Googlified

Silicon Alley Insider guesstimated that Google spends about $70 millions a year in U.S. offices for the free food program that Google offer to its employees. The free food program covers snacks, drinks, and two to three meals a day.

SAI’s calculation: (8000 Googlers at Googleplex + 1600 more in other U.S. offices) * ($30/day for each employee) * (Google opens 251 days a year) = ~ $72 million

SAI updated the post saying that it’s more like $20/day per employee, shrinking down the guesstimate total to ~$48 million - that’s still a huge chunk of money. Kaching!

[photo by Ian Kennedy (in the photo is Googler Don Loeb), used under a CC-license]

OMG, it’s Google, run!

Last month, Googler (Noogler?) Yew Jin blogged about the “layoff” at Google - well not really a layoff, but it feels like it (”the [layoff] atmosphere in Google”). As far as I know, nobody got lay off, but it’s certain that a number of notable people have left Google recently, including CIO Douglas Merrill, who left to become president of music company EMI, and Blogger’s product manager Eric Case, who left because “it’s time to move on” after 5 years at Google. Even Josef Desimone, the executive chef left Google for Facebook, now how do you suppose the atmosphere be like when the foods don’t taste the same.

Oh, Gmail is hiring.

Googleplex has a cafe called the No Name Café, which “focuses on healthy dishes and has delicious vegetarian and vegan selections.” Compare this photo from CNN and the photo above, and it seems like that Google has either changed the definition of “always” or “vegetarian”. (it appears to me that there’s a whole plate of hams)

Vegetarianism is the practice of a diet that excludes all animal flesh, including poultry, game, fish, shellfish or crustacea, and slaughter by-products. [Wikipedia]

[photo by Mayhem Chaos, used under a CC-license]

Photo by Danny Sullivan, used under a CC-license

Google is planning to expand their Kirkland office to have a head-to-head with Microsoft in the Seattle area for tech-talents. Seattle Times reports that Google has signed a lease to occupy a new three-building office campus in Kirkland, which is “just down the street” from their current office. The new buildings is 180,000 square feet and has 640 parking spaces, with the goal to house several thousand Googlers within a few years.

[via Google Kirkland resident Justin Uberti]

Google held their annual “Google Picnic” at Shoreline Amphitheatre, an outdoor amphitheater which is located (literally) right next the Googleplex. This year’s activities included Google Idol, circus performance, on-site camping, and, as you can see in the image above, playing with some gruesome animals.

I am pretty sure that (kid OR snake OR lady behind the boy) had a heck lot of fun though. Hey, they are smiling (nervously?). :)

more photos from the Picnic can be found on Flickr

[photo by Min Liu (Googler), used under a CC-license]

There was a puzzle hunt (Googol Conglomerate) at Googleplex over the weekend where teams of Googlers get together and try to solve puzzles. Although the puzzle hunt happens to be in Google campus with Googlers participating, Google itself is not sponsoring the game, making each team to pay $150 registration fee.

The Googol Conglomerate mission: We will increase the value of our company and our interplanetary portfolio of diversified brands by exceeding customers’ expectations and achieving market leadership and operating excellence in every segment of our company.

You can learn more about the puzzle hunt on their official website Gooooogol.com.

[photo by Matthew Bensley, used under a CC-license]

It looks like that Google bought a couple of those “Conference Bikes” recently. It looks fun to play with, but I wonder how safe that bike is. Has anybody rode one before?

Find more photos on Flickr.

UPDATE: Googler Kynan Dent has more detail…

[photo by BoingBoing’s Cory Doctorow, used under a CC-license]

More than half year of making, the Google Solar Panel Project now goes live!

Google has installed over 90% of the 9,212 solar panels that comprise the 1,600 kilowatt project. Panels cover the rooftops of eight buildings and two newly constructed solar carports at the Googleplex (check out this SketchUp fly-over video).

“In the last 24 hours, Google produced 9,875 kilowatt-hours of electricity from the sun.” And that is…

• 6,168 dishwasher cycles
• 82,291 hours of flat screen TV watching
• 8,229 coffee makers for an hour
• 3,590 loads of laundry
• 41,145 alarm clocks for 24 hours
• 21,066 hairdryers for 15 minutes

Which is, A LOT. :)

I mentioned last year briefly in the News Roundup that Google will be setting up a new office in Tel Aviv, Israel’s second largest city. And now here it is. Google invited some local bloggers for a visit to their new office.

See Google Blogoscoped and Ben-Ari.name for more pictures.

[photos by Slav Ben Ari, thanks!]

Another Presidential Candidate, John EdWards, was at Google last Wednesday.

John Edwards was at [Googleplex] on Wednesday, answering questions for an hour and a half at the company’s cafeteria, which has become a high-tech crucible for presidential candidates traveling through California. […] On his visit to Google Wednesday, Edwards proposed making the internet more affordable and accessible to poor Americans. Edwards talked about a letter he sent to the FCC (Federal Communications Commission) proposing that it set aside a part of the broadband spectrum that is to be sold at an upcoming auction for wholesalers to lease to smaller start-ups in an effort to improve service to rural and under-served areas. [from John Edwards ‘08 Blog]

[via Googler Jed Hartman]

New Mexico Governor and Presidential Candidate Bill Richardson, had a conversation with Elliot Schrage, vice president of Google on May 14, as part of the Candidates@Google series.

John McCain was there earlier this month.

John McCain, U.S. Senator and Presidential Candidate for the 2008 Election, stopped by Googleplex yesterday (May 4th) and had a “conversation with Google CEO Eric Schmidt as part of the Authors@Google series”.

The only thing I can recall about him is that his MySpace page was hacked back in March. Yes, he has one.

Hilary Clinton paid a visit to Googleplex in two months ago.

[via Nanaze]