The Google Story: Inside the Hottest Business, Media, and Technology Success of Our Time by David A. Vise

Jun 14, 2012 Igor Tsinman rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Google. Прорыв в духе времени стоит прочитать хотя бы потому, что ее продукты используются ежедневно и повсеместно.

Но,как говорится: Давайте без фанатизма!!! . Эта книга далеко не венец литературного слога, да и перевод (мягко говоря, не идеален).

Первая часть книги (и самая интересная) это хронология: что задумали, с кем встречались, кто и сколько дал бабла, кто поверил, а кто нет, что говорили конкуренты и т.д.

Общую же мысль книги для себя я определил вот так:

Как сделать хорошо, то чего вс...more

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Jul 28, 2012 Mohamed Badie rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

In The Plex is away better.

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Mar 23, 2009 Togar Arifin Silaban rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: management, leadership

Google dalam waktu 6 tahun memang telah menggegerkan dunia. Para saingannya dibuat kalang kabut, bahkan Bill Gates bos Microsoft termasuk yang ketar-ketir menghadapi Google. Saat buku The Google Story karya David A. Vise diterbitkan ditahun 2005, Google bahkan masih terus menikmati kejayaanya. Saat inipun Google masih terus melakukan inovasi-inovasi untuk memantapkan kerajaannya di dunia internet. Google Labs sebagai wadah untuk mencoba produk-produk baru yang terus bertambah jumlahnya. Andapun...more Google dalam waktu 6 tahun memang telah menggegerkan dunia. Para saingannya dibuat kalang kabut, bahkan Bill Gates bos Microsoft termasuk yang ketar-ketir menghadapi Google. Saat buku The Google Story karya David A. Vise diterbitkan ditahun 2005, Google bahkan masih terus menikmati kejayaanya. Saat inipun Google masih terus melakukan inovasi-inovasi untuk memantapkan kerajaannya di dunia internet. Google Labs sebagai wadah untuk mencoba produk-produk baru yang terus bertambah jumlahnya. Andapun mungkin sudah masuk dalam jaringan pengguna Google saat ini. Perkembangan Google dalam tahun- tahun kedepan pantas untuk diperhatikan, seberapa jauh raksasa internet ini akan semakin merambah dan mengikat dunia atau menuju suatu perkembangan yang tidak terpikirkan sebelumnya.

Awalnya Google berkembang dari sekedar program komputer pencari biasa menjadi suatu perusahaan komputer yang sangat besar. Google diciptakan dan dibangun oleh dua orang bersahabat Larry Page dan Sergey Brin. Sebagaimana kebanyakan penemu luar biasa lainnya Larry dan Sergey tidak pernah membayangkan bahwa mereka akan sampai ke kondisi seperti sekarang. Mereka adalah tipikal pekerja keras yang brilian dan tidak mau menyerah terhadap hambatan dan tantangan apapun. Larry Page dan Sergey Brin bertemu di Universitas Stanford, California sebagai mahasiwa post doctoral (PhD). Persahabatan mereka dibangun melalui serangkaian perdebatan-perdebatan yang sangat panjang sebagai mahasiswa PhD dibidang komputer. Mereka berdua adalah mahasiswa yang selalu haus mencari jawaban dari suatu persoalan. Penemuan program pencari Google diawali dari fakta yang mereka hadapi ketika sulitnya mengumpulkan informasi dalam waktu yang singkat. Dari hasil penelitian mereka terhadap sejumlah search engine (program pencari) yang sudah ada, mereka mendapati bahwa kebanyakan program pencari tidak mampu memberikan hasil yang memuaskan. Kenyataan itu menantang Larry dan Sergey untuk menciptakan program komputer baru yang tidak hanya cepat tetapi juga mampu memberikan urutan website berdasarkan tingkat kepentingan informasi.. Saking bersemangatnya mereka ingin menciptakan program komputer, mereka membentuk perusahaan agar mampu mewujudkan idenya itu. Maka dengan bersusah payah meyakinkan orang akhirnya ada yang mau meminjami 100 ribu dollar sebagai modal awal untuk membuka kantor di tahun 1998.
Larry dan Sergey memulai perusahaannya dengan berkantor di garasi sewaan di kawasan Menlo Park, California. Dengan semangat yang luar biasa dan kerja keras yang tiada henti, dalam waktu yang singkat Larry dan Sergey menjadikan Google perusahaan dengan kemajuan yang sangat fantastis. Google berkembang melewati batas-batas perkiraan orang. Bahkan Google berani melawan “mainstream” kebanyakan perusahaan. Dari modal 100 ribu dollar di tahun 1998, pada tahun 2004, nilai penjualan Google sudah menjadi 3,2 milliar dólar, dan pada bulan Agustus 2005, nilai saham Google merkoket ke 79,6 milliar dollar.

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Nov 06, 2008 Anoud rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: non-fiction

Could I be more in love with this company!!!!

Last year one of our instructors showed us a short documentary about Google workplace. I remember the first thing popped into my mind was like; Man, they've got to be kidding!! .
I mean the wacky environment and behaviors; you might find someone's walking in his pajama. Another one is doing his laundry!! And a third is getting a massage, while the fourth is playing with her puppy!! Oh, and let me add this a BARBERSHOP in your office, and of course the...more Could I be more in love with this company!!!!

Last year one of our instructors showed us a short documentary about Google workplace. I remember the first thing popped into my mind was like; Man, they've got to be kidding!! .
I mean the wacky environment and behaviors; you might find someone's walking in his pajama. Another one is doing his laundry!! And a third is getting a massage, while the fourth is playing with her puppy!! Oh, and let me add this a BARBERSHOP in your office, and of course the giant living gourmet restaurant who serves whatever you want, and all of this for freeee. As we saw in the documentary, employees were incredibly a way too happy and having lots of fun. They just seemed to play hard as well as they work hard. And now, after reading this book I can tell I'm even more amazed by this enormously bright firm.

The book, the google story, takes you in a journey starts from the first thought of two Stanford ph.D. Students, and ends with the very known successful leading search engine company today. How they created it, improved it, turned it into a business enterprise and how they competed greatest and strongly successful rivals such as Microsoft and Yahoo.

I really loved their philosophy and values with their clever motto "Don't Be Evil" thingy. Especially, how they perceived the advertising acts and pornography blocking for those who activate it. Furthermore, it was very interesting to know that this firm whose financial strength is built on advertising did almost no advertising itself!! .

Also, i loved how Larry and Sergey, founders of Google, like to be in control on everything and want to do everything in their way; with venture capitalists and even when they went to public and did the IPO…..geez, they're just adorable and pigheaded!

On the other hand, I found the book very inspirational. Believe it or not, this tremendous successes which has been built in an unbelievabl short time, was born from regular students who wanted to just do a project they were interested in. yeah right, everything can happen if we just brilliantly worked hardly on it.

Very recommended for those who have interests in business & marketing.

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Sep 29, 2007 Melissa rated it 3 of 5 stars Recommends it for: business and computing students

I have a big interest in marketing and business, and I found this book to be a very well structured and interesing narrative of how one company came up with something new and better and brought their business vision to fruition.

Especially fascinating were the details of how the leadership roles were split amongst the creators and the CEO they hired, and how they compare with some of the traditional modes of leadership in Silicon Valley business ventures.

Their work culture philosophy is also in...more

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Aug 08, 2011 Neeraj Bali added it · review of another edition

This is a remarkable story put together by someone who apparently had limited access to the mysterious labyrinths of Google. The book’s jacket clearly tells us that the book was not created, authorised or endorsed by Google, Inc.
The narrative is starry-eyed and rarely reflects on the downside of Google’s journey. No doubt, the founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin fully deserve many of the kudos that came their way. Still, I came away with a feeling that the story could have been more balanced.
A...more This is a remarkable story put together by someone who apparently had limited access to the mysterious labyrinths of Google. The book’s jacket clearly tells us that the book was not created, authorised or endorsed by Google, Inc.
The narrative is starry-eyed and rarely reflects on the downside of Google’s journey. No doubt, the founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin fully deserve many of the kudos that came their way. Still, I came away with a feeling that the story could have been more balanced.
All of Google’s competitors – especially Microsoft – emerge as bumbling fools who are hell-bent on faltering. In contrast, Google’s vision (on search, email, genetics, alternative sources of energy, even space exploration), new business model that relies on clicks on ads to generate revenue, its adherence to ‘do no evil’ (forget its conduct in China for a while), business acumen and altruistic instincts emerge as shining examples in their own league.
There is no doubt, of course, that the two Stanford students who walked away from the world of academia and into a rented garage to concentrate on a better way of searching the web have broken fresh ground in several ways. They not only relied on the software they produced in-house to evolve a process that throws up more ‘relevant’ search results, they also put together their own hardware to power those searches. The initial search engines comprised simply of several home-assembled computers hitched together! They refused to let the advertising clients have any influence on the search results and came up with new ways to rank and display the text messages that accompanies Google’s search. The display of ads based on selected content of emails is an innovation and yet, Teflon like, Google has managed to shrug off all criticism that violates privacy of the individuals. They came up with a novel way of going public – with an online auction of shares within a given range and a two-price policy that gave them a vice-like grip on the company. Indeed, they have come up with an entirely new corporate culture. Which other company insists that its employees spend 20 percent of their time doing something that they love doing? And if a great idea emerges from these ‘20 percent’ periods, the company embraces and funds it!
Yet, Google’s predatory moves to pull away talent from its competitors, lack of corporate transparency, arrangements with giants like AOL and Yahoo over search and ad sharing (and, at the same time, taking pot-shots at Microsoft for its monopoly and anti-trust violations) and acquiescing to China over privacy (a situation that has come to head since the writing of the book) are all issues that cannot be swept under the beautiful carpet of its success.
The book is certainly worth reading for a better understanding of a giant that is silently and surely having greater presence in our lives than we perhaps even notice.
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Aug 09, 2012 Ayushman Pershad rated it 2 of 5 stars

I 've never gotten around to write a proper review for the book The Google Story , but maybe a shorter note helps. Before I started the book to read it I was prepared to get bored quickly because I just read John Battelle's great The Search , and really how much books on the subject can you read before shouting " duplicate"? But I was in for a surprise , beacause The Google Story was really ,really interseting. If I 'd have to suggest either of the two , I 'd probably answer: buy both ! The Sear...more

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Mar 18, 2012 Remo rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: empresa, historia-reciente, 2006

Vi este libro en un aeropuerto y la portada me atrajo enseguida. Soy una víctima del márketing. ¿Qué tendrá Google para ser tan atractivo? La historia comienza cuando Sergei Brin y Larry Page eran estudiantes de doctorado en informática (Computer Science) en Stanford, y termina en junio de 2006, cuando se consolida la implantación en China, Bill Gates se retira de Microsoft y Google es ya una máquina de fabricar millones, en expansión acelerada. La edición original es de 2005, y el autor tuvo qu

...more

Vi este libro en un aeropuerto y la portada me atrajo enseguida. Soy una víctima del márketing. ¿Qué tendrá Google para ser tan atractivo? La historia comienza cuando Sergei Brin y Larry Page eran estudiantes de doctorado en informática (Computer Science) en Stanford, y termina en junio de 2006, cuando se consolida la implantación en China, Bill Gates se retira de Microsoft y Google es ya una máquina de fabricar millones, en expansión acelerada. La edición original es de 2005, y el autor tuvo que sacar una edición revisada en 2006. Ahora, con la compra de Youtube, seguro que se pone a hacer uina edición revisada para 2007

El libro está interesante de leer. Yo no sé si esas cosas ocurren en España, pero cuando Larry y Sergei tenían sólo una buena idea, allá por 1998, se fueron a un par de gestores de fondos de inversión y sacaron nada menos que un préstamo de 25 millones de dólares. Previamente habían obtenido de otros gestores y fuentes un préstamo de 100.000 y otro de un millón. ¿Esas cosas pasan aquí? Reconozco mi ignorancia.

El libro se lee fácilmente. Está escrito en estilo periodístico, rápido y conciso. Si hay algún fallo obvio, es es peloteo constante que hace el autor de todos los protagonistas de la historia. De muestra un botón: el primer inversor que tuvo Google fue Andy Bechtolstein [AB], gestor de fondos de inversión, quien les dio sus primeros 100.000 dólares para que comprasen un montón de ordenadores con los que empezar a desarrollar el potencial de Google. La descripción que hace el autor de AB reza así:

Bechtolstein detuvo su Porsche plateado en la entrada de la casa de Cheriton, saltó del mismo y se dirigió hacia el porche de la entrada, donde le esperaban los tres [Page, Brin y Winograd, un profesor de Stanford]. Como muchos empresarios millonarios de Silicon Valley, Bechtolstein trabajaba mucho, aunque no necesitase el dinero, pues le apasionaba el poder de la tecnología y le encantaba hallar nuevas formas de resolver problemas.

Venga ya. Eso es peloteo innecesario. El autor parece (a veces, demasiadas veces) que está intentando que le contraten para el departamento de Relaciones Públicas de Google. El libro es una hagiografía casi de principio a fin. Y no es que esté mal, pero a veces tiene uno la impresión de que el autor suda miel tras hablar de Google. Incluso hay un apéndice con consejos para usar mejor Google. Uno de los consejos no lo conocía. Si buscas “~car” en Google, no sólo te aparecen todas las páginas con la palabra “car”, sino también aquellas que contengan “automobile”, “vehicle” y otros sinónimos. En español no sé si funciona; con las palabras que he probado parece que no.

Por lo demás, la historia es interesante. Pasa por momentos escabrosos, como cuando se desató el revuelo por la publicidad que leía de forma automatizada los correos de Gmail para plantar anuncios relacionados, o cuando Google claudicó y aceptó la censura para poder implantarse en China.

Me he dado cuenta de lo mucho que la prensa sigue a Google, pues el 90% de los hechos que relata ya me los sabía, de haberlos leído en el periódico. Hay detalles divertidos y geeks, como el valor de las acciones con las que Google salió a bolsa, que era 2.718.281.828 dólares (o sea, el número e multiplicado por mil millones), o la primera ampliación de acciones que hizo, en la que sacó al mercado 14.159.265 acciones (los primeros decimales de pi).

Es un libro para pasar un rato entretenido y poco más. Pero está bien. Mi nota: Interesante.

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Jun 20, 2011 Seth rated it 3 of 5 stars

An enjoyable and quick read. Google fascinates most of us because they always seem to deliver more than we expect from any company. They are refreshingly interested in delivering ALL human knowledge via the net. Everyone on the planet will have access to what was not even available to a Stanford academic a decade ago. While the author giddily journals with praise of the two founders and the company they created, he also uses space to write of the company's unfavorable press as well. Surprisingly...more

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May 23, 2011 Mohammed Al-Abdullah rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

أسعد الله أوقاتكم جميعا .. قد تستغرب العنوان عزيزي القارئ لكني أحببت أن نتشارك المعرفة في موضوع تقني يهم جميع مستخدميها .. لأن هذا الوقت هو وقت المعلومة الأسرع .. كتاب قصة جوجل .. يحكي قصة أغرب الشركات وأكثرها إثارة للجدل في وول-ستريت , عندما تبدأ بقراءة قصة المؤسسين سيرجي برين -ذو الأصول الروسية- ولاري بيج عندما كانا يدرسان الدكتوراه في جامعة ستانفورد في علوم الحاسب والرياضيات -شابين في في العقد الثالث من العمر , ابنين لعائلة أكاديمية - , عندما كان المجتمع يشتكي من ضعف محركات البحث القديمة المو...more
أسعد الله أوقاتكم جميعا .. قد تستغرب العنوان عزيزي القارئ لكني أحببت أن نتشارك المعرفة في موضوع تقني يهم جميع مستخدميها .. لأن هذا الوقت هو وقت المعلومة الأسرع .. كتاب قصة جوجل .. يحكي قصة أغرب الشركات وأكثرها إثارة للجدل في وول-ستريت , عندما تبدأ بقراءة قصة المؤسسين سيرجي برين -ذو الأصول الروسية- ولاري بيج عندما كانا يدرسان الدكتوراه في جامعة ستانفورد في علوم الحاسب والرياضيات -شابين في في العقد الثالث من العمر , ابنين لعائلة أكاديمية - , عندما كان المجتمع يشتكي من ضعف محركات البحث القديمة الموجودة آنذاك , فابتكر لاري بيج نظاما يقوم على البحث والفهرسة بطريقة مختلفة , حيث ابتكر خوارزمية تقوم بترتيب النتائج حسب النص والمطلوب , وجملة من الخوارزميات التي ساعدته على أن ينافس محرك ألتا-فيستا وغيرها , عرض الفكرة على زميله سيرجي برين , فتكون الثنائي المبدع ومجموعة من زملاءهم , بدأ لاري بيج بتحميل المواقع على الحاسوب معتمدا على حواسب متواضعة يقوم بتعديلها , ارتفع اسم محرك البحث -كان يسمي بتصنيف بيج PegRank- كثرت العمليات عليه وتطلب منهم المزيد من المال لإنشاء قواعد بيانات أكثر , تلقيا دعما من امبراطور شركات وادي السيليكون بمئة ألف دولار , كانا حائرين في كيفية جلب أرباح , وكان هذفهم الأساسي خدمة البشرية , حتى أن التمويل وصل حتى خمسة وعشرين مليون دولار ولتلك اللحظة لم يستطيعا أن يجدا سبيلا لجلب المال مما أثار غضب الممولين , كما أنهما كانا متمسكين باحترام المستخدم وعدم تشويشه بإطارات اعلانية منبثقة من شاشة البحث , واعتمدا على التصميم البسيط ذو الخلفية البيضاء الخالي من التشتيت .. عندما جاء وقت تسمية الشركة , احتاروا كثيرا وانتهوا على أن يتم تسميته Google -يعني عددا غير منتهي- , ارتفع اسم الشركة عاليا في وادي السيليكون المليء بامبراطوريات شركات الدوت كوم , بدءا من طريقة عملهم الغريبة , وكان أكثر ما يدفعون هو على راحة الموظفين ويشجعون الأفكار الجديدة , ومتحمسين جدا , وكانا جو العمل بعيدا عن جو الرسمية بل حتى أن الكلاب المدللة تتمشى في المبنى بكل أريحية , بدأت تجلب بجوها البديع عباقرة الحاسوب وتختلسهم من كبريات الشركات حتى أن مايكروسوفت بدءا تخشاها بعدما بدأ موظفيها يتسربون لجوجل .. جاء وقت الاكتتاب وكان أكثر ما يؤرق سيرجي وبيج ومديرهما التنفيذي لاحقا ايريك شميديت هو الكشف عن أسرار تفوقهما وخشيتهم أيضا من أن يسيطر كبار ملاك الأسهم على الشركة , فامتلكا أكبر عدد من الأسهم من أجل الحفاظ على سيطرتهم عليها .. وعندما كانت الشركة تخطط للإكتتاب كانت عجيبة من جميع النواحي الإقتصادية , حتى أنها شكلت منهجا جديدا ومثيرا لجدل محللي وول-ستريت في كيفية بناء القاعدة الاقتصادية للشركة , بعيدا عن كبت المواهب والسيطرة الغير محسوبة , كان سعر الاكتتاب للسهم 85دولار وبعد سنة ارتفع حتى قارب الثلاثمئة دولار .. الغريب أن الشركة في التصنيف المالي لعام 2006م كانت الثالثة بعد مايكروسوفت وول مارت بقيمة 117مليار دولار وأرباح 1.5 مليار دولار , وكل هذا فقط وهي ابنة السبع سنوات -تأسست عام 1998م- وتعتمد معظم أرباحها بل كلها على الإعلانات الخطية التي ترونها في يمين الشاشة وإعلانات جوجل في المواقع المختلفة .
كتاب جميل حقا أشبع رغبتي في البحث عن تاريخ هذه الشركة الناشئة والمتألقة بمنتجاتها , أحببت أن أكتب عن مجمل ما قرأت في هذا الكتاب , ونتشارك المعرف والفائدة , والحقيقة أن الكتاب جهد عظيم يحوي أسرارا متأكد أنكم سترونها لأول مرة , قد أكون مهتما في هذه الأمور لأنني دارس للتقنية ومحب لها لكن لا أظن أحدا يستغني عن التقنية وخصوصا قطاع البحث لذا أنصحك بقرائته .. وأتمنى لك قراءة ممتعة
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Nov 28, 2010 Michele Velthuizen rated it 5 of 5 stars

Interest level: 8th +
Reading level: advanced
Genre: biography, non-fiction, technology, search engines

If you've ever wondered why everyone uses Google as their favorite search engine, how this creative search engine came into being, how Google became a multibillion dollar company and why it differs so much in philosophy from other large corporations (their motto is: "Do No Evil", this book will give you many if not all of the answers.

Although it was written for an adult audience, I'm convinced t...more

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Sep 07, 2010 Ted Trembinski rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: audiobook

This is the third book I've read that could be described simply as "The History of Google". That being said, I am no stranger to the material presented in this book. This is also the oldest book I have read about the company as well, thus it has the most distance from the end of the book and the current state of the world. It holds up just OK.

It tells the same story of Larry and Serge and how they founded and pushed the company to where it is today. It tells of how Google makes money, how Gmail...more

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Aug 16, 2010 Tim rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: non-fiction

I really liked this book and perhaps more so I loved the Google story. Are the Google guys really the goodies? I'm not sure but I need to believe that one can be financially successful without having to sell your soul or move away from your true goals and that is what I got most from this book. Guys wanting to create the best, not veering from the path despite the pressures. Not even wondering how it is going to make a dime. Simply focused on getting it right.

The Google story puts any other ide...more

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Aug 25, 2009 Julie rated it 5 of 5 stars

David A. Vise's non-fiction Google Story explains the foundation and workings of the company that changed the use of the internet. Larry Page and Sergey Brin were drop-out grad students at Stanford University with a dream to create a great search engine and the motto "Don't be evil" to prevent corruption. Though they had a difficult time inspiring investors for their seemingly endless demand for money, as the popularity of their website grew through word-of-mouth they discovered the success of c...more

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Aug 02, 2009 Ian rated it 3 of 5 stars

"on my honor i pledge that i have neither given nor recieved unauthorized help on this assignment nor have i presented someone else's work as my own"

author;david a. vise

title;the google story

genre;non fiction biography

setting;the lives of "the google brothers"

main characters;sergey brin and larry page

plot summary;2 brainy computer science students at the university of stanford decide to download the internet in a spur decision that changed their lives. this attempt helped the realize the potenti...more

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Oct 30, 2011 Abhishek rated it 4 of 5 stars

The book succeeds right with the cover page itself by talking about one of the great corporate stories that has evolved in front of our very own eyes, a company that has mesmerised the planet with its numerous products. The book accounts for the early days in the lives of Sergey Brin and Larry Page when the idea of building an improved search engine enthralled them during their Stanford PhD course, their initial office setup in a garage, the initial capital funding requirements, the tremendous g...more

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Jul 22, 2010 pri ambodo rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

di awal membaca buku ini, yang terbayang pertama adalah, bagaimana caranya menjadi miliuner di usia muda di negeri paman sam.

prinsipnya sama, harus bekerja berpikir bekerja berpikir, sehingga menemukan sesuatu hal baru yang bisa menjadi sumber penghasilan, karena hasil karya kita dibutuhkan banyak orang.

pada dasarnya, kedua pendiri google, sergey brin dan larry page, memang meiliki otak yang encer, di atas rata-rata.

anugerah yang diperoleh itu tidak mereka sia-siakan. mereka juga fokus. keahlian...more

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Oct 02, 2011 Jean Tessier added it · review of another edition

Shelves: leisure

I work there now. I started at Google at the end of August 2005, right about the time the book ends. What's more, I came to the Bay Area in 1999, around the same time that Google started really taking off. I still remember the first time a friend mentioned Google to me, a new search engine that had a new page ranking system. I wasn't convinced at first and it took me a few years before I finally switched to Google for my web searches. Old habits die hard.

As I read through the book, going through...more

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Feb 25, 2013 David rated it 4 of 5 stars

The Google Story was very enjoyable.

My take away:
- Always being looking for talent. When Google was starting up, one of it main focus was getting the right people. Google took great detail of hiring great talent.

- Treat your talent like rock stars! They knew if they get the right people that have the skills they were seeking and you treat the people you hired like rock stars (and paid like rock stars), it would allow their company to grow. This is probably why they are consistently ranked as one...more

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Jan 16, 2013 Saumyaa K rated it 3 of 5 stars

Google
David A Vise
336 pages.

This Book is about how google the biggest search engine of all time, was founded and explanations of the people it was founded by. Google was founded by Sergey Brin and Larry Page and then Eric Schmidt became the CEO. Google is really complex and you can search for almost anything. It also talks about how google became successful and how they managed to do it. There are a lot of competitors for google so there is a small summary about it too.

This book was really info...more

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Aug 02, 2012 Helen rated it 4 of 5 stars

I spent several days on trains reading this book from cover to cover. Even though I lived through the dotcom revolution in Silicon Valley, its aftermath, and its rebirth, it was refreshing to see an outsider's take on the Larry and Sergey story. While it did read like a fanboy paperback, Mr. Vise was also balanced enough to include some of the downsides (issues with Yahoo, Microsoft, the stock debacle). I noticed some names missing (for instance the blogger who got fired from Google for publicly...more

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May 27, 2011 Barry rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

A fascinating look at the history of Google and the upbringing of the founders, this book moves along at a quick pace. Though intended to be journalistic, it often feels like a thinly veiled shill for the company, a feeling that only gets stronger when the author mentions in the acknowledgements that he sent an early manuscript to Google to be reviewed and changed a few things based on their concerns to "ensure maximum fairness and accuracy." One gets the feeling that had he sent the manuscript...more

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May 27, 2009 Kelly rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: friendship, non-fiction

I use google all the time, and I like the fact that google is always trying to improve upon its services. I like Google Docs and Google Reader, etc. So, I had to read the book to see if the company truly does live up to its "do no evil" motto. I learned so much about the company and the two friends who started it all. It's a fast read that encompasses history, philosophy, and humanism. The author, who won a Pulitzer for other work, writes well. I did not feel as if the story were biases or subje...more

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Apr 11, 2013 Eddy Allen rated it 4 of 5 stars

Moscow-born Sergey Brin and Midwest-born Larry Page dropped out of graduate school at Stanford University to, in their own words, "change the world" through a powerful search engine that would organize every bit of information on the Web for free. The Google Story takes you deep inside the company's wild ride from an idea that struggled for funding in 1998 to a firm that rakes in billions in profits, making Brin and Page the wealthiest young men in America. Based on scrupulous research and extra...more

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Jan 12, 2009 Chris rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2006, biographies

I rated this book higher than I maybe should mostly because of the impact it had on me, not because the writing was superb. Silly, maybe, but I finished the book and set about trying to be a bit more like Brin and Page.

I admired their mix of tenacity and talent. I also appreciated their ability to work as a team, and later to ask for help, hiring Eric Schmidt. Their willingness to think big, to keep their product simple, to insist that their staff set aside R&D time each week, to leverage t...more

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Oct 13, 2012 Gafar Alli rated it 3 of 5 stars

The book chronicles the rise of Google from Stanford University computer lab to corporate behemoth. Simple as that. I felt that the author was very pro-Google and at times, it felt like a PR campaign. The irony that is Google's mantra "Don't be Evil" is further augmented when you read about the strong-arm recruiting tactics, the failure to aggressively tackle click fraud and the privacy gaffes that followed the company around the time it launched G-Mail. David Vise does deserve some credit for a...more

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Nov 01, 2009 Mromigh rated it 5 of 5 stars

I never realized how much Google affects my life until I read this book. Takes a fascinating, up close and personal look at the founders, their philosophies, their time at Stanford, and how they grew the company from a tiny office into what it is today. After reading this book, I love Google even more, if that's even possible. The appendix lists 23 Google search help tips, about half of which were new to me. Reads like a socio-business biography (I think I just made up that term). A must-read fo...more

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Jan 24, 2013 Akshay Ahuja rated it 5 of 5 stars

An incredible story! I have always been a fan of Google Inc. and getting to know so much about how the Google started, the inside culture of the company, the way they fought and won at each step was a very good experience. The stories about the Geico lawsuit and the constant face-offs with Microsoft were a treat to read.
Only quibble is that the book lacked the different perspectives on different facets of Google story. Also the author sometimes went overboard in singing the praises of Google.
An...more

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Jun 30, 2011 Carlos rated it 4 of 5 stars

A Google é uma empresa única em todo o mundo. Em pouco mais de uma década, conseguiu revolucionar o dia-a-dia de quase todos os seres humanos. Este livro retrata como é que esta revolução foi ganhando forma.

O livro analisa a Google desde a sua origem até ao ano de 2006. Descreve-nos a mente dos seus autores, Sergey Brin e Larry Page, e como estas duas mentes começaram a trabalhar em conjunto. Talvez nenhum deles conseguisse imaginar há 10 anos atrás o que conseguiram hoje, mas a verdade é que el...more A Google é uma empresa única em todo o mundo. Em pouco mais de uma década, conseguiu revolucionar o dia-a-dia de quase todos os seres humanos. Este livro retrata como é que esta revolução foi ganhando forma.

O livro analisa a Google desde a sua origem até ao ano de 2006. Descreve-nos a mente dos seus autores, Sergey Brin e Larry Page, e como estas duas mentes começaram a trabalhar em conjunto. Talvez nenhum deles conseguisse imaginar há 10 anos atrás o que conseguiram hoje, mas a verdade é que eles conseguiram o seu objectivo: dar o "conhecimento" de forma simples e rápida a quem o procura.

A Google não é só fantástica pelos produtos que tem; na minha opinião, o mais importante é a cultura única que parece existir no Googleplex. Com base nos meus conhecimentos anteriores e corroborados por este livro, sinto que a Google deve ser das poucas empresas do mundo que possibilitam algo único aos seus colaboradores: serem felizes! Eles podem dar aso à sua criatividade, terem 20% do seu tempo para se dedicarem a projectos seus e, caso sejam interessantes, serem financiados e potenciados pela empresa. Para mim, isto é único e de um valor inigualável. Muitos dos produtos que a Google disponibiliza hoje nasceram desta filosofia (GMail, Google News, etc).

Conhecem alguma empresa que dê toda a comida de borla aos seus empregados? Que faça festas temáticas às sextas-feiras? Que se desloque em massa a um festivas de Verão?

Outro aspecto que aprecio na Google e conheci melhor neste livro, é a forma como os seus fundadores vêm o mundo. Eles questionaram entidades aparentemente inquestionáveis (Wall Street), mediram forças com empresas mais fortes do que eles e fizeram acordos com empresas aparentemente concorrentes. Este espírito de constante questionamento e uma visão clara do que queriam para a Google e para o mundo no futuro, levou aos resultados que conhecemos hoje.

No entanto, nem só de alegrias foi feito o percurso da Google. Revolucionar e questionar o mundo, geralmente, levanta questões. A Google teve que resolver problemas como a publicidade concorrencial, privacidade dos dados dos utilizadores, etc. Algo que eu admiro é que tentou sempre resolver com o seu famoso lema "não ser mesquinho" em mente.

O único problema do livro é o facto de se encontrar 5 anos desactualizado. Isto não representa um defeito do livro mas sim um hiato temporal, em termos de informação.

A escrita, tal como em quase todos os livros que eu li desta colecção, é apelativa e consegue manter o leitor interessado. Não é preciso ser um especialista informático para poder ler este livro; está ao nível de qualquer "leigo" nestas matérias.

Para aqueles que procuram ser empreendedores, que querem criar o seu próprio negócio e que querem beber da experiência dos melhores, recomendo vivamente este livro. Para todos os outros, também recomendo!(less)

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Mar 20, 2010 Sebah Al-Ali rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

صدمت في بداية قراءتي للكتاب من معرفة أصول مؤسسا جوجل اليهودية ، و انتماؤهم لـ"إسرائيل" ، خاصة أن الفصل الأول كان يقدمهما من خلال محاضرة أعطوها في جامعة هناك يحثون الطلاب على الإنتاج كما فعلوا . مشاعر متضاربة ، بين الدعوات المنتشرة بكثافة عن "مقاطعة" المنتجات اليهودية ، و بين فكرة أن الإنترنت بدون جوجل و منتجاتها لا تعني شيئا ، لي على الأقل . دفعني هذا لكثير من التفكر في مسألة المقاطعة و أبعادها بشكل عملي في محيطاتنا . ربما أناقشها في المدونة .

عدا عن ذلك ، الكتاب جميل يسبر أغوار تجربة جوجل و كيف...more

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