I'm Feeling Lucky_ The Confessions of Google Employee Number 59 - Douglas Edwards [130]
Karen, Marissa, Dennis, and I debated a long time before agreeing to keep it simple: we'd put up the same ribbon that we had used before, with the date 9/11/01 beneath it. Nothing more. We'd also only display it to our users in the United States, not those overseas. In preparation for an avalanche of angry email, I drafted responses to the main issues we expected to be raised.
We put up the ribbon and waited. The first email in response surprised me. "Congratulations," it read, "on resisting the pressure to create a special memorial interface. The Internet is full of these special events that are very U.S. focused and simplify the enormity of the events during and after the attacks. Google is obviously created by individuals with a global perspective and a sophisticated understanding of the complexity of the world's current political and cultural problems. By keeping the standard Google interface, you remained intelligently worldly and open, at a time when these characteristics seem tragically rare."
Other users made similar comments. The day passed quietly for us.
Yahoo chose a different path. They rendered their entire homepage in funereal gray and placed in the middle of it a large black box containing these words: "September 11, 2001—We remember. In tribute to the more than 3,000 lives lost." There was a link labeled "Click here to learn, share and remember."
I appreciated the impulse behind their decision to create a living memorial, but seeing that approach in action confirmed for me the difference between our site and a "traditional" portal site. We were not about content generation, or evoking memories, or creating an atmosphere of mourning. Google's brand was built on simplicity and functionality and we knew enough to stick with it. We acknowledged the anniversary of 9/11 and we provided our usual search service. Our users could direct Google to find the information they wanted to see. We didn't try to tell people how to feel about the occasion or to build an experience for them on the basis of what we thought was most significant.
"I think you articulated the right insight," Marissa agreed. "We as a company have no unique perspective to offer on this tragedy, so while we can recognize and acknowledge it, it doesn't make sense to prepare content about it."
Since those days, Google has developed many more ways to communicate directly with users: numerous official blogs, news feeds, and Google-produced YouTube videos. Our response to 9/11, however, overflowed the banks of our established communication channel and helped establish Google as more than a disinterested corporation. Users could feel the presence of the people beyond the stark white screen of our homepage and see the shadows cast upon it as we scurried about backstage trying to find ways to help. There was no question about our intent, and the constant updates we pushed, while not always professional in appearance, were earnest efforts to go above and beyond the minimum expectations of our service in a time of national need. I think it was one of the company's finest moments. I'm proud to have played a part in it.
PART III
WHERE WE STAND
Google's big ideas.
There are fortunes to be made.
And mistakes as well.
Chapter 17
Two Speakers, One Voice
GOOGLE WENT THROUGH some rough times in 2001, though the hard work and stress paid off—mostly with more hard work and stress. The company's revenue numbers continued to improve. Traffic was up. The September 11 attacks, though, seeped into everyone's mood.
My own attitude at work was generally positive. I had figured out how to contribute something of at least nominal value, and the variety of tasks requiring my attention ensured I never grew bored. Hours were long and my family rarely seen, but aside from that, life was good. In any decent narrative,