By using this site, you agree to the Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.
Accept
SmartData Collective
  • Analytics
    AnalyticsShow More
    data analytics in sports industry
    Here’s How Data Analytics In Sports Is Changing The Game
    6 Min Read
    data analytics on nursing career
    Advances in Data Analytics Are Rapidly Transforming Nursing
    8 Min Read
    data analytics reveals the benefits of MBA
    Data Analytics Technology Proves Benefits of an MBA
    9 Min Read
    data-driven image seo
    Data Analytics Helps Marketers Substantially Boost Image SEO
    8 Min Read
    construction analytics
    5 Benefits of Analytics to Manage Commercial Construction
    5 Min Read
  • Big Data
  • BI
  • Exclusive
  • IT
  • Marketing
  • Software
Search
© 2008-23 SmartData Collective. All Rights Reserved.
Reading: Book Review: Googled by Ken Auletta
Share
Notification Show More
Latest News
data analytics in sports industry
Here’s How Data Analytics In Sports Is Changing The Game
Big Data
data analytics on nursing career
Advances in Data Analytics Are Rapidly Transforming Nursing
Analytics
data analytics reveals the benefits of MBA
Data Analytics Technology Proves Benefits of an MBA
Analytics
anti-spoofing tips
Anti-Spoofing is Crucial for Data-Driven Businesses
Security
ai in software development
3 AI-Based Strategies to Develop Software in Uncertain Times
Software
Aa
SmartData Collective
Aa
Search
  • About
  • Help
  • Privacy
Follow US
© 2008-23 SmartData Collective. All Rights Reserved.
SmartData Collective > Uncategorized > Book Review: Googled by Ken Auletta
Uncategorized

Book Review: Googled by Ken Auletta

PhilSimon
Last updated: 2009/12/29 at 4:10 AM
PhilSimon
5 Min Read
SHARE

Midway through Ken Auletta’s Googled: The End of the World As We Know It, I found myself fascinated reading about a meeting at the eponymous company. Now, I’m not big on participating in meetings, much less reading about them. But this meeting was different.

Contents
Fundamental Questions about Where We are HeadedFundamental Questions about Where We are HeadedSimon Says

Company co-founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin were becoming increasingly frustrated with the tenor of a meeting with engineering VP Sridhar Ramaswamy about the latter’s proposed recommendations to improve AdWords. Google’s first incarnation of AdWords (version 1.0, launched in 2002) provided enormous revenue but many parts of the program had remained clunky–by Google’s lofty standards at least. Auletta writes:

“I named this 3.0 for a reason,” Page interjected. “We wanted something big. Instead, you (Ramaswamy) proposed something small. Why are you so resistant?”

Ultimately, Page and Brin push Ramaswamy and his team to overcome their hesitations to radically upgrading AdWords, forcing them to be as bold as possible.You see, at Google, marginal improvements are not acceptable. In a phrase, that sums up Google–the company and the culture.

More Read

google ai technology

Understanding Google’s AI SERP Algorithms is Key to Successful SEO Strategies

10 Tips on Getting More Out of Google Analytics
Google Uses Machine Learning To Combat Low Quality Link Spam
BigQuery Service: Next Big Thing Unveiled By Google on Big Data
5 Key Takeaways for Businesses from Google I/O 2015

Fundamental Questions about Where We are Headed

Is there overlap here with …



Midway through Ken Auletta’s Googled: The End of the World As We Know It, I found myself fascinated reading about a meeting at the eponymous company. Now, I’m not big on participating in meetings, much less reading about them. But this meeting was different.

Company co-founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin were becoming increasingly frustrated with the tenor of a meeting with engineering VP Sridhar Ramaswamy about the latter’s proposed recommendations to improve AdWords. Google’s first incarnation of AdWords (version 1.0, launched in 2002) provided enormous revenue but many parts of the program had remained clunky–by Google’s lofty standards at least. Auletta writes:

“I named this 3.0 for a reason,” Page interjected. “We wanted something big. Instead, you (Ramaswamy) proposed something small. Why are you so resistant?”

Ultimately, Page and Brin push Ramaswamy and his team to overcome their hesitations to radically upgrading AdWords, forcing them to be as bold as possible.You see, at Google, marginal improvements are not acceptable. In a phrase, that sums up Google–the company and the culture.

Fundamental Questions about Where We are Headed

Is there overlap here with other books, such as Planet Google? Of course. How can there not be? However, if there’s one thing that distinguishes the two books, it’s that Auletta is not merely content to tell the obligatory tale about how two grad students at Stanford met and ultimately redefined search. No, Auletta’s excellent book is as much about the company as it as about content in the Internet age and the fundamental questions that Google is making us ask, such as:

  • Are Google’s efforts to digitize books, television, and music ultimately good for society?
  • What is Google’s role in the decline of newspapers and “proper” journalism?
  • Should Google buy The New York Times?
  • By making so many things essentially free, is Google disintermediating too much?
  • Is Google naive? Or has Google become the new “evil empire”, despite its corporate credo to never be evil?
  • Can “old media” compete with Google properties such as YouTube and Google News?

Auletta’s eleven week-long trips to Google and access to key current and former employees pays enormous dividends. Even elusive insiders such as Bill “The Coach” Campbell chime in with their thoughts about very sensitive internal matters.

Simon Says

Ultimately, Googled is not just about Google. Consider the book’s apropos subtitle. It’s a profound book about an amazing company but also about its enormous implications for the present and future. In this sense, Googled is redolent of Chris Anderson’s two books–Free and The Long Tail.

If you’re merely looking for a short, simple story of how Google became so big, then you might want to pass on Googled. If you’re up for a book that challenges core assumptions held by so many and asks troubling questions about all things digital, then dive in. You won’t be disappointed. I promise.

If you enjoyed this post, feel free to subscribe to my RSS feed.

Related posts:

  1. Book Review: Planet Google by Randall Stross
  2. Book Review: Free by Chris Anderson
  3. Book Review: Eating the Dinosaur

TAGGED: chris anderson, google
PhilSimon December 29, 2009
Share this Article
Facebook Twitter Pinterest LinkedIn
Share
By PhilSimon
Phil Simon is a recognized technology authority. He is the award-winning author of eight management books, most recentlyAnalytics: The Agile Way. He <consults organizations on matters related to communications, strategy, data, and technology. His contributions have been featured on The Harvard Business Review, CNN, The New York Times, Fox News, and many other sites. In the fall of 2016, he joined the faculty at Arizona State University’s W. P. Carey School of Business.

Follow us on Facebook

Latest News

data analytics in sports industry
Here’s How Data Analytics In Sports Is Changing The Game
Big Data
data analytics on nursing career
Advances in Data Analytics Are Rapidly Transforming Nursing
Analytics
data analytics reveals the benefits of MBA
Data Analytics Technology Proves Benefits of an MBA
Analytics
anti-spoofing tips
Anti-Spoofing is Crucial for Data-Driven Businesses
Security

Stay Connected

1.2k Followers Like
33.7k Followers Follow
222 Followers Pin

You Might also Like

google ai technology
Exclusive

Understanding Google’s AI SERP Algorithms is Key to Successful SEO Strategies

9 Min Read
google analytics guideline
Analytics

10 Tips on Getting More Out of Google Analytics

6 Min Read
combat low quality link spam
Big DataExclusiveMachine Learning

Google Uses Machine Learning To Combat Low Quality Link Spam

6 Min Read
bigquery
Big DataCloud ComputingData Management

BigQuery Service: Next Big Thing Unveiled By Google on Big Data

6 Min Read

SmartData Collective is one of the largest & trusted community covering technical content about Big Data, BI, Cloud, Analytics, Artificial Intelligence, IoT & more.

AI chatbots
AI Chatbots Can Help Retailers Convert Live Broadcast Viewers into Sales!
Chatbots
ai in ecommerce
Artificial Intelligence for eCommerce: A Closer Look
Artificial Intelligence

Quick Link

  • About
  • Contact
  • Privacy
Follow US

© 2008-23 SmartData Collective. All Rights Reserved.

Removed from reading list

Undo
Go to mobile version
Welcome Back!

Sign in to your account

Lost your password?