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Googled: The End of the World as We Know It
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| Part No: | 1441820973 |
| Manufacturer: | Brilliance Audio on CD Unabridged |
| MFG Part: | |
| Customer Rating: | 4.0 / 5.0 |
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In Googled, esteemed media writer and critic Ken Auletta uses the story of Googleâs rise to explore the inner workings of the company and the future of the media at large. Although Google has often been secretive, this book is based on the most extensive cooperation ever granted a journalist, including access to closed-door meetings and interviews with founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin, CEO Eric Schmidt, and some 150 present and former employees.
Inside the Google campus, Auletta finds a culture driven by brilliant engineers in which even the most basic ways of doing things are questioned. His reporting shines light on how Google has been so hugely successfulâand why it could slip. On one hand, Auletta reveals how the company has innovated, from Gmail, Google Maps, and Google Earth to YouTube, search, and other seminal programs. On the other, he charts its conflicts: the tension between massive growth and its mandate of âDonât be evilâ; the limitations of a belief that mathematical algorithms always provide correct answers; and the collisions of Google engineers who want more data with citizens worried about privacy.
More than a comprehensive study of mediaâs most powerful digital company, Googled is also a lesson in new media truths. Pairing Aulettaâs unmatched analysis with vivid details and rich anecdotes, it shows how the Google wave grew, how it threatens to drown media institutions once considered impregnableâand where it is now taking us all.
| Getting Personal with Google | 2010-08-26 | 4 / 5 |
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| I've read a few books about google. This one does a great job of bringing the reader up front, close and personal with the people who founded it and run it. That gives us an understanding and perspective on how and why they look at things the way they do. |
| Fascinating But Somewhat Tedious | 2010-08-20 | 3 / 5 |
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| I read this book because the story of Google fascinates and inspires me in many ways. I feel I learned a lot about what drives the company and what perils may lie ahead. However, the book is as much about media in the digital age as Google itself. Though it always brings it full circle to include how Google fits into the bigger picture, I felt some of the chapters were a little too involved in media and not enough in the actual story of Google. Overall, it was a decent book but it did take me a while to read it. |
| Meticulous research and reporting about Google | 2010-08-05 | 4 / 5 |
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Ken Auletta had very open access to key Google players, e.g. Larry Page, Sergey Brin, Eric Schmidt and 150 current and past employees. Even though the book reads more like a corporate report than a story, I still found it interesting. Perhaps if I had known more about Google, like some of the other reviewers, I would not have found it as interesting.
The key points in this book that made me think:
**are Larry Page and Sergey Brin truly naïve or do they really have a hidden agenda to take over the world for their own purposes? Ken Auletta does a good job at presenting both sides to this argument.
**Google continues to be a game changer through their relentless focus on the user. Sure, they've had some missteps like not having a delete function in Gmail, but they're quick learners. Who would have thought a company whose home page is simple white screen with a small search box could grow to have $7 billion in revenues?
**think big. I'm still amazed at Google's plan to scan every book ever published.
The last part of the book was the weakest part since Ken writes more in generalities and doesn't give much insight. I would have liked more analysis about the future of paid content.
I thought this was a good, solid, fact-filled book. To get a true sense of any company, including Google, it's important to read multiple books by different authors. This will give you different perspectives.
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| Why gouge kindle owners? | 2010-06-18 | 1 / 5 |
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| I'm really upset to see that this book, which I got on to buy, is $11 in paper and $14 for the kindle version. Sorry, I refuse to pay more for a kindle version than the publisher charges for print. Won't buy it after all. |
| Calculating naiveté | 2010-06-05 | 5 / 5 |
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Today Google is too big to be characterized by a single person (or a pair), but without a doubt, much of the culture and idiosyncrasies of Google - for which it is now famous (free food, interview structure, 20% time, etc.) - have their roots in the background of the founders (Larry and Sergei). Auletta's "Googled" offers one of the best views at the actual personalities of the founders and their CEO: how they work together, their ways of thinking, and their perspective on the world. The first half of the book is focused on the early history and provides a lot of great insights into how Google operates.
In the latter half of the book, the author tries to explain Google's perspective and impact on a number of markets: books, newspapers, mobile, and advertising. Depending on which side of the market you're on, you'll see Google either as savior or destroyer, and naïve or well-calculating - the truth, as usual, is probably somewhere in between.
Great read. |
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