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Video of Eric Schmidt blaming remote work for Google’s woes mysteriously vanishes (techcrunch.com)

submitted 4 months ago by informapirata@lemmy.world to c/technology@lemmy.world

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Former Google CEO Eric Schmidt, who has since moved on to greener and perhaps more dangerous pastures, told an audience of Stanford students recently that “Google decided that work-life balance and going home early and working from home was more important than winning.” Evidently this hot take was not for wider consumption, as Stanford — which posted the video this week on YouTube — today made the video of the event private.

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[–] krashmo@lemmy.world 13 points 4 months ago (2 children)

It's pretty easy to be in the office and not working. Especially with all those different places to get lost. I really doubt that works out the way they want it to

[–] merc@sh.itjust.works 11 points 4 months ago (1 children)

Part of the plan (a big part) is that any big ideas you come up with when you're in the office and not working belong to Google.

Scenario 1: It's 5pm so you go home, after dinner you hang out with a bunch of friends, many who work at other companies. While you're hanging out, someone has an idea for the Next Big Thing in tech. Everybody talks about it, gets excited, and a year later everyone quits their jobs to start NBT.com.

Scenario 2: It's 5pm so you go to the on-site gym, you stay on campus for dinner, and you hang out with a bunch of cow-orkers / friends, all of whom work at Google / Meta / Amazon. While you're hanging out, someone has an idea for the Next Big Thing in tech. Everybody talks about it, gets excited, but since you all work for the same company you don't quit. The company has ways for employees to work on projects like that while not having to quit. And, if you did quit, they might be able to sue you since you came up the idea on company time, and used company resources to develop it.

[–] KevonLooney@lemm.ee 6 points 4 months ago (1 children)

That's not really how IP works. Just because you think of something while eating a sandwich that Google paid for, that doesn't mean they own it. Your brain is not "company resources". The sandwich was not necessary for the brainstorm.

It's smarter to think up good ideas away from the office, but it's completely legal to take knowledge and experience with you when you leave the company.

[–] merc@sh.itjust.works 9 points 4 months ago (1 children)

Just because you think of something while eating a sandwich that Google paid for, that doesn’t mean they own it.

Ok, feel free to argue that against Google's lawyers. The law may be on your side, but the lawyers aren't.

[–] KevonLooney@lemm.ee 3 points 4 months ago (1 children)

In California it's totally fine. That's why there's so many tech startups there. It's not taxes.

[–] merc@sh.itjust.works -1 points 4 months ago (1 children)

That may be the law, but Google isn't likely to just accept it without fighting it.

[–] KevonLooney@lemm.ee 4 points 4 months ago (1 children)

It happens all the time. Almost everyone who starts a new tech company has worked in a different one.

[–] merc@sh.itjust.works 0 points 4 months ago (1 children)

Almost everyone who starts a new tech company has worked in a different one.

Yes, most people have previously held jobs.

And sometimes Google sues former employees.

[–] KevonLooney@lemm.ee 6 points 4 months ago

Uh, that guy actually did steal literal IP. Uber was founded by an asshole who didn't care about breaking the law.

six weeks before his resignation, Levandowski downloaded all these highly confidential files and proprietary design files

[–] PalmTreeIsBestTree@lemmy.world 3 points 4 months ago

Sounds like you could practically live there like you would from home almost