Googled: The End of the World as We Know It

Googled: The End of the World as We Know It Review

Ken Auletta had very open access to key Google players, e.g. Larry Page, Sergey Brin, Eric Schmidt and 150 current and past employees. Even though the book reads more like a corporate report than a story, I still found it interesting. Perhaps if I had known more about Google, like some of the other reviewers, I would not have found it as interesting.

The key points in this book that made me think:

**are Larry Page and Sergey Brin truly naïve or do they really have a hidden agenda to take over the world for their own purposes? Ken Auletta does a good job at presenting both sides to this argument.

**Google continues to be a game changer through their relentless focus on the user. Sure, they've had some missteps like not having a delete function in Gmail, but they're quick learners. Who would have thought a company whose home page is simple white screen with a small search box could grow to have billion in revenues?

**think big. I'm still amazed at Google's plan to scan every book ever published.

The last part of the book was the weakest part since Ken writes more in generalities and doesn't give much insight. I would have liked more analysis about the future of paid content.

I thought this was a good, solid, fact-filled book. To get a true sense of any company, including Google, it's important to read multiple books by different authors. This will give you different perspectives.

Googled: The End of the World as We Know It Overview

In Googled, esteemed media writer and critic Ken Auletta uses the story of Google’s rise to explore the inner workings of the company and the future of the media at large. Although Google has often been secretive, this book is based on the most extensive cooperation ever granted a journalist, including access to closed-door meetings and interviews with founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin, CEO Eric Schmidt, and some 150 present and former employees.

Inside the Google campus, Auletta finds a culture driven by brilliant engineers in which even the most basic ways of doing things are questioned. His reporting shines light on how Google has been so hugely successful—and why it could slip. On one hand, Auletta reveals how the company has innovated, from Gmail, Google Maps, and Google Earth to YouTube, search, and other seminal programs. On the other, he charts its conflicts: the tension between massive growth and its mandate of “Don’t be evil”; the limitations of a belief that mathematical algorithms always provide correct answers; and the collisions of Google engineers who want more data with citizens worried about privacy.

More than a comprehensive study of media’s most powerful digital company, Googled is also a lesson in new media truths. Pairing Auletta’s unmatched analysis with vivid details and rich anecdotes, it shows how the Google wave grew, how it threatens to drown media institutions once considered impregnable—and where it is now taking us all.

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