diberry - 6:03 am on Dec 10, 2012 (gmt 0)

Uh, Panda (and a number of other things) started as a 20% time project ... But Panda's just one of the most influential/important pieces of their algo today, so it has no real benefit to the company, right? Er, uh, maybe the guy who's making the statements knows more about the situation and what was lost with the changes than those who are thinking he's just whining? IDK, but I do know I've read about some major innovations coming from 20% time projects, so to say there was no real benefit to the company from it isn't even close to accurate. In fact it sounds rather uninformed...

This. Thank you.

The author also mentions that before, one didn't have to cozy up to the right execs or get lucky and land in some "sexy" project. That suggests corporate politics are playing a bigger role in Google than they used to, which IMO would be unfortunate. I've never seen corporate politics do anything but distract employees from their real work and create resentment and frustration.