Google’s Hiring Practices: Additional Thoughts
May 24, 2011
Teambox blog praises Google for its top-notch search and apps but takes a shot at their hiring processes in “Why Google’s Hiring Process is Broken.” The gist of the article nails one of the often overlooked behaviors that ultimately make or break a company. Who is hired ranks next to executive compensation policies as the secret ingredients in a successful or unsuccessful recipe.
The write up suggests that Google has missed the forest for the trees as their recruiters repeatedly appear to be seeking mathematicians/engineers instead of designers who are in touch with the pulse of consumers. Citing difficulty with their Google Buzz, Google Wave, Gmail/Google Apps to name a few, we learned:
…those failures are not about users complaining about an algorithm being bad, or a system being slow. They are about products being poorly designed or poorly marketed. They are about hurting usability so badly that users move away from them.
The author feels Google needs to evolve or lose consumers, saying that it is the designers that offer the “unique point of view and understanding of the problem” to be solved. But hey… we’re thinking, if you hire engineers, engineers do what engineers do. They engineer. What’s wrong with that? Google is obviously doing something very right and we’re confident they’ll figure it out…maybe even mathematically.
Stephen E Arnold, May 24, 2011
Freebie just like those Google tsotchkes at trade shows
AOL: Polishing a Older Online Service
May 24, 2011
The America Online brand polishing continues. That’s no easy job, even for the “real” public relations professionals. PR is a stellar occupation. The Facebook initiative demonstrates how reliable certain “real” PR can be.
I enjoyed “AOL’s Chief Upbeat on Rebooting the Brand.” At a time when Apple is the top brand and Google a lesser top brand, maybe AOL sees an opportunity to climb up the brand rankings. Brand rankings, like the inclusions in those college league tables, are entertaining but often disconnected from reality.
The passage I found memorable was:
Q: …you mention a Web site AOL owns like tech blog Engadget, some people say, “Oh, they own that?”
A: Right. I think a lot of it was just that old perception. If people used our services, they usually had a lot of complaints about them. But about six months ago, something started to change. The difference between the last six months and probably two years ago is when people stop me now, they say: “Oh, I’m addicted to the front page of AOL. I love it. I love the new way the e-mail’s been designed.” Forget about the financial industry and forget about our stock and all that other stuff. Our number-one lead indicator of this company being successful is the people who touch our products and services actually physically seeing the level we care about internally translated externally. I think that’s starting to happen, and that’s eventually what is going to change the AOL brand.
To check the addictive aspect of AOL.com’s front page, I visited it for the first time in quite a while, maybe five or six years. Here’s what I saw:
There must be something wrong with my chemistry. Not only was I not tempted to click, I was puzzled by the skull and cross bones and the “You’ve Got: Checklist All Women Must Know.”
My hunch is that Ms. Huffington will end up running the show. Googlers with soft degrees and a few years in the land of controlled chaos are not the stuff of “reboots”. Top line revenue growth, an increase in stakeholder value, and traffic are the components of a successful reboot. PR not so much. The search experience was enhanced by Lady Gaga, which looked like Lady Gaga results on the new, consumerized Google. Maybe Google should buy AOL so there is a reunion of Googlers and a more seamless integration of that old time instant messenger magic?
Stephen E Arnold, May 24, 2011
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Managing Chaos: No Problem Allegedly
May 23, 2011
Quote to note: I read “Intel CEO on Android Chaos, Apple Order.” In the midst of corporate chatter, a heck of a quote surfaced; namely,
“I think there is some growing pains that Android is going through…How do you create order out of chaos?”
Stumps me.
Stephen E Arnold, May 23, 2011
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An Essential Guide for Information Professionals
May 20, 2011
Infonista has posted a review a wonderful book entitled The Information and Knowledge Professional’s Career Handbook. Full disclosure: Ulla de Stricker is a friend of ours, and we just love her and her co-author, Jill Hurst-Wahl.
Though we admit to a little bias, we’re sure we’d be recommending this book in any case. The Infonista review summarizes what you have to look forward to:
“In fifteen chapters, the authors provide detailed, practical career advice that comes across as a cross between coaching, mentoring, and okay, (in the nicest possible way), a bit of nagging. But it’s clear that their goal is to help readers avoid career potholes if possible. . . .
“Reading The Information and Knowledge Professional’s Handbook is like hanging out with two really smart, experienced, and wise mentors who aren’t going to sugarcoat any of their advice – because they know you really need the real deal. The information they provide is practical, actionable, and from this professional’s experience, spot on.”
This praise is no surprise to us, of course. We knew these ladies are at the top of their field.
Do yourself a favor and pick up a copy right away.
Cynthia Murrell May 20, 2011
Protected: Do You Need Requirements for SharePoint Projects?
May 19, 2011
A New Mr. Microsoft Platform Ecosystem in France
May 14, 2011
ITespresso announces “Microsoft France Has Found Its New ‘Mr. Platform Ecosystem’ at Sinequa.”
The former President & CEO of business search provider Sinequa, Jean Ferré, will be leading a team of 50 in his new position at Microsoft France. They will focus largely on building relationships with start-up companies. The article elaborates on the placement:
Aged 42, Jean Ferré finds himself in a strategic position in the organization of Microsoft France: platforms (software like Office and for Web 365, cloud with Windows Azure, Windows Phone), market places applications and tools development (Visual Studio …). And he joined the steering committee.
We wish M. Ferré the best of luck in his new position. Prior to joining MSFT, Mr. Ferré was the top dog at Sinequa, an enterprise search and solutions vendor. As for Sinequa, word is that Alexandre Bilger, formerly that company’s Managing Director, will be taking the reins. Good luck to him, too.
Stephen E Arnold, May 13, 2011
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Recommind Inserts Itself into Email Management
May 12, 2011
“IntApp and Recomind: A Quick & Easy Path to Industry Leading Email Management,” proclaims American Banking & Market News.
IntApp, provider of application integration software for law firms, has partnered with eDiscovery maven Recommind to develop law-specific email management templates:
“Working hand-in-hand with firms, Recommind and IntApp have developed pre-built templates to integrate [Recommind’s] Decisiv Email Management into an existing portfolio of systems and processes. The same level of automation that end users enjoy within Decisiv Email Management is also experienced by IT organizations through Integration Builder. With the help of Integration Builder rule templates, Decisiv Email Management can be quickly and seamlessly integrated into existing processes such as new business intake, user provisioning, and confidentiality management.”
Compared to custom software, such templates allow clients to implement solutions quickly and with less expense. They also provide integration between diverse management programs which may not play well together unsupervised.
Recommind, like other search vendors, is probing different markets from eDiscovery to enterprise search to email management. We think they are wise to distribute their eggs between multiple baskets.
Cynthia Murrell May 12, 2011
Patch: A Hobby Horse or a Derby Contender?
May 8, 2011
I found “Tim Armstrong’s Rambling Explanation Of What He’s Getting For Plowing $40 Million Into Patch” darned interesting. The magnetic pull of going local continues to exert a pull over former Googler Tim Armstrong. The write up features a long segment transcribed from an analyst’ phone call. I have read a few of these transcripts, and there are typographical errors. My hunch is that over time the revisionists will explain the comments. In that spirit, I want to highlight one segment and offer a couple of observations from the perspective of search and retrieval:
And job one is getting consumer traffic going. Job two is on the advertising front. And Patch is basically being monetized right now almost 100% by local zip code level advertisers or people.
The only hitch in the git along is that I don’t run across Patch in Harrod’s Creek. The local ad market is tough to reach, lacking in know how and resources, and generally interested in paper coupons to putting big mobile signs in front of the fish joint on the creek’s side. Local news, well. There’s not much. My hunch is that other services are serving the needs of the technically hip. Others in Harrod’s Creek are oblivious.
Searching for local information is tough, and I don’t see AOL becoming the go to way to find a pizza joint or a fried catfish sandwich.
Patch. Puzzling. More like a hobby horse than a derby contender. Just my opinion.
Stephen E Arnold, May 8, 2011
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Investors Shun Google CEO
May 8, 2011
E-Commerce Times has reported in it’s article “Google Investors’ Motto: Don’t Be Youthful” that investors are essentially dropping Google stock that was down and continues to fluctuate after Google’s recent earnings report. E-Commerce Times thinks one reason may be that some investors see Larry Page, Google co-founder and newly appointed CEO, as too inexperienced to run the sprawling company.
That type of chatter may make work a more challenging for Larry Page. Imagine that you helped to build a company from the ground up and then your investors didn’t think you were mature enough to run it. Let’s be fair, it’s not as if Mr. Page were a teenager that makes rash business decisions, he’s a 38 year old grown man perfectly capable of running a company.
The “Don’t be youthful” idea seems to suggest that Mr. Page is perceived as focusing on pet projects as well as Google’s main goal of increasing shareholder value. Google is a successful company. However, if investors see Google shares at a peak, Google could face stakeholder push back.
The article said:
Google is an exemplar of innovation in some areas, but in others it loses site of the proper process innovation requires, said Mark Faust, author of the book Growth or Bust! and head of Echelon Management International, pointing to the much-hyped driverless car concept. There is no doubt the founders are creative and technically savvy, he told the E-Commerce Times — it is just that some feel they lucked into successful business models that weren’t initially their strategic choice.
Google faces a number of Beat the Clock trials. The specter of Facebook capturing a larger percentage of the online display advertising business looms. The problems with various legal matters are annoying at best and at worst can lead to reversals that make headlines. Finally, the effort to improve the relevance of search results continues to roil the search engine optimization sector.
Maybe E-Commerce Times is wrong headed? On the other hand, maybe not.
Cynthia Murrell, May 8, 2011
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Google and Cost Control: Work for Its Accountants Ahead
May 3, 2011
In the midst of the Twitter-changes-news information flood, I wanted to document an item I found important and directly related to search. The article that caught my attention was “Google Australia Claims 2010 Financial Loss.” The title is a good one, conveying the key factoid. The numbers reported by ItWire were interesting in themselves:
- Revenue of $151 million Kangaroo bucks
- Loss of $3 million KB
- Tax payments of $7 million KB.
Accountants can turn water into wine and lead into gold. But the point that hit me was:
Google’s biggest local cost was its 434 employees – which soaked up some $111.6 million in the period, meaning their average salary was a whopping $257,000. However, the company also spent a great deal on advertising and promotional expenses — $10.53 million in 2010. Other major expenses included travel and entertainment – which was $7.13 million. he company’s basic profit and loss statement only listed tax costs of $1.1 million, although the company was actually slated to pay some $7.4 million in taxes in 2010. However it balanced that figure out with deferred tax payments and adjustments. At the end of the year, Google Australia was holding some $21.3 million in cash and cash, as well as $34.2 million of what it said were ‘trade and other receivables’. It had some $16.1 million worth of property, plant and equipment.
Yep, costs. Employee costs are hefty, but the Google is spending for advertising and promotion. Isn’t Google one of the world’s most recognized brands? Isn’t Google the owner of the most potent online advertising system in the world?
So, the key to the future of Google is not just good accounting. Good old fashioned cost controls are going to be the key to the company’s success in Australia and elsewhere. Outfits like Facebook want to slam on the Google advertising revenue brakes if possible. If ad revenue softens, costs loom even larger than they do at this time. Even accountants run out of angles when the revenue flags.
Stephen E Arnold, May 3, 2011
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