Last week, user “IAmAGoogler” started an AMA on Reddit, a popular social news website. For the uninformed, AMAs are Reddit’s version of question-and-answer sessions, and they generally offer an insightful look into a person of interest’s life and experiences (unless you’re Woody Harrelson’s public relations agent). In this AMA, Redditors were given a first-hand look at the life and workplace of a Googler from the Kirkland, Washington campus.

Mashable provided a sampling of some of IAmAGoogler’s responses to popular questions.

IAmA Google employee. AMAA.

SinSha: What was the application process like? What does Google look for in an employee?

My application process started with an internship, which involved submitting a resume and passing two phone interviews. From the internship I did a “conversion”, which involved several more interviews plus the feedback from my internship.

If you want to know what Google is looking for, I suggest you read Steve Yegge’s blog entry.

Chachbag: Do you solve most of your problems at work by Googling them?

A surprising number. It’s kind of scary.

JayP812: Why do so many of the logo doodles honor little-known artists? Just a trend I noticed.

Who do you think makes the doodles?

danheinz: Do you use google+ or Facebook more often?

G+. I don’t use Facebook any more. The signal/noise ratio got too low for me.

But that’s a personal choice of mine and I can see why others might not make the same one. The stuff I share gets to the people I want to share it with, and that’s what is important to me. shrug

chiisana: Some people, myself included, feels that Google, the company, is making a huge mistake pushing Google Plus into people’s faces right now. And instead of becoming relevant and or remotely near successful, it is actually hurting Google’s public image. What are your thoughts on Google Plus project, and the marketing approach taken by the company?

Would you complain that Google is pushing Google into people’s faces? Don’t think of Google+ as the page at http://plus.google.com. It’s a common social layer for all of Google. Once you realize this, you’ll see why it might feel like it’s being “pushed in your face”. How many Google products do you use that are social in any way (i.e. involve relationships with other people)? I’ve stated above why I think having that common social layer is important/good.

As for the marketing approach, I don’t really have any comment since I don’t really know anything about it

GrinningPariah: As someone who works for Microsoft, “sup”. Always interesting to see how the other side lives. From what I heard, you guys can expect about the same pay, better perks, but to work harder for them. Which brings me to my first question!

Is it considered taboo in Google culture to go home at 5pm, like it is a lot of places in the software industry lately?

Also, do you “drink the kool aide” and get behind Google products even when they are not so well received? As a follow up, how do you feel about G+?

And finally, what do you think of other company’s efforts to step to Google?

I don’t think it’s taboo to go home at 5. I sometimes go home much earlier. My personal policy is that if I realize I am being entirely ineffective (say, I’m overly tired or having a bad day, or just not in the groove), I won’t waste my or Google’s time by sitting and staring at my workstation – I go home. On the days where I’m in the groove and making great progress, I’ll keep working from home in the evenings (because I want to).

I don’t usually personally promote products I’m not actually excited about. I actually really like G+ for what it is. Products have to be social these days, because the internet and the web is about people now, not just documents. So without G+, all Google products would have to either have no social features, or each have separate friend lists. Neither of those is acceptable.

Competition is good. I’m a user too, remember? One of the awesome things about the web is that the hurdles for competition are so low, so everyone keeps everyone else on their toes. Ultimately we wind up with better products.

liucifer: What’s the dress code like?

I don’t think we have one. I think it falls under the other codes, primarily “don’t be a jackass”.

But I’ve seen folks in suits, kilts, pajamas, sweats, etc.

Penroze: How many hours a week do you work?

How many hours a week does the typical Googler work?
Years ago I heard they even put software problems on the bathroom stalls. Is this still true?

I don’t know how many hours a week I work. I think it varies. But probably around 40, on average. More when I’m more excited about work. Less when I’m not.

I don’t know about the typical Googler, but we try hard to get people to strike a good work/life balance.

I haven’t seen software problems, but we do post all kinds of useful advice. Sometimes it’s advice about software practices like unit testing. There’s one that’s been there for a while now trying to tell me all about what the liver does.

choompaloompa: What is the use of Google products like inside Google, like would it be acceptable to submit a report or document using Docs or have a professional long distance meeting over a hangout?

Extensive. If anyone submitted a report or doc with something other than Docs, they’d get funny looks and probably get mocked mercilessly We use hangouts all the time. We really believe in “eating our own dogfood”.

globalsunshine:Is it true that Google (and most software companies) don’t like older people? It seems like there is only a small population of software engineers over the age of 40. Do you know what happens to them or is this just a myth?

Google actually has an internal group just for older folks (along with all sorts of other demographics). From what I understand, they do everything they can to prevent anyone from being discriminated against due to age. But I don’t work for HR so I can’t give you a very detailed answer.

hoteljuliet: How much “brainstorming” time do you get in a day?

It varies a lot depending on what phase of a project I’m in. For a while last year, I spend like 90% of my time brainstorming. Today I spent 0%, since I was just trying to get some code checked in.

choompaloompa: Does anyone work from home or is it compulsory to work at the office?

Tons of people work from home. If you can do your job, there’s no real requirement on where you are. Of course, there are advantages to being in the office – face to face time with coworkers, being able to be in a meeting in person, etc. But there’s no requirement that you be in the office at any time.

themailmanC: How encouraged is daytime (or anytime) napping?

There are napping pods specifically designed for that purpose! Many offices also have quiet rooms where you can go recline way back in a comfy chair and nap.

shakensunshine: That sounds really awesome. I wish my office had that. How comfortable are those napping pods?

I don’t use them. I sleep in the massage chairs

Nap pods? Massage chairs?! Whatever, Google. Whatever.

Best (and Worst) Times to Share on Facebook and Twitter

• Mashable reports that link shortening and tracking service, bit.ly, has released new data on the best and worst times to share links on popular social networks, from Facebook to Twitter.
• According to the data, posting links to Twitter between the hours of 1:00 p.m. and 3:00 p.m. ET (or 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. PT) will give you the highest click rank, especially earlier in the week. Avoid sending a link after 8:00 p.m. throughout the week, and after 3:00 p.m. on Fridays. Food for thought: the half-life of a link posted to Twitter is about 2.8 hours.
• On the other hand, Facebook’s optimal posting times are between 1:00 p.m. and 4:00 p.m. Wednesday at 3:00 p.m. is the best time to post to Facebook all week. Avoid posting ated 8:00 p.m. and before 8:00 a.m., and if you want your link to go viral, don’t post it on the weekend. “While traffic starts to increase around 9:00 a.m., one would be wise to wait to post until 11am,” bit.ly said in a blog post on its site. “Traffic from Facebook fades after 4:00 p.m.”

Microsoft Redesigns Bing (Again)

• Microsoft announced another redesign of Bing that incorporates more information from social networks. Previously, the company had taken a minimalist approach with Bing’s layout by setting plain links against a white background a la early Google.  While this change is another step in the company’s campaign to chase monopolistic Google, the redesign…well, it’s kind of ugly.
• In the latest version of Bing (dubbed “Metallica” by the folks at Mircosoft), search results are split up into three columns. The first shows traditional web links. The middle column, called “snapshot,” includes related searches and a block of ads. The third column lists relevant posts from the user’s social networks.
• Microsoft has put a lot of money into Bing’s new look, but the search engine hasn’t made much of a dent. Google’s share of U.S. web search was 66.4% in March, while Bing held onto a mere 15.3%. In any case, I’m pretty sure this redesign isn’t a step in the right direction. From my point of view, it looks messy because my eye isn’t entirely sure where to start looking. Maybe doing something with a double-column layout would have worked out better, but the current trio is just one too many.

Facebook Tests Highlighted Posts, Channels Craigslist

• Stuff, a New Zealand Blog, recently discovered that Facebook is testing a product called “Highlighted Posts.” The new feature potentially puts the company into the online classified ads arena by letting users incorporate public sales listings (a la Craigslist) into their status updates.
• Highlighted Posts are currently being tested by a small percentage of users, according to a Facebook rep. The fee for using the feature runs from zero to a “couple of bucks,” but details are sparse. When asked who would use the product, the rep gave the example of a small band plugging an upcoming gig or someone selling their car.
• If implemented, Highlighted Posts would mark the first time Facebook has delved into the online classified market. It would probably be profitable, especially since IAB pegged the market $2.6 billion in 2011. Should Craigslist be quaking in its classified boots?

Facebook Rolls Out “Offers”

• Following a limited test period, Facebook is launching its Offers marketing platform to local businesses in the United States. Facebook Offers stands in stark competition against Google Offers, Groupon and LivingSocial.
• A Facebook rep said that any U.S. business could run an Offer free of charge on Facebook’s self-service platform. Unlike other deals-based services, Facebook reports that the company will not take a sales cut for redeemed vouchers, which is a pretty attractive selling point for small budget businesses.
• When Facebook user claims an Offer, his or her friends will see an ad in their news feed and an action will be posted to the user’s Timeline. Check out their video below for a neat introduction.

Tumblr’s Ad Suite is Uber-Exclusive

• We’ve reported before that blogging platform Tumblr is getting serious about making money, but some newly-released details suggest that the company is trying to maintain its hipster flair without having to sell out. Tumblr’s advertising products, Radar and Spotlight, will only be open to approved advertisers and media companies who are willing to pay a cool $25,000 package commitment.
• Tumblr’s appeal is its 55 million user base, which has exploded since the platform first launched five years ago. The company promises advertisers thousands of new followers, likes, and reblogs through promotional advertisements – as long as they’re willing to get a little creative. The steep package price is designed to attract only serious advertisers who are willing to properly contribute to the Tumblr experience.
• What is the “Tumblr experience?” The blogging platform features a host of creative artists, as well as high quality fashion, culture and photography blogs. It follows that would-be advertisers must be able to fit in with Tumblr’s aesthetic through creative and visually appealing ads and content. It’s exclusive, but it’s also fascinating and a great way for the company to avoid angering its huge user base.

Google Releases April Updates

• Google has recently posted a list of 52 changes that affect search results. This list is worth a look because of the crazy SEO changes that occurred in April, including Panda updates, the Penguin update, and the whole issue with parked domains.
• Perhaps the biggest news is that Google increased the size of its base index, the collection of web pages and documents it shows as search results, by 15%. The company has also announced numerous updates that relate to how documents are ranked, changes to site links, and changes related to local/geo search results.
• Read the whole list at Google’s official blog here.

For a quick reminder about why CISPA is sparking the Internet’s ire, here’s what Mashable had to say about the subject:

Privacy and civil liberties groups argue that CISPA would allow businesses such as Facebook to give the federal government (and the intelligence community) users’ private communications and other sensitive personal data.

The two parts of CISPA these groups consider most offensive are a national security clause and a liability clause. The first, they say, would allow CISPA to be used in any case where national security is deemed at risk — a potentially broad category. The second would protect any business that shares cybersecurity information from lawsuits — including suits from users who think their private information may have been shared without justification.

CISPA was amended before it was passed, including amendments to tighten up the bill’s vague language, to restrict the type of information that can be shared with the government, and to give the Department of Homeland Security more oversight in the data-sharing process. However, opponents of CISPA aren’t sold and still feel as though the bill remains a threat to Internet users’ privacy.

What’s next?

Two things can happen now: either the Senate can vote CISPA up or down as it was passed in the House, or it can be amended further.

Privacy groups are advocating for the bill to be improved during the amendment process, which would force the House and Senate to reconcile the differences between the two versions of the bill. Upon successful reconciliation, the bill would be sent to President Obama for his signature into law.

Even if it’s sent to the White House, President Obama’s top advisors have recommended that he veto CISPA if it reaches his desk without adequate privacy protections.

So, for now – we wait and see what happens in the Senate.

Google’s “Penguin Update”

• Google recently launched its latest search algorithm, which has been dubbed the “Penguin Update.” Its goal is to more effectively catch people who span search results or violate Google’s publishers guidelines in order to rank higher.
• Google writes: “We’re  launching an important algorithm change targeted at webspam. The change will decrease rankings for sites that we believe are violating Google’s quality guidelines. This algorithm represents another step in our efforts to reduce webspam and promote high quality content.”
• Don’t confuse the Penguin Update with Google’s rumored “over-optimization” penalty. Googler Matt Cutts clarified this statement with SearchEngineLand.com this week when he said, “I think ‘over-optimization’ wasn’t the best description, because it blurred the distinction between white hat SEO and webspam. This change is targeted at webspam, not SEO, and we tried to make that fact more clear in the blog post.”

Rising Tablet Sales Push Downloads for Video, Apps

• According to the Tablet Technology and Markets report from Futuresource Consulting, tablet consumer use will increase by 200% across the U.S. and Western Europe over the next two years. The report details that consumers bought about 52 million tablets in 2011 across the two region, and the market is on track to exceed 153 million units in 2013.
• Tablet usage is expected to rise, too. According to eMarketer, U.S. consumers using a tablet at least once monthly will reach 75.6 million in 2013 – up from 13 million in 2010. Apple is the dominant company among tablets since the iPad, with Android-powered devices remaining the company’s biggest competitor.
• Consumers are downloading more apps and ebooks thanks to the proliferation of tablets. 10% of mobile app downloads in 2011 were attributed to tablets. Based on Futuresource’s findings, it’s interesting to note that tablet owners are more likely to pay for apps, especially in the U.S. Furthermore, digital book downloads are expected to account for almost 70% of book sales by 2016.

Google Test: Paid-Search Ads in Email Marketing

• MediaPost reports that email marketers may soon have the opportunity to tie campaigns into paid-search ads. Google’s new ad format, which is currently in the testing stages, allows consumers who are searching for a specific brand to sign up for newsletters, coupons, or other information from the paid-search ads served up in query results.
• What does it look like? MediaPost states, “the ad format includes a box that displays a user’s Google email address when logged in to the service. A box next to the email address allows the user to enter in a product or brand. When the user chooses to click “Get offers” the email address gets sent to the advertiser.”
• The article goes on to state that a Google spokesperson said tests have been running for several months. An earlier report citing the test points to a box reading “Subscribe to newsletter” rather than “Get offers.” The switch in wording since tests began suggests tweaks to the service could point eventually to a tie in with Google Offers or other coupon services, rather than just newsletters.

In another attempt to legislate digital security, the Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act (CISPA) is scheduled for vote in the House of Representatives this Thursday.

Before we go any further, let me just state that cyber security should definitely be a top priority in today’s digital age. The Internet is a great and beautiful thing, but now that nearly everything has a wifi connection (even refrigerators), steps need to be taken in order to ensure that the web is a safe place.

With that said, CISPA is the wrong way to go about cyber security.

House Intelligence Committee Ranking Member C.A. Dutch Ruppersberger said in a recent press release:

“Without important, immediate changes to American cybersecurity policy, I believe our country will continue to be at risk for a catastrophic attack to our nation’s vital networks – networks that power our homes, provide our clean water or maintain the other critical services we use every day.”

Bear in mind that CISPA has little to do with SOPA, which we covered in a previous post here. SOPA’s biggest issue was that it infringed upon the first amendment; CISPA infringes upon the fourth.

What Does CISPA Legalize?

I recommend reading the bill in its entirety, but to summarize, CISPA legalizes the transfer of online information that is considered a threat to the government, private security agencies, and private companies.  What defines a “threat” is open to interpretation; CISPA’s wording is painfully vague, which opens up too many possibilities for abuse.

These possibilities for abuse create a situation where the government and private companies are able to delve into personal information without having to worry about judicial oversight. It’s very Orwellian, very open-ended, and very much the wrong way to approach legal and ethical cyber security.

Once again, we’ve run into the issue of vague wording. This issue has plagued previous attempts to legislate the internet, including SOPA and H.B. 2549. Until a bill is released which includes specifics – including the definition of a cyber threat – our liberties on the Internet will continue to be at risk.

Want to learn more? Read this article from Digital Trends for more information and share your thoughts in the comments.

Google Wallet was a great idea when it was first introduced. I mean, check out one of its promo videos:

There were at least three people in that video that started dancing. And why wouldn’t they? The concept of Google Wallet is really great.

The product works by securely storing your credit card information on your phone. Then, you can use your phone to instantly pay for items at participating vendors. Google Offers automatically syncs with your transactions, and since many major stores already have the readers at checkout (Google Wallet uses Pay Pass readers, which have already been popularized by MasterCard and Visa), checking out becomes a one-second process instead of a two-minute shuffle for your wallet.

It Sounds Nice, But…

The product is over a year old and has yet to make any waves since its release. The biggest issue with Google Wallet is that it is limited to one carrier and smartphone line: Sprint and Nexus, respectively. The Business Insider reports that Verizon, AT&T and T-Mobile all have their own plans for a mobile payment service, which put Google Wallet in an extreme disadvantage: fewer carriers and cell phone models means a significantly reduced pool of users. This, of course, turned Google Wallet into a “hey, remember that one thing a long time ago?” type of product.

Therein lies Apple’s big chance.

Apple is a bit of an exclusive club, with countless users that faithfully follow the company’s new releases and wait in huge lines for their next big product. So, let’s say Apple decides to create their own mobile payment system. They already have iPay, which is exclusive to the app store. But, if the company decides to bring their service into brick-and-mortar buildings, then Apple stands in a unique position to market their product in a way Google couldn’t. After all, iPhone sales have helped AT&T tremendously, and the company could stand to benefit even more by forming some sort of mega-mobile-payment service on multiple devices with Apple.

As Launch’s blog points out, Apple’s potential is tremendous.

Start doing the math and it gets scary: Apple would have massive margin, and vendors who didn’t accept iPhone payments would be at a massive disadvantage the same way folks who didn’t take credit cards were in the 70s and 80s.

What do you think? Would Apple’s version of Google Wallet see more success?

Tumblr Announces Paid Advertising

• David Karp, the founder and CEO of popular microblogging platform Tumblr, once told the LA Times that the company felt “pretty opposed to advertising. It really turns our stomachs.” But the explosion of Tumblr’s popularity – which generates 120 million impressions per day – has inspired the company’s CEO to finally introduce an official paid advertising option in the form of Tumblr’s “Radar” feature.
• Honestly, turning Radar into an ad option is the perfect way to earn a profit while maintaining the integrity of Tumblr’s hipster charm. Radar appears on a user’s dashboard and generally offers a selection of images used to highlight notable posts across the network. These posts are in a conveniently visible-but-not-in-your-face location on Tumblr’s dashboard, which will allow brands to showcase their ads without sacrificing the user’s experience.
• My guess is that the ads will need to feature aesthetically pleasant images that fit in with Radar’s usual selections. Karp declined to state how much ads on Radar will cost, but I doubt he’d approve garish images lest he irk his millions upon millions of loyal Tumblr users.

Interested in Buying Stock? Log Into Facebook

• Yes, you read that headline correctly – Business Insider reports that, by June of this year, “public companies will be able to sell their stock to customers directly from their Facebook pages with no fees, no brokers, and in as little as $10 increments.”  San Francisco-based company Loyal3 announced the info at Ad Age’s Digital Conference Wednesday.
• Loyal3 states that a significant untapped consumer base for stock currently exists among American families, only 18% of which are stock owners.  “Ownership changes everything,” CEO Barry Schneider said. “People care more about things they own than things they don’t.”
• The Business Insider states that the platform “will allow partial ownership in as little as three clicks.” The goal: to make buying stocks as easy for consumers as buying a book on Amazon.

Google’s Mistake Causes Dropped Rankings

• Have you noticed a dip in your search rankings? No, it’s not Google’s impending over-optimization penalty; instead, Google might have mistakenly thought your website was a “parked domain,” which is a placeholder site that is devoid of valuable content and filled with ads.
• In light of complaints and queries about drops in rankings, Matt Cutts, the head of Google’s web spam team, said the change is due to Google mistakenly classifying some sites as being parked domains, Cutts posted on Google+: ” The short explanation is that it turns out that our classifier for parked domains was reading from a couple files which mistakenly were empty. As a result, we classified some sites as parked when they weren’t.”
• Cutts apologized for the issue and wrote, “I apologize for this; it looks like the issue is fixed now, and we’ll look into how to prevent this from happening again.”

But, the question remains: how many people are actually using Google+? Google’s impressive user base has spawned much Internet-discussion about what actually defines an “active user.” After all, if you have a Gmail account, you’re basically bullied into signing up for a Google+ profile by default.

It seems as though Google doesn’t want to reveal how many people are actually actively engaged on their social network, which the Wall Street Journal referred to as a “virtual ghost town.” One of the problems is that Google’s definition of an active user involves the use of other products that have been integrated into the Google+ experience, including YouTube, the Android-marketplace…and Google.com. The company has yet to reveal exactly how many users are actively participating in Google+ as a stand-alone network.

But Does it Really Matter?

Alright, time for a change in tone. I actually really like Google+, as much as I enjoy making fun of it. The update is awesome. Brands are big there. One of my favorite web cartoonists, the Oatmeal, has established a pretty big following on his page. In all, the site has its own potential, and at times it feels like an exclusive club that has yet to go mainstream.

One of the running jokes on the web is that Google is a ghost town. But Danny Sullivan offers this great comparison in a recent post on Marketing Land:

But you know when you go into an Apple Store, and it’s filled with sometimes scary Apple fanatics who seem to have arrived at a holy place? That’s Google+ for Google.If Google+ isn’t anything else, it’s a place that Google fans can call home. It’s a place that Google’s never really had before, a spot for its millions (and let’s face it, there are millions) of fanboys and fangirls to rejoice in all things Google.

What are your thoughts? Will Google+ ever reach Facebook proportions?

Facebook Acquires Instagram

• Lovers of sepia tones and vintage filters were faced with two reasons to complain this week: Instagram, a popular photo-editing-and-sharing app that used to be exclusive to Apple devices, entered the Andriod market and was purchased by Facebook for a cool $1 billion. Hipsters were outraged.
• In all seriousness, Facebook has had its eye on Instagram for a while. Last summer, the New York Times reported that Facebook was planning to add photo filters to its mobile app in an effort to one-up Instagram.
• The buyout is an incredible exit for Instagram when you consider its humble beginnings. As a startup, the app was founded in October 2010 ad started with just nine employees. Since then, it has raised a total of $7.5 million. Instagram co-founder Kevin Systrom said on the company blog that the buyout shouldn’t change the app’s appeal. He writes, “You’ll still have all the same people that you follow…you’ll still be able to share to other social networks.”

Google+ is Looking Snazzy

• Google has released a new design for its social network which emphasizes ease-of-use and a simple aesthetic. The changes are being released slowly over the next few days, so if you’ve yet to see the new network in action, check out this video for more info:
• Some of the changes include a customizable Navigation bar, activity drawer, dedicated Hangouts page, and a new Explore page. Many of the updates are designed to facilitate comments and discussions; so, while Google+ may be a bit of a ghost town, at least it looks really nice.

Thompson: Yahoo is a “Media Company”

• Yahoo’s workforce was recently cut by nearly 2,000 employees, which prompted CEO Scott Thompson to buckle down and develop a new plan of action for the company. His goal: an internet overhaul aimed at streamlining Yahoo and its services.
• Per Thompson’s plan, Yahoo’s main focus will be its consumer business group, which functions as an umbrella for its network of news, e-commerce and social sites. The group will be led by Ross Levinsohn, formerly Yahoo’s executive vice president of the Americas region.
• Additionally, the new Yahoo will have two more business units: a tech unit, in charge of developing the company’s platforms, and Regions, a sales-focusing group serving advertisers. More details on Thompson’s plan are expected to be unveiled once the company releases its Q1 results. But, in any case, Thompson seems set on establishing Yahoo as a media company.