so many path breaking applications, like search, adsense, google maps, google earth, google classroom etc, and tech infrastructure like BigTable, mapReduce, S2 etc etc. Then seems like the pipeline is broken. Nothing extraordinary came out in the last few years. What do googlers think? Am I wrong? #google

Did it loose its culture of innovation? Should one blame Sundar Pichai's leadership?

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TOP 185 Comments
  • Uber
    mcfresh

    Go to company page Uber

    mcfresh
    It’s because awesome engineers like me went to Uber and Uber is the new Google
    Jun 20, 2020 18
  • Google
    Zb0T4k

    Go to company page Google

    PRE
    Microsoft
    Zb0T4k
    Google has become big. It doesn't care about cutting edge anymore, nor about choosing the right people for right projects.

    The courage that the founders had to address problems head on, try something new, take decisions, went with them.

    Current CEO and CFO don't really know much about technology.

    Now it's about diversity, numbers, profit, image, and cost cutting.
    Jun 20, 2020 12
    • LinkedIn / Eng
      aaavp

      Go to company page LinkedIn Eng

      aaavp
      Writing a plug-in is very different from MapReduce or BigTable...yes he is technical but hardly Google Fellow material. The super intelligent types.
      Jun 28, 2020
    • This a natural consequence of being a public company that is beholden to investors with short time horizons to maximize share price (or be sued).

      Note compensation packages up and down the chain (large amounts of pay coming from short period stock vesting ) incentivizes this behavior. No executive sees a compensation bump for what happens 5 years after they leave
      Jun 29, 2020
  • Amazon
    pMSQ67

    Go to company page Amazon

    pMSQ67
    The cult of leetcode means they ended up hiring a bunch of sub par talent. Leetcode problems in the 2000s were hard because you actually had to know cs. So they hired well. Now it’s a bunch of code monkeys working there patting themselves on the back
    Jun 20, 2020 5
    • To be honest Amazon hires more leetcode money's than Google does. Just read through Amazon leetcode problems, LPs and anyone can get an offer. 😂
      Jun 25, 2020
    • Amazon / Eng
      vHUQ52

      Go to company page Amazon Eng

      vHUQ52
      Amazon interviewers don’t actively seek out leetcode problems and simply ask them. Everyone is responsible for coming up with their own coding questions, and some people obviously pick leetcode questions cuz that’s easy to find hard questions. But acing coding is only good enough for new grads. The get in at Amazon you need to have good Amazon leadership principles . Especially at higher up SDE3 and beyond levels. The challenge is that most companies simply don’t have the same expectations of a senior SDE that Amazon has, so most ppl don’t make it in. The only engineers who make it typically are new grads cuz it’s pure coding tests at that level.
      Jun 26, 2020
  • Google / Eng
    imparanoid

    Go to company page Google Eng

    imparanoid
    I don't believe in Pichai as a good leader. Google deserves a better leader.
    Jun 20, 2020 5
  • Google went down since pichai became CEO
    Jun 20, 2020 7
    • Facebook
      rust-rs

      Go to company page Facebook

      PRE
      Google
      rust-rs
      You lose a lot when you lose the founder-CEO(s). Think Steve Jobs vs Tim Cook. Great business man, not great visionary. First iPad was released about a year before Steve Jobs died.

      Sundar is great at running a company. He doesn’t go sit with a bunch of engineers and inspire some out-of-the-box concept, which even L&S we’re doing at other Alphabet bets until they recently ceded it all to Sundar.
      Jun 25, 2020
    • Facebook
      vnakldlfmn

      Go to company page Facebook

      vnakldlfmn
      Pichai is the worst ceo among all those mega high tech companies.
      Jun 26, 2020