Early Google Hire Tells All

Adweek: You left Google after its IPO in 2005. Why publish your book [I’m Feeling Lucky: Confessions of Google Employee Number 59] now? I kind of went back and forth on it. But after a couple of years, I just kept bumping into Google everywhere. I kept seeing the logo, I kept using it, I kept finding it mentioned in movies. And I had all of this background information in my head about how Google came to be and I just felt like I would never get it out my head until I actually put it on paper. It was somewhat therapeutic. An exorcism perhaps. You came to Google as an English major among engineers. You left as the “voice” of the company. How did it change you? Google really put an emphasis on not just solving the problem that was immediately in front of you but solving something that was larger and a step beyond. It also made me a lot more impatient with the world. The emphasis on speed and productivity and solving problems makes you realize just how many things could be better if people just put a little bit more effort into them in our daily lives. What do you consider to be your biggest contribution to Google? I think overall my role in giving Google more of a human voice and making it more than just a collection of software and hardware. And I don’t take full credit for that—clearly, Larry and Sergey were the ones whose voice I was channeling. But giving that expression and helping Google communicate with its users in a way that was not intimidating and made it very... Continue reading at 'AdWeek'

[ AdWeek | 2011-07-26 00:00:00 UTC ]
News tagged with: #classic literature

Other news stories related to: "Early Google Hire Tells All"


How Costumes and Conventions Brought Sci-Fi Fans Together in the Early 20th Century

Science fiction has a deep, rich past—one that sees its roots stretch back to ancient times. Fans and scholars often point to Mary Shelley’s 1818 novel Frankenstein: or, The Modern Prometheus as its most recognizable origin point, followed by the works of authors like Jules Verne, H. G. Wells,... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2022-06-29 08:57:17 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #science fiction #mary shelley


At least no one’s buying all those stupid Trump aide tell-alls.

Remember that exhausting parade of Trump insiders and ex-staffers getting book deals for dishy tell-alls? Turns out no one’s really interested in reading them. Politico went digging around NPD Bookscan (which reflects about 70 percent of sales) to get the receipts: The Chief’s Chief [by former... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2022-06-24 12:44:43 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #bookscan #book deals


Cannes Today—Netflix x Google, Paris Hilton x Gary V, and the branded yacht scene explained

Welcome to Day Two of Ad Age’s Cannes Today newsletter. Reading this online and want it delivered straight to your inbox? Sign up here. Joining us late? Catch up on Day One here.Netflix talks to Google about its ad plans “Netflix’s ad tech business is one of the hottest deals on offer in... Continue reading at Advertising Age

[ Advertising Age | 2022-06-21 20:59:38 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #nielsen #ad industry


Print Sales Fell 5% in Early June

More declines in the nonfiction categories led to a 5.3% drop in unit sales of print books overall in the week ended June 11, compared to the similar week last year. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2022-06-17 04:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #print books #3% drop #early june


Questioning the Borders of Nonfiction to Tell the Story of an Exceptional Life

In 2014, book critic Dwight Garner published a lament in the New York Times for a seemingly forgotten literary masterpiece, the oral history All God’s Dangers. Published in 1974 by then-Harvard doctoral candidate Theodore Rosengarten, the autobiography was narrated by Nate Shaw, an illiterate... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2022-06-06 08:51:52 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #book critic #oral history


Google's new tool will let EU publishers get paid for longer news snippets in search

Google has inked agreements with over 300 news publications in Germany, Hungary, France, Austria, the Netherlands and Ireland that would allow it to publish snippets of their stories on Search. The tech giant has announced the development in a blog post, where it has also launched new tool that... Continue reading at Engadget

[ Engadget | 2022-05-11 10:25:45 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #copyright law #eu law #individual words #full control #provide feedback #tech giant #pay publishers #news publishers


A simple string of "and"s seem to crash Google Docs pages

And. And. And. And. And. For whatever reason that specific string of words seems to be enough to permanently brick a Google Docs page. Noted Google's support pages mere hours ago, the poster who seemingly discovered this unusual bug is quick to point out that the series of five conjunctions,... Continue reading at Engadget

[ Engadget | 2022-05-05 21:36:09 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #google books #posted online #hear back #ll update #ve reached


Before I was a novelist, audiobooks taught me how to tell a story

Lizz Huerta didn't get an MFA, but she did get an education while working on construction sites. Continue reading at The Washington Post

[ The Washington Post | 2022-05-05 10:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this |


In ‘Remarkably Bright Creatures,’ an octopus tells a feel-good story

Shelby Van Pelt's novel joins the menagerie of books told from an animal's perspective. Continue reading at The Washington Post

[ The Washington Post | 2022-05-04 15:20:36 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #feel-good story


An author investigates the disappearance of an early movie luminary

Louis Le Prince, arguably the creator of the first motion picture, disappeared in 1890. What happened? Continue reading at The Washington Post

[ The Washington Post | 2022-04-27 11:00:43 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #motion picture


Google Play Books Expands AI Audiobook Narration

Google Play Books has announced that publishers in six countries can now create, edit, publish, and sell auto-narrated audiobooks on its platform. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2022-04-26 04:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #audiobook


The pandemic showed us that we still need libraries, even with Google

A pandemic might close a library, but it can’t stop librarians. They were still finding new ways to remind us that libraries are about connections and experiences, writes Heidi LM Jacobs. Continue reading at CBC

[ CBC | 2022-04-17 08:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #libraries


HBO Max exec admits to the app’s early flaws

Viewers have long complained about the early HBO Max app’s tendency to crash, and its lack of discoverability features. There have been a number of overhauls and fixes since then. Now we know why. Turns out that HBO Max launched its apps before they were ready in order to keep up with its... Continue reading at Engadget

[ Engadget | 2022-04-14 23:32:58 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #harry potter #biggest change #home page #streaming platforms #apple tv+


There is ‘no one News Corp view’ on election, head of company’s Australian arm tells staff

News Corp Australasia executive chairman issues all-staff memo, with scrutiny on election coverage likely to increaseGet our free news app; get our morning email briefingFollow our Australia news live blog for the latest updatesRupert Murdoch’s Australian lieutenant has told News Corp... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2022-04-13 07:57:04 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #news corp #guardian australia #top stories #michael miller #executive chairman


Lygia Fagundes Telles, Popular Brazilian Novelist, Dies at 98

One of her country’s first writers to address female sexuality from a woman’s perspective, she produced four novels and dozens of short stories that could be read as political allegories. Continue reading at The New York Times

[ The New York Times | 2022-04-04 22:13:26 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #short stories


HBG Diversity Efforts Continue in Hiring and New Partnerships

In its annual update on its diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts, Hachette Book Group reported that BIPOC employees comprised 35.4% of its workforce last year, up from 32.9% in 2020. The company also announced four new partnerships it has signed to support writers and publishing... Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2022-03-24 04:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #underrepresented backgrounds #publishing professionals #support writers #inclusion efforts #annual update


Unit Sales of Print Books Fell 8.3% in Early March

Unit sales of print books fell 8.3% in the week ended Mar. 12, 2022, from the comparable week in 2021, at outlets that report to NPD BookScan. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2022-03-18 04:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #early march


Print Sales Fell 16.2% in Early March

Unit sales of print books dropped 16.2% in the week ended Mar. 5, 2022, from the comparable week last year, at outlets that report to NPD BookScan. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2022-03-11 05:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #early march


Scholar of the Early Republic Wins American History Book Prize

The New-York Historical Society award goes to Alan Taylor, whose “American Republics” emphasizes the fragility of the American experiment from the beginning. Continue reading at The New York Times

[ The New York Times | 2022-02-25 16:00:08 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #history book #alan taylor


Will your games work on the Steam Deck? This official tool tells you

Valve’s portable PC gaming machine, the Steam Deck, is gaining a lot of attention as its official release date draws near. But between its Linux-based Steam OS operating system and its power-efficient AMD parts, players could be forgiven for wondering which high-powered games can actually run... Continue reading at PC World

[ PC World | 2022-02-23 17:14:15 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #libraries #steam deck #large library