David A. Vise

This was a nonfiction book which I picked up because it was on sale for AU$5. I picked it up in passing and had paid for it before I actually really got a chance to think about why I need yet another book... I'm sure you all know how it goes. But anyway, I'm glad I bought it. I'm not a big nonfiction reader, but I am a huge fan of the Internet, and was one of Gmail's early adopters. This was enough to keep me interested throughout the book.

The book recounts the life of Google, a small show more upstart company ran by two eclectic and sometimes arrogant twenty-somethings who dared to demand that rules be changed for them. I especially liked reading about the creation of Google's famed laissez-faire company culture. Googlers (or Google employees) are apparently treated like they're VIPs at a hotel rather than mere lackeys:

"They were fed like family as well, with free meals, healthy juices, and snacks in abundance. Googlers also enjoyed a bevy of conveniences like on-site laundry, hair styling, dental and medical care, a car wash--and later, day care, fitness facilities with personal trainers, and a professional masseuse--which virtually eliminated the need to leave the office. Beach volleyball, foosball, roller hockey, scooter races, palm trees, bean bag chairs, even dogs-- it was all part of making work fun and fostering a creative, playful environment where Google's employees, most of them young and single, would want to spend their working hours. Google would even go on to charter buses with wireless Internet access so that Googlers who commuted the hour from San Francisco could be productive, putting their energy into their laptops instead of worrying about how they would get to work."

More than learning about Google's services, what I was really intrigued by was its philosophy. The company's motto is "Do not be evil", and reflects the eccentric nature of how the company is run and how it makes money. Google never spent money on advertising; its owners believed that creating a superior product would allow Google's name to be passed around by word of mouth. And they were right.

I thought this book was a fascinating read, and just quirky and funny enough for a layperson (i.e. not a technocrat) to be encouraged to read to the end. show less

This otherwise remarkable short history of Google gets some points deducted for its hubris-laced introduction, which starts off with this opening line:

"Not since Gutenberg invented the modern printing press more than 500 years ago, making books and scientific tomes affordable and widely available to the masses, has any new invention empowered individuals, and transformed access to information, as profoundly as Google."

I almost put the book down right there. I love and use Google almost show more daily, but seriously? The company was only seven years old at the time this book was published. The arrogance of this statement taints the origin story of one of the global economy's leading companies.

If you can stomach or ignore the introduction, The Google Story is a fine read. show less

Vi este libro en un aeropuerto y la portada me atrajo enseguida. Soy una víctima del márketing. ¿Qué tendrá Google para ser tan atractivo? La historia comienza cuando Sergei Brin y Larry Page eran estudiantes de doctorado en informática (Computer Science) en Stanford, y termina en junio de 2006, cuando se consolida la implantación en China, Bill Gates se retira de Microsoft y Google es ya una máquina de fabricar millones, en expansión acelerada. La edición original es de 2005, y el show more autor tuvo que sacar una edición revisada en 2006. Ahora, con la compra de Youtube, seguro que se pone a hacer uina edición revisada para 2007
El libro está interesante de leer. Yo no sé si esas cosas ocurren en España, pero cuando Larry y Sergei tenían sólo una buena idea, allá por 1998, se fueron a un par de gestores de fondos de inversión y sacaron nada menos que un préstamo de 25 millones de dólares. Previamente habían obtenido de otros gestores y fuentes un préstamo de 100.000 y otro de un millón. ¿Esas cosas pasan aquí? Reconozco mi ignorancia.
El libro se lee fácilmente. Está escrito en estilo periodístico, rápido y conciso. Si hay algún fallo obvio, es es peloteo constante que hace el autor de todos los protagonistas de la historia. De muestra un botón: el primer inversor que tuvo Google fue Andy Bechtolstein [AB], gestor de fondos de inversión, quien les dio sus primeros 100.000 dólares para que comprasen un montón de ordenadores con los que empezar a desarrollar el potencial de Google. La descripción que hace el autor de AB reza así:

Bechtolstein detuvo su Porsche plateado en la entrada de la casa de Cheriton, saltó del mismo y se dirigió hacia el porche de la entrada, donde le esperaban los tres [Page, Brin y Winograd, un profesor de Stanford]. Como muchos empresarios millonarios de Silicon Valley, Bechtolstein trabajaba mucho, aunque no necesitase el dinero, pues le apasionaba el poder de la tecnología y le encantaba hallar nuevas formas de resolver problemas.

Venga ya. Eso es peloteo innecesario. El autor parece (a veces, demasiadas veces) que está intentando que le contraten para el departamento de Relaciones Públicas de Google. El libro es una hagiografía casi de principio a fin. Y no es que esté mal, pero a veces tiene uno la impresión de que el autor suda miel tras hablar de Google. Incluso hay un apéndice con consejos para usar mejor Google. Uno de los consejos no lo conocía. Si buscas “~car” en Google, no sólo te aparecen todas las páginas con la palabra “car”, sino también aquellas que contengan “automobile”, “vehicle” y otros sinónimos. En español no sé si funciona; con las palabras que he probado parece que no.
Por lo demás, la historia es interesante. Pasa por momentos escabrosos, como cuando se desató el revuelo por la publicidad que leía de forma automatizada los correos de Gmail para plantar anuncios relacionados, o cuando Google claudicó y aceptó la censura para poder implantarse en China.
Me he dado cuenta de lo mucho que la prensa sigue a Google, pues el 90% de los hechos que relata ya me los sabía, de haberlos leído en el periódico. Hay detalles divertidos y geeks, como el valor de las acciones con las que Google salió a bolsa, que era 2.718.281.828 dólares (o sea, el número e multiplicado por mil millones), o la primera ampliación de acciones que hizo, en la que sacó al mercado 14.159.265 acciones (los primeros decimales de pi).
Es un libro para pasar un rato entretenido y poco más. Pero está bien. Mi nota: Interesante. show less

There is an old saying that probably should be updated. "Build a better mouse trap and the world will beat a path to your door...right after it Google's you to find how to get there." The Google Story:Inside the Hottest Business, Media, and Technology Success of Our Time was as captivating as the story of Google. Arguably, a member of the second wave of technology that took the freedoms discovered in the personal computing revolution, Google helped us understand the power of the information show more super-highway, and showed us how to use it.

Founded in 1998, Google was born into a market already rich in search engines - Excite, Lycos, Alta Vista, YAHOO! and AOL. "Internet portal" was the catch phrase de jour, and learning how to use the day's latest advancement, as well as how to create profit from it were daily inventions. Google had a secret sauce - page rank, that not only showed the results of a search, but also which hits were most likely to be relevant.

It was very strange reading about a time and place I was a part of, even if on the outskirts, and combining my memories with the historical feel of the book that often allowed me to see Google's story the I would any other ancient story that took place before my birth.

Nearly unimaginable in scope and pace, the exponential growth of knowledge makes yesterday seem like a century ago, and last year an eon in the past. I enjoyed the story, and it will be interesting to see what tomorrow's volume will bring. show less