In The Plex: How Google Thinks, Works, And Shapes Our Lives (2011) - Plot & Excerpts
A fascinating study of the founding and first decade of Google, Levy's book might err on the side of fandom at times. For the most part, the view given of the mega-company is positive. Still, a fair amount of coverage relates to the negative press that has hampered Google in the past five years. The most interesting parts of the book are toward the beginning, when Levy showcases the creative brilliance and determination of the founders and earliest employees. This is one of the most fascinating books about technology companies. Hands down. Or maybe the one so far. I have aalways admired google. As a user I love the product. And I cannot imagine a day without me using google. But the book reveals why it is such a great company. Innovation is truly ingrained in the DNA of the company. A brilliant idea is not enough for its success. The founders have a grand vision, and they attract brilliant engineers who were drawn to their vision . The innovation has never stopped at the initial brilliant idea. It is the relentless continuous improvement made by hundreds of brainy engineers makes it a search engine that is truly great and unparalleled. Why Microsoft with all its might of money and thousands of engineers cannot keep up? Because once google took the first leap of innovation, it has never stopped and it kept its speed. The other impressive trait of google is its user centric approach. They have perfected the practice of constant feedback by using its search log. Google has tried to maintain its startup culture when it becomes a giant employing thousands and now tens of thousands of employees. Their structure is flat. They tried to have over 100 engineers all reporting to the same director. Some times it felt disorganised. Each team does not know what others are doing. But somehow it worked. And worked well than all the conventional companies. The author told an amazing story about this extraordinary company. Everyone has its limits. Like Microsoft missed the Internet, google missed social media even though the exact ideas and brains were in the company. The challenge for google is whether it can truly maintain its company motto and don't be an evil.
What do You think about In The Plex: How Google Thinks, Works, And Shapes Our Lives (2011)?
Great book. Learn all about Google early history and decisions.
—jaceycrims
