adamyntium

Category: workplace

  • I’ve joined Google

    A couple of months ago, I became a Googler.  Since my boss—Matt Cutts—has already so kindly introduced me on his blog, I feel this is probably a good time to say a few words about my new job 😀

    The short version:  I’m honored, humbled, a bit nervous, and yes, very happy.  As a lifelong geek who’s been excited about search and Google in particular for many years, it’s hugely fascinating to be experiencing new adventures from the “inside.”

    Okay, now for the longer version!


    What I’m doing at Google

    My main focus is on broadening communications between Google and Webmasters… learning as much as I can from both Matt and the Webmasters he chats with so amiably and then building upon this rapport.  Or, more colloquially, as it’s been joked around the office, my uber-challenging goal is to become a “MiniMatt.”  Though a colleague did note that a MiniMatt sounds like a scary cross between a convenience store and a diminutive vaccum cleaner.  Hmm.

    You’ll find me hanging out at Webmaster conferences and various geek gatherings, occasional replying to Google-related blog or forum posts, tackling some Webmaster-related e-mails, and undoubtedly popping up in other random places.

    I’ll also be a “Webmaster Advocate” inside the Googleplex.  I’ve seen firsthand that tons of folks here already eagerly read and appreciate Google- and search-related comments throughout the Web; I’ll be doing what I can to expedite concerns, bug reports, and other feedback to the right colleagues.

    I’m coming into this job with a lot of knowledge about search, Google, and communications, but I know I have a lot to learn and also much trust to earn.

    What my new job means for my blog

    I’m not sure yet.  For the time being, I’m going to generally maintain a separation between the personal and work spheres of my life.  This means that you’re likely to be disappointed if you subscribe to BLADAM expecting to read lots of juicy Googly tidbits.

    With that said, though, I do admire Robert, Jeremy, and, of course, my boss Matt and recognize that their work-related blogversations have very often educated, engaged, and entertained thousands.  So perhaps I’ll come up with a middle ground here—occasionally sharing my enthusiasm, useful Google tips, amusing Google observations, and so on—while avoiding topics likely to make my colleagues annoyed or uncomfortable.

    “So I have a question about my site…”

    Please, not here.  I’m enjoying tackling general and specific Webmaster issues every day at work… and my teammates and I are really, truly committed to opening up new channels of communication (like our Sitemaps tools and active Sitemaps GoogleGroup, for instance, plus MUCH more to come!).  But everyone needs a break from work now and then, so please respect my personal space here on the Web.  Thanks!

    With that said, I know that Matt got some outstanding feedback on Google Communications, and so I’d be nuts if I didn’t also invite you to share your Google Communication ideas below.  I’d also love to hear from you about your favorite bloggers who masterfully juggle work and non-work topics on their blogs; I could use some more role models in case I decide to go that route eventually :-D.

    *  *  *

    Anyway… to you faithful BLADAM readers who’ve stuck with me during all my bloggily dry and/or boring spells, thank you.  To you new readers, welcome!  It’s a pleasure to have you here, and—as always—I look forward to your comments.  Now I’m heading offline to go celebrate my birthday weekend! 😀

  • Geeks — the perception still hasn’t quite caught up with reality

    As seen by this Australian TV commercial from Super Geek and this admittedly damn funny Fear of Girls video, we learn that…
    – Geeks are all guys, and not particularly attractive fellas, either
    – Geeks are typically sporting taped-up glasses and completely uncool fashion
    – Women AREN’T geeks (and they’re most often confusing/confused AND helpless)

    While the videos above are funny (I’d be a humorless boob to suggest otherwise), in the back of my mind I do worry about the effects of the still-pervasive stereotypes on display.  Specifically, I’m thinking about junior high and high school girls.  After being immersed in a culture that continually reiterates that attractive girls are NOT geeks, how many of them will want to study math or science or computing?  Would you want to work with guys like the ones in the videos above?

    Companies like Google are certainly making a laudable effort to recruit more women engineers, but I’m wishing that there were more positive and diverse portrayals of geeks in the mass media: (intentionally) funny geeks, sexy geeks, communicative geeks, athletic geeks.

    Living here in the Bay Area, I know various geeks that fit all of the above adjectives.  In Silicon Valley, it’s almost chic to be a geek :-D.  But I’m more concerned about girls (and, for that matter, many boys) growing up in the heartland of the U.S. or in other countries where there aren’t such role models. 

    We need more women engineers not to be politically correct, not so that we guys in the office can have more pleasant “scenery,” not so some HR or government bureaucrat can smugly check off another box on some form, but rather because we actually DO need the diversity of thinking and working styles and, quite frankly, the greatest pool of talented “knowledge workers” possible.

    And okay, I’d like some uber-geeks to be worshipped in popular culture so I could go to Britain or Germany and be as popular as a David Beckham and such 😉

    —-

    Hat tip to Alicja and John Paczkowski for the ad and parody video respectively.

  • The satisfaction of mentoring

    I recently got an e-mail from a former workmate, asking if I’d be willing to join him for a coffee or a meal to give “some career advice […] and honest opinion[s].”

    I’m very flattered and I like doing this sort of thing for many reasons.

    First of all, this particular guy is someone I have a lot of respect for… smart, driven, and clearly sincere. Helping someone like that is fodder for great karma and just a pleasure overall.

    But the “help” isn’t a one-way street. While I’ve unfortunately gotten very little direct mentoring in my work life so far, I’ve learned a great deal from those I’ve mentored… from interns to colleagues in different departments and so on.

    That may seem cliched — the mentor becoming the mentored — but it’s quite true and much appreciated. In particular, when giving career advice, I’m forced to do some deep thinking and soul searching on my own.

    – How did I get to where I am? How much of it was planned vs. serendipitous?
    – What are some of the mistakes I’ve made? How can I recognize the warning signs in the future and avoid future pitfalls?
    – If I could go back in time, what would I tell a Past Adam careerwise?
    – What do I have to be thankful for in my career?

    And, despite an untraditional and often challenging, aw hell, even oft frustrating set of career experiences… I have an enormous amount to be thankful for. Reflecting upon my blessings in this context not only provides me with guidelines and encouragement to give to others… it also serves to consciously remind me of what makes me happy and motivates me in my career.

  • How to evaluate your current job & career… and thoughtfully consider future options

    I’m doing the whole job-hunting thing again… searching for interesting contracts (I luckily am still blessed with several cool ongoing ones!) or a really smashing full-time opportunity. The latter option in particular has gotten me to do some deep soul searching about career / relocation criteria, and I thought I’d share a list I’ve been compiling.

    Your feedback is VERY welcome! Any major missing categories / criteria, or some that should absolutely be split up or combined?

    * * *

    Oh, and I’m such a geek, that I’m thinking about making an Excel sheet out of the criteria list below, along with spots for optionally specifying item weights and having the sheet calculate optimal choices… e.g., you could specify that you especially care about being mentored and getting free food, and the spreadsheet would give more weight to jobs that offered those things.

    Ideally, this list could be used to help one determine if they should stick with their current job or transition to a new one (with the same or a different company)… and also assist people who are unemployed and evaluating new opportunities.

    So without further ado, here is my list (and yes, I realize there are parallelism — or rather, lack of parallelism issues — but this is just a first draft… I’ll smooth over that later 🙂

    1) The industry (e.g., pharmaceutical, digital photography, pro sports)

    • Alignment with your interests and passions
    • Awareness / experience (how strong is your past history in this space?)
    • Future (weak or strong demand for this area in the years to come)
    • Perception of current and future HR folks & hiring managers (how association with this industry looks on your resume)
    • Perception of others (what family, peers think of the industry and your association with it)

    2) Position type (Product Manager, Software Engineer…)

    • Enjoyment (do you like working in this sort of position?)
    • Personality and skills fit (can you cut the mustard?)
    • Perception of current and future HR folks & hiring managers
    • Perception of others

    3) Basics about the company and company site

    • Company reputation, products, and positioning
      • Products and services (is it stuff you feel passionate about or disconnected from?)
      • Perception of current and future HR folks & hiring managers
      • Perception of others
      • Alignment with personal morals (e.g., donates a lot to charity, possibly
        not a cigarette company, etc.)
    • Physical atmosphere
      • Conduciveness to concentration (quiet, not too quiet, etc.)
      • Office surroundings (plants, decorations…)
      • Immediate work space (privacy, ergonomics…)
      • Resources available (modern computers, enough pens, etc.)
    • Overall feel
      • Size (startup vs. BigCo)
      • Morale
      • Socialness (fun atmosphere daily, special parties…)
      • Excitement (cutting edge sector or boring)
      • Pacing (relaxing, stressful)
      • Department / position fluidity (can you easily move amongst departments, job types?)
      • Security (company — and your position — will be around in 5 years)
    • Your department or immediate team
      • Your relative placement (big fish in little pond or the reverse…)
      • Your department’s placement (revered or shunned in company with regards to resources, opinions, etc.)
      • Size
      • Morale
      • Socialness
      • Pacing

    4) People

    • In general
      • Personal attributes (smart, friendly, interesting, helpful, thoughtful…)
      • Work habits (hard working, sane…)
    • Direct contacts
      • Boss (communicative, has reasonable expectations, smart, thoughtful)
      • Subordinates (respect you, do work effectively, enjoyable to work with)
      • Department / team members (respect you, pull their weight, good to work with)
    • Leadership, your position, and autonomy
      • Opportunities to be mentored
      • Opportunities to mentor
      • Hierarchy (flat, deep)
      • Responsibility and autonomy (highly structured task list and oversight vs. high levels of responsibility and autonomy)

    5) Your actual work assignments and available / required tasks

    • Short term / current value (satisfaction, joy derived from them)
    • Future value (good or useless for career)
    • Stimulation (intellectually or emotionally challenging)
    • Corporate relevance (your work measurably contributes to company’s bottom line or company’s visible
      presence)
    • Perception of current and future HR folks / hiring managers
    • Perception of others (what family, peers think of the industry and your association with it)
    • Travel required (little, lots, to cool places, horrible places, stressful, enjoyable, etc.) 

    6) Benefits

    • Compensation package
      • Upon start (signing bonus, moving allowance)
      • Salary and bonuses
      • Stock and stock options
      • Vacation and personal days
    • Other direct benefits
      • Free or discounted access to desired services / products
      • Good health insurance, other types of insurance
      • Education and training (on site / external)
      • Substantive discounts on commuting
    • On-site benefits
      • Cafeteria (pricing, food quality, quantity, nutrition, hours…)
      • Utilitarian offerings (car wash, laundry…)
      • Health-related (dentist, doctor on staff, gym, nutritionist…)
      • Daycare

    * * *

    P.S. — A special thanks to my friend Kelly for providing such a thoughtful sounding board and suggesting many of the items above!

  • Hmm… I wonder if there’s any correlation here?


    […] [Cisco] paid $650,000 to book the rock legend, according to Web logger Robert Scoble. Cisco spokeswoman Abbey Smith would not discuss how much the company spent but said the expense was justified.

    “We wanted to recognize and thank our employees,” she said. “They have not received raises for the last four years.”

    – From a CNET article, detailing companies’ holiday parties this year.

    Though I couldn’t suppress a snicker given the quote above, I can’t say that I necessarily blame the company for choosing to have an extravagant holiday party. I don’t know how many folks Cisco has, but $650K might not have made that much of a life difference as bonuses spread across the employee base.

    Then again, I can certainly think of better ways *I* would rather see $650K spent. Daily snacks, anti-glare monitor shields, subsidized fitness classes or gym memberships, and so on… things that could help and/or at least appeal to a vast swath of employees on a regular basis, rather than just making a few folks smile’n’rock-out on a single night.

  • The RIGHT way to AUTHOR privacy policies

    You’d think that companies would “get it” by now. Most don’t.

    Privacy policies aren’t rocket-science, but they’re absolutely critical to the long-term success of a company. Without earned trust and strong communications, firms have little hope of surviving, and thank goodness!

    So without further ado, here is my free advice to companies wanting to create or update a privacy policy:

    A privacy policy must do all of the following:
    – INFORM: Let visitors know, in accessible language, how the site collects and manages data acquired
    – REASSURE: Offer confident and truthful promises about the safeguarding and respect of this data
    – PERSUADE: Successfully invite visitors to fully utilize the site’s functions, and to provide honest data and feedback without fear
    – PROTECT: Guard the company itself against basic legal or public relations challenges that may arise from improper or incomplete disclosures

    Ideally, every company should offer both a comprehensive privacy policy (though preferably not in ‘legalese’ — whip those lawyers into speaking English, please) and also a concise one paragraph summary of what they will and won’t do with their customers’ data.

    And then — though I shouldn’t have to say this — they need stick by their promises… and they’ll then be rewarded with greater loyalty and fewer lawsuits 🙂

  • Party like it’s 1999

    Last night, I had the pleasure of attending the Google Dance 2003, and experienced wonderous but surreal feelings of deja vu.

    Disclaimer: I have friends who work at Google, and I have interviewed for jobs there in the past.

    —

    Before I describe the Google event, let me fill you in on the weird and wacky events we San Francisco / Silicon Valley peeps were privy to during the heady dot.com days, BC (Before the Crash).

    On any given week, there were at least several parties with open bars, free food, lots of dancing, plus large numbers of ambitious, optimistic, and attractive people.

    Back then, companies justified the expenditure in several ways:

    1) They were gaining branding and awareness.

    2) During the days when talented techies were in huge demand but limited supply, it was cheaper to throw big attractive “look at our company!” bashes than pay recruiters to shop for talent. Recruiter fees for 15 techies: Easily $300,000. A huge party for the techies and their friends and their friends of friends? Probably a mere quarter mil… a $50K discount, and a hell of a lot more fun than hiring head hunters.

    3) The dot.commers needed to release some steam after working extended long hours.

    —

    Fast forward to the Google Dance last night.

    There were open bars, free food, lots of dancing (duh!), and a huge collection of ambitious, optimistic, and attractive people.

    Sound familiar? But unlike the days in which such parties literally overlapped each other, this contemporary Google Dance was a freaky anomaly, and I don’t believe it can be “justified” in the same ways as parties of dot.gone. No, it seemed pretty clear that Google threw a massive party to entertain its own employees and simply offer up some good will for everyone else.

    I suppose this shouldn’t have surprised me. While the rest of the technology sector still seems to be doing more firing than hiring, Google is hiring across nearly all its departments with a vengeance. And Google layoffs or drastic belt-tightening? I haven’t ever heard of any of that, have you?

    Perhaps this is because Google started off admirably and sensibly frugal (now Froogle) from the beginning. No Aeron chairs. No BMWs for newly hired engineers. No $30,000 signing bonuses. Though admittedly they do have a handful of Segway scooters on the premises 😀

    Instead, Google generally offers its employees generous albeit not outrageous benefits, and provides a place where folks are encouraged to innovate in a flexible environment. And the corporate culture is fun without being frivolous, it seems. I just learned that every AdWords staffer, for instance, was recently treated to a local Dave Matthews concert.

    —

    But returning to last night… one of the most noteworthy things that struck me was the sense of joy and exuberance, and not of the irrational sort, either, IMHO. There appeared to be a sort of Joie de vivre amongst the Google staffers that suggests contentment and a sense of security rather than the much less attractive insecure aggressiveness exhibited by more swaggering companies and their employees. The many Googlers I chatted with last night were proud without being arrogant or dismissive; they were friendly, respectful, and clearly happy with their employment.

    With the party that they threw, it’s no wonder.

    In addition to all the stuff I mentioned earlier, the party featured foosball and ping-pong tables, lots of colorful bouncy-balls and lava lamps (Google fixtures), a humungous video screen featuring live feeds from the dance floor as well as live feeds highlighting current Google searches, plus random pulsating graphics. I also got a cool Google t-shirt, the chance to chat one-on-one with a Google engineer about my Web sites, and a $300 AdWords credit!

    I definitely went home with a big smile on my face, and I understand even more than before why Google may currently be the Happiest Place On Earth.

    —

    UPDATE – 8/21/03: Pictures are now available at http://www.google.com/googledance2003/

  • Efficiency through trust

    Jason Kottke recently wrote about an interesting phenomena — A Manhattan donut-cart guy who trusts his customers to make their own change.

    The result? Twice the throughput, perhaps even twice the business, and undoubtedly more money for the Donut Guy.

    While just one tiny example, of course, this nonetheless struck me as interesting from business and societal points of view. And yeah, it’s just plain cool!

  • A truly sick policy

    Sick for more than seven days per year? At the ironically-named Mercy Medical Center in Baltimore, ill employees have a very direct choice: After seven previous absences, come in sick or be fired.

    This policy is so transparently stupid, I’m almost embarrassed to blog about it. But kindly allow me to offer a few thoughts anyway.

    The Mercy Medical Center (“MMC”) sick-days policy will help achieve the following:

    – Mild endangerment of employees’ health, and perhaps fatal results for infection-susceptible patients
    Think about it. How smart is it to basically force coughing, sneezing, infectious people to come to work, especially at a hospital?!

    – Decreased productivity
    Mom was definitely right about one thing: One can lick illnesses like the flu much more quickly by resting rather than working. Beyond this, it’s common knowledge that trying to “push through” an upper-respiratory illness can result in a significant worsening of symptoms and overall health. So by coercing mildly-ill folks to come into work, MMC is trading off initial productivity (assuming sick folks can actually do good work) for longer-term productivity losses.

    – Loss of workplace trust and morale
    This is, of course, unquantifiable, but when your employer you with more suspicion than a truant officer handles a no-good kid, how dedicated will you be torwards your company’s success? Kids who fail to be granted trust and respect from their elders often rebel by cleverly and silently subverting authority. How long before MMC notices pilfered funds, stolen workplace items, and so on? And how many employees would rush to snitch on the wrongdoers?

    – Hampered recruiting
    This one’s simple: Would YOU be excited to apply for a position that heavyhandedly treats its employees with such mistrust? Didn’t think so.

    —

    In comparison, I’ve been fortunate enough to work for much more enlightened companies. At both Ascena and Niehaus Ryan Wong, mildly sick people were often invited to work from home for a day or two; more severely sick people were simply told to just take some days off, and then do their best to catch up when they returned.

    Google has the simplest and most reasonable policy. Sick days are to be taken “as needed.” It’s a sad commentary on our American society when such a common-sense approach is the admirable exception rather than the rule.

    And fairness/compassion issues aside, I’m willing to bet that the aforementioned three companies have enjoyed considerably higher worker productivity than MMC.

    The broader lesson to learn? The best firms treat their employees as adults — with trust, respect, and honesty — and expect the same in return.

  • On selfishness, obsolescence, and jubilant consumers

    Several organizations are throwing up (their arms) in wild fear of their job sectors going the way of the dodo.

    For instance, unless you’ve been living in a cave for the last few months, you probably already know about the new federal program which will block around 80% of telemarketing calls for those who sign up on the free national Do Not Call list.

    The Direct Marketing Association (DMA) is livid. They cry that their revenues will plummet… and — surprise! — they plan to sue the government.

    Of course, the charming DMA has also been dragging its feet on spam-reform, typically complaining that bills which limit spam are violating the rights of businesses and harming first amendment issues. Besides, they argue indirectly, some people may really want, nay, NEED to know about the latest cable descrambler or debt reduction miracle!

    And these spokespeople are still able to sleep at night, or at least write their laughable press releases with a straight face? Perhaps they went to the same PR training school as Hilary Rosen of the RIAA.

    —

    What’s particularly ironic, of course, is that organizations like the DMA and RIAA aren’t just working against consumers (which is obvious), they’re counterproductively styming progress and profits in their own industries.

    Napster wasn’t the first RIAA target, you know. This same organization screamed that CD’s were going to kill off cassette tapes (well, true) and devastate the record industry. Just like the movie industry likened the VCR to the Boston Strangler and filed lawsuits to prevent the destruction of the entertainment world (yeah, right!).

    —

    So here we have the DMA wringing its hands about a program which is going to result in them learning which consumers do not wish to be solicited on the phone. In other words, the DMA is upset that they’re going to be unable to contact non-prospects! Excuse me? Shouldn’t this be a blessing for them? The federal government has created and implemented an infrastructure — at relatively little cost to the DMA — that will enable the DMA member companies to focus their time on those mutants, er, citizens who are so lonely that they WANT to be sold stuff via the telephone.

    Pre-qualified customers. What could be better?!?

    —

    Even if the DMA is right and this law reduces sales in the short term, I have two things to say to that:
    1) Diversity your marketing.
    2) I’m so sorry you’re not going to be able to make money at the expense of interrupting my dinner.

    Sponsor a ballet. Create an affiliate program. Give away freebies. Or — here’s a radical idea — go the route of the original once-scrappy Google and actually create a product or service of such quality and usefulness that no marketing is required. That’s right… think about it. Did you ever see an ad for Google’s search tool? No, you didn’t, because Google grew to 250 million queries PER DAY purely based upon word of mouth. There’s a lesson to be learned here, though I fear the DMA may be too dense to grasp it.

    —

    Of course, other industries are running scared, too. Tax preparers might have to wait tables if we ever got someone in high office bold and savvy enough to REALLY reform and simplify taxes. Gee, I wonder which lobbying organizations have been thwarting true tax reform in Washington?

    Search engine optimization folks (the people who claim to get your site listed higher in the search engines) are increasingly screaming that Google’s populist yet secretive algorithms are harming their bottom lines. Some have (gee, imagine this) filed suit against Google.

    Boo hoo, I say. Would anyone really miss the telemarketers, the tax preparers, the search engine optimization folks? At the end of the day, do they inherently make our world a better or even more useful place?

    And most importantly, isn’t it time that laws and society tilted towards the consumers’ interests and needs instead of the frantic and often misguided demands of selfish career interest groups?